The Bendigo Braves will welcome home one of the club’s favourite sons on Saturday night.
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Sweet-shooting import guard David “DJ” Johnson returns to Bendigo Stadium for the first time in more than 20 years.
DJ helped put Bendigo basketball on the map in Australia, with his 70-point haul in the 1988 SEABL grand final against Bulleen one of the greatest individual performances in league history.
The best man to describe how good DJ was is his former Braves team-mate Steve Kelly.
Kelly had to guard DJ at training every night.
“Matching up on him at training wasn’t much fun. He quickly taught me how to play defence,’’ Kelly said with a chuckle.
“In DJ’s first year in Australia he played for Sunbury and the night we played them in Sunbury he just absolutely destroyed us.
“After that game the club went after DJ to get him to Bendigo the next year.”
It was one of the best moves the club made, with DJ leading the Braves to their first championship in 1988.
He was an instant celebrity around town and helped make the Braves one of the hottest tickets in town.
“It was a great era to play with the Braves because DJ was such a likeable guy,’’ Kelly said.
“He did a lot for the community and the club.”
On court, Johnson had no peer when it came to shooting.
“He wasn’t shy in taking a shot. He was confident and competitive and that stood out in that grand final,’’ Kelly said.
“To score 70 points in a grand final is unbelievable. In his four years here he averaged close to 50 points per game. What people forget is that he shot the ball at about 50 per cent as well. He was a very good passer as well because he knew the opposition was going to double-team him. He was a phenomenal player.”
Johnson and the 1988 Braves championship-winning team will be presented to the crowd before tip-off of Saturday night’s Braves game against Sandringham. Johnson and the team are the special guests at a past players and sponsors function.