It’s taken three years and three schools, but Rod Johnson has found his dream home in Chattanooga.
The 6-foot-7, 195-pound basketball forward-guard came to University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from Highland Community College in Freeport, Illinois, after starting his collegiate career at NCAA Division II member Northern Michigan. With two seasons of eligibility remaining, he has big goals for his time as a Moc.
“The thing I want to do is have hardware when I walk out of here,” he said recently. “I want to do something where we’re going to be remembered by the time I walk out of here. I expect nothing less from myself and my team to accomplish something that could be put on a banner.”
Excellence in the sport runs in Johnson’s family. Both of his parents played Division I basketball, and Rod’s younger brother Jalen – a 6-8, 215-pound forward – is ranked as the nation’s No. 7 player in the class of 2020 according to 247Sports. He has another brother, Kobe, who’s ranked as one of the top players in Wisconsin in the class of 2021.
Rod Johnson went to Northern Michigan to play point guard, but after that didn’t work out for him, he tried the junior college ranks and moved to forward. The transition helped him become a better defender and rebounder, and that combined with his natural ball-handling and playmaking ability should make him a tough cover at the Division I level.