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Bonner gets boost in Nigerian forward Johnson

07/30/2015, 5:15pm EDT
By Josh Verlin & Ethan Miller

Nigerian forward Ajiroghene "Ajiri" Johnson will be a sophomore at Bonner-Prendie this year. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Ethan Miller (@ByEthanMiller)
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It’s never easy to leave your family.

For Ajiroghene Johnson, however, traveling 5,490 miles to a different continent was what was necessary for a passion and dream.

So the 15-year-old from Warri, Nigeria, who goes by “Ajiri,” left his family, his home, and the only place he’d ever called home--just to play basketball.

“I just love the game, it’s a passion,” he said at the Elevate Hoops Summer Final this past weekend in King of Prussia.

That wasn’t always the case. Like many youths who grew up in Africa, Johnson’s main sport for the early portion of his life was soccer.

In fact, he never played organized basketball before coming over to the United States last year.

He first fell in love with the game by watching it on television.

“No one really taught me how to play,” Johnson said. “I just went out to the courts, picked up a ball and started shooting around.”

After he grew five inches at the age of 14, Johnson played in a “showcase” in Nigeria, where he was discovered by some trainers who run the Base Sports Academy, a workout facility in Owerri, three hours away.

Those trainers, impressed with what they saw out of the developing young athlete, got in touch with one of their contacts in America. Duane Coverdale, who is also an assistant coach with the WE R1 AAU program, was immediately drawn to the lanky youngster.

“They videotape the kids doing different skill sets from shooting, dribbling, defensive and offensive drills and then send them to me,” Coverdale said. “When I saw Ajiri’s footage, I immediately wanted to bring him over here to the States.”

To help convince Johnson that he wasn’t being swindled, Coverdale enlisted the help of one of his fellow countrymen, Micheal Eric.

Eric, who like Johnson moved from Nigeria to the United States as a teen, played his high school basketball at Church Farm (Pa.) before a very successful four-year career at Temple.

He’d become friendly with Coverdale over the years, and was able to provide a friendly voice to an unsure young man.

“Mr. Eric talked to me on the phone before (I came) to America,” Johnson said. “He told me that Duane is a trustworthy man and that going to America to play basketball is the best opportunity for myself.”

So Johnson made the decision to leave his family and move across the ocean. He spent his first year at Florida Prep Academy, a co-ed boarding school in Melbourne, Florida.

Back home in Nigeria, Johnson left behind four brothers and four sisters--all older than him.

“I’m the youngest out of my siblings,” he said. "I like it that way, they taught me a lot about life, taught me a lot of lessons and to believe in myself.”

He also left his father and mother, Owhocenu and Beatrice Johnson.

Johnson said he talks to them “very often,” but didn’t want to elaborate much on their conversations beyond what they said as he left.

“My dad gave me a lot of spiritual advice, and to believe in God," Johnson said. "He told me to pray everyday and to stay away from the bad things in life, such as bad activities and companies.

“This is everything my parents wanted for me,” he added. "They wanted me to come to America and achieve my dream to play college basketball, and later move on to the NBA if I’m good enough.”

For the 2015-16 school year, the 6-foot-8, 190-pound Ajiri has moved up to the Philadelphia area, living with Coverdale in the city’s western suburbs.

He will be attending Bonner-Prendergast Catholic High School in Drexel Hill, Pa., where on the court he will provide a big boost to the Friar frontcourt.

“I told Coach Duane that I needed a school with a good education system and good basketball program, that’s how it led me to Bonner,” Johnson said. "I never have talked to the Bonner coach until last Tuesday when I had a scrimmage with them."

Bonner head coach Jack Concannon, who was brought in last year after the Friars finished 2-20 in the 2013-14 season, guided a much-improved Bonner team to 12-11 record (5-8 PCL) in 2014-15.

The Friars graduate six seniors from that team, including second team all-Catholic League forward Marques Jackson, who averaged 13 ppg last season.  

His size will be much-needed considering the Friars are only returning one forward from last years team, John Hargraves, who averaged 6.0 ppg. Johnson had a lot to say about his new teammates after their scrimmage last Tuesday.

“I like my future teammates a lot, they are very friendly, they work with me well, and they said I can hang out with them whenever,” he said. "They are very supportive of me.”

Johnson has high expectations for the 2015-16 season, saying “I want to get a championship,” but he might not be aware of what he’s in for in the Catholic League.

The Friars will have to battle with state championship contenders like Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti, plus plenty of Division I talent on teams like Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Wood and St. Joseph’s Prep.

The Friars haven’t finished with a winning record in the PCL since 2008 after finishing 9-5 in conference play. But Johnson believes if they keep it simple and play the right way, they’ll find success.

"My part is just getting my teammates opportunities to score the ball,” he said. “If they can get me the ball so I can help put points on the board then I think we’ll be very successful next season.”


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