Co-Captain Dallion Johnson ’20 broke the school scoring record against Suffield in December.
Co-Captain Dallion Johnson ’20 broke the school scoring record against Suffield in December.
A three-year Co-Captain and school all-time scoring record holder, Dallion Johnson ’20 is hoping to lead his team to a championship this season for the first time in his Andover career. According to Johnson, his long career allows him to be a good mentor for younger players.
“I’ve been playing for so long so I’ve seen the game, I’ve seen [many] different game situations. That’s why I have such a big responsibility as Captain and as a senior on the team, I’ve been through it all so I can teach and show the younger kids on the team what to do and how to be successful,” said Johnson.
Johnson has a strong relationship with his coaches and is very comfortable working with them on anything to help the team.
“You definitely get this bigger role where you have more responsibilities and you have to make sure the team, everybody on the team is on the same page and the chemistry is there and you also have to check in with the coaches and make sure practices are good so we can play well in games,” said Johnson.
Additionally, Johnson is proud of the cohesive dynamic that he and fellow Co-Captain Matteo Whelton ’20 have worked to build for the team.
“[Whelton] and I have a very good relationship. During the game, he’ll pull me aside and we’ll talk a little bit about what we need to do to win and continue winning throughout a game or how to pick it up if we’re losing, but he’ll always be looking at me during a game and he’s always checking in with me to see what I can do better for the team and also what the team can do better,” said Johnson.
Most of all, Johnson assumes the role of a mentor to his teammates off the court. He hopes to make meaningful relationships on the team that last outside of practices.
“We’ll have some team meals where we get together and we don’t have to worry about basketball, we can just talk and sit with each other about the year and how the year’s going, just stuff outside the basketball world,” said Johnson. “After practices, I’ll stay back with some of the others guys, check in with them, see how they’re doing.”
Nick Thomas ’21 spoke to how grateful he is to have such a capable leader as a captain. Due to the environment that Johnson creates, Thomas is confident he can always lean on his teammates both on and off the court.
“He’s leading the team well by always bringing positive energy to the team, always helping everyone get better and whenever he can always showing us that no matter what there’s always another way to score and another way to help your teammates out so if you’re having a bad day from classes or just having a bad day in general just keep your head up and know that your teammates will always be there for you, that’s what he’s preaching to us,” said Thomas.
