Tyrell Johnson, Vojvodina power forward, spoke to Basketball Sphere about his beginnings, he touched on an interesting career path, destinations such as Great Britain, Georgia, Slovakia and Switzerland, and he also talked about what he sees as room for improvement, as well as what are his virtues in his game.
With the departure of the MVP and the best scorer, when it comes to the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), Dusan Beslac, Vojvodina found itself in a situation where they have to find his quality replacement, if it wants to fight for the very top of the domestic league as well as the ABA 2 League.
After more than a month since the start of the new season, it seems that they have succeeded. Tyrell Johnson strengthened the Novi Sad team, to which he came from almost complete anonymity, from the Swiss League and Vevey Riviera club. He has shown quality at the moment, as he is averaging 11.4 points in the KLS. However, his performance cannot be seen only through offensive parameters, given his great athletic power and ability to defend multiple positions.
From Great Britain, Switzerland, to Novi Sad
Speaking to Basketball Sphere early on, Johnson revealed how his love for basketball was born and who was the most responsible for it.
“I was 10, 11 years old and my father took me to an Atlanta Hawks game. Joe Johnson played for them then. The way he played was amazing. I was a huge fan of his when I was growing up. That’s where my love for the game comes from. Also, my father played a little bit when he was younger,” Johnson pointed out.
The power forward is a former student of Appalachian State University, after which he decided to take an interesting step and join Plymouth from Great Britain.
“I was at the University for all four years. From the campus, coaching staff, teammates, I liked everything. I am still in contact with some of my teammates, we are like brothers. The first professional season was in Plymouth. It was a good experience, a small organization, but it started to grow when I came. We had a lot of ups and downs.
Unfortunately, the season was cut short due to COVID. Even so, I am very grateful for that experience. We had a lot of veterans. One of my teammates, who played in my position, was also from Altanta. He played there for six, seven years. It was good to have him with me.”
Johnson about a special place
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The first team member of Vojvodina then decided that his next stop in his career would be Dinamo from Georgia.
“I like to play basketball. I wanted to explore how far basketball could take me. Playing in Georgia was a last-minute deal. Interesting experience. It was not a good fit for me. However, to some extent, I was happy that I played for Dinamo. I’m still in contact with the coach, we talk about my game, about what I need to improve on.”
He continued his interesting journey in Slovakia, where he played for Komarno, for which he has very fond memories.
“I love everything about Slovakia. The organization, the team, coach Zlatko Jovanovic, who was excellent. He didn’t take any day for granted. That definitely helped us. We had a very successful season, considering the quality of the squad.”
,,Zeljko Rebraca is building something realy beautiful in Novi Sad”
Nothing was less interesting in Switzerland.
,,It was fun. I had a veteran coach, I think last season was his last. I learned a lot from him. He helped me a lot with my approach, how to be maximally focused and ready when I get on the floor, regardless of what happens.”
After that, the road led him to Novi Sad. Comparing the leagues he’s played in so far, Johnson made some interesting observations.
“At the beginning of June, I spoke with President Zeljko Rebraca. We have been in contact since then. I like his approach to the whole organization, how he looks to the future. He is building something really beautiful here in Novi Sad and I am glad to be a part of this story.
Serbia is a good basketball country, the competition is strong. KLS is definitely the most talented league I’ve played in so far. In Switzerland there is more tactics, while in Slovakia there was more physical play. Also, there are tactically sound teams in Serbia, a few and a different type of basketball, so it’s a combination of everything.”
“The best game in January and February”
In the course of the season so far, Vojvodina is doing very well. It is tied for second place in the KLS table with a score of 5-2, while in the ABA 2 League they are 2-1 at the moment.
“In KLS, anyone can beat anyone, especially if we don’t approach the game properly, which happened to us with those two defeats against Tamis and Vrsac. Against Spartak and Zlatibor, it can be seen that we can compete against the best, when we are maximally focused.
Coach Milos Isakov-Kovacevic always prepares the game well, it is up to us to realize it. He is a student of the game. He always watches video analysis, not only of us, but also of other teams. It definitely pays off. He told us that we will play our best basketball in January and February. I agree with him.”
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About individual characteristics and ABA 2 tournament
Johnson then spoke in more detail about what he needs to work on on an individual level.
“My strength is that I can spread the floor, I’m an athlete, defensively, I can defend several positions, be on the pass line, to make it difficult for my rivals. I cover a lot of ground with height and athleticism. Ballhandling is definitely something I have to improve on, make adjustments, when I’m being guarded.”
Vojvodina now two more games in the ABA 2 bubble in Zlatibor, – the first game on the schedule is on Friday at 3 pm against against Helios, and than Sutjeska (Sunday). In the first game in ABA 2 tournament, Vojvodina beat Pelister 74:64 (Johnson had nine points and 10 rebounds).
,,I am looking forward to it. The more we play, the more we get to know each other… You can train every day, but only when you play games, especially in such a short period, only then do we connect in the best way”, concluded Tyrell Johnson conversation with Basketball Sphere.