The Road Diary: Daniel Johnson

After a playing career which is into its 15^th year, Adelaide 36ers big man Daniel Johnson has clocked up some serious kilometres of travel.

The 212cm centre, who played his 400^th NBL match last Friday night against Perth Wildcats at the Entertainment Centre, said travel was all part of the job but can be have its moments.

“I have done 35 countries now as a player, so I’m pretty sick of planes, plus all the NBL trips,” he said after Sunday’s match against South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Johnson, who has played professionally for Piratas de Quebradillas and Santeros de Aguada (Puetro Rico), Zastal Zielona Gora (Poland), Wellington Saints (New Zealand), Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC (Iran), Ferro Carril Oeste (Argentina), Seahorses Mikawa and Earth Friends Tokyo (Japan), said life overseas can be a lot different to the NBL.

“In Iran, I don’t know whether it was a private jet but it was only ever us on the plane,” he said.

“Puetro Rico, you just drive yourself to the games, it’s a big island, but sometimes the drive is about three hours though which isn’t ideal, some games you get home after 1am.

“Poland was the worst though, we went on a bus pretty much everywhere, and some of those trips were like 10 hours.

“Japan was really cool though, it was just bullet trains everywhere, it was great, you just rock up and you’re there in an hour or two.”

Johnson’s time in Poland included one of “the worst road trips I have been on”.

“We did a Euro League qualifying tournament in Belgium and we drove there for some reason,” he said. “We took a bus, it was like 17 or 18 hours, it was pretty rough.”

The seven-time Adelaide 36ers club MVP said the recent NBL x NBA trips were exceptional.

“They were really nice when we got put in business class, but I’m not really a plane person,” he said.

“The NBL flights are OK though, they are pretty short flights.”

The 212cm centre has had his fair share of flights in economy and two recent journeys come straight to Johnson’s mind.

“When I went to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, I didn’t get an exit seat there or back, so that was pretty unpleasant,” he said.

But the days of economy will be coming to an end, as Johnson now holds Platinum frequent flyer status.

“This is the first year I have got it, so I’m happy with that, the US trip definitely helped with that but I don’t know how long I’m going to have that for though,” he said.

Johnson takes on the responsibility of being one of the three drivers for the 36ers when the side is on the road and along with captain Mitch McCarron and team manager Jared ‘Jazzy’ Campbell, the trio commute the side around the interstate and overseas roads.

“I’d like to be in control of my own destiny,” Johnson said.

“I want to have my own life in my own hands and be in control of the situation.

“I feel as an older guy I should be responsible for the younger guys on the trip, making sure we get there and back safely.

“Back in the good old days we would have to get one of the sober guys to get the team back to the airport after a good win.”

Johnson has been behind the wheel for the past five seasons and he said having Anthony Drmic back in Adelaide and as a front seat passenger, is a welcome return as the pair make an unbeatable force on the roads.

“Drmic is up there as one of the best co-pilots in the league and he took over from Eric Jacobsen,” Johnson said.

“He learnt from the best, but Drm gets a little bit distracted, he could improve on that, but he’s solid.”

The three-time All-NBL First Team member has no superstitions when it comes to travelling but has learnt over the journey to make life on the road a success.

“Pack light, that’s the one thing I do for all trips,” he said.

Johnson is normally the first, if not one of the first players to arrive at the airport.

“I hate being late, so I just get there in plenty of time, I hate that feeling of being late,” he said.

Johnson is after a new bag after the handle on his luggage arrived in Melbourne in about four pieces on Saturday afternoon.

“I don’t know what happened there, but it’s well and truly buggered,” he said.

On the planes, the distance determines what Johnson does to take away the travelling time.

“I read a book, or it’s sometimes music, I might watch something,” he said.

“If it’s a short flight, I’ll just chuck the headphones on. If it’s a longer one, then definitely a movie.”

On the NBL x NBA journey, Johnson did get his movie quota up.

“I smashed about four or five movies on the way to the States,” he said.

When it comes to roommates, Johnson has no real complaints.

“I have some good ones, Macca (Mitch McCarron) is very good, Teysy (Brendan Teys) is the greatest, had a lot of years with him,” he said.

“But, there is one particular roommate that wasn’t the best, but he can remain nameless.”

After 400 NBL games and countless flights all around the world, 36ers fans will be hoping there is a few more road trips left for ‘DJ’.