SHELBYVILLE HAS some representation this year in the NBA from none other than Keon Johnson. The Shelbyville native announced that he was entering the draft back in April and was originally selected by the New York Knicks and then traded that night to the Los Angeles Clippers. This dream-come-true was no easy feat for Keon; it took hard work and extreme dedication to his craft.
As a kid, he primarily played baseball because, at that time, it was the popular sport to play, but his freshman year in high school, things changed. Keon began playing basketball as a freshman at the same time as baseball and took a real liking to it. A major encouragement to his shift to basketball was his mom, Conswella Sparrow, who was a two-time All-SEC women’s basketball player at Auburn. Once the baseball team at his high school got cut his sophomore year, he decided to play basketball full time. That summer he and others began to notice that he had something truly special.
His high school career at The Webb School in Bell Buckle was nothing short of show stopping. Keon was an explosive shooting guard and was rated as the number one overall prospect in the state of Tennessee and top-30 prospect na- tionally. In 2019, Keon was named the MVP of the USA Basketball’s annual summer minicamp in Colorado Springs; there he played against the best high school basketball play- ers in the country. His undeniable success and talent won him the Larry Pratt Athletic Scholarship Endowment at University of Tennessee, and after he graduated high school, he enrolled at UT and was selected for the Tennessee Vols SEC All-Freshman basketball team.
His career skyrocketed as a Volunteered. He scored in the double digits many times, was often starting or one of the first ones off the bench, contributed heavily to many important wins, and had the second-most dunks on the team. Once the season ended, after talking to his family and coaches, in April, he decided to enter the NBA Draft. In his announcement on Instagram, he thanked his team for molding him into the player he is today and into someone who is mentally and physically prepared for this type of commitment. He also thanked the fanbase for being incredibly supportive during this difficult season and noted that he loved every bit of his time in Knoxville. Once June rolled around, it was time for the NBA to take their pick of the young talent presented before them. With the 21st pick in the draft, the New York Knicks were quick to grab Keon, but that same night, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.This wasn’t the only victory Keon achieved on draft night. During the 2021 NBA Draft Combine, he set the all-time record in the max vertical jumping, leaping 48 inches, beating the record of 45.5 inches set in 2001.
With Keon on one of the teams with the oldest ros- ters, it is the hope that his youthful talent and athleticism will help the Clippers bounce back from the slump that they’ve had. With his track record, the Clippers are sure to stir up the pot this next season.
It’s no surprise that Shelbyville is the hometown of such an amazing talent, and it gives hope to many young players in pursuit of a dream that seems a little too out of reach. There is no doubt that he will continue making waves as his career progresses forward, and our support for him will always follow. -GN
