By Sam Chandler, Samford Athletics Communication

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Throughout the basketball season, Samford senior Marcus Johnson constantly searches for new ways to dissect his opponents. With pesky defenders persistently attempting to steal the ball from his possession and obstruct his lane to the hoop, the 5-foot-11 guard has no other choice.
 
He never really has.
 

After flunking out of ninth grade, missing his senior season of high school hoops due to ineligibility and facing limited playing time as a junior college freshman, Johnson has faced his fair share of obstacles both on and off the court.
 
Through it all, however, he's demonstrated a rare blend of composure and resiliency, overcoming formidable barriers while seizing every opportunity he's been afforded. Now a key contributor in the midst of his second season with the Bulldogs, it's safe to conclude that Johnson, like the frequent outcome of his arcing 3-pointers, has made it.
 
In retrospect, it's incredible he did.
 
Raised by a triumvirate parental rotation consisting of his mother, grandmother and father in a Washington D.C., neighborhood he labels "rough", basketball was not Marcus Johnson Jr.'s first love. 
 
A running back and safety on his earliest organized teams, he was initially drawn to the gridiron.
 
"I actually didn't start playing organized basketball until I was in middle school," Johnson said. "I was more of a football guy when I was younger, but then I started playing basketball with my cousins in middle school and I loved it. I've been playing ever since."
 
With his interest sparked, Johnson gravitated away from the field and into the gym, trading the hard knocks for the hardwood.
 
As a freshman at Laurel High School (Md.), however, his approach to the classroom lacked the enthusiasm he brought to the court. Unable to play basketball due to lagging grades and unaware of the future ramifications triggered by his subpar academic performance, Johnson failed the ninth grade, setting into a motion of sequence of events that would ultimately cost him his prep basketball career.
 
Although he dreamed of reaching the floor after transferring to Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Md.) for the second edition of his freshman year, Johnson's grades continued to plague him, keeping his hoop aspirations tethered to the sidelines.
 

"I just wasn't doing too well as far as my schoolwork and getting in trouble outside the court and stuff like that," Johnson said. "I was supposed to play for my high school there, but I could never get on the court."
 
Realizing the need for further change following his sophomore year at Roosevelt, the decision was made for Johnson to leave D.C. in 2010 and join his father, Marcus Johnson Sr., in Raleigh, N.C.
 
Having moved to the destination a few months prior, the elder Johnson convinced his son of the potential benefits a scenery change could provide.
 
"I didn't want to go at first and then a couple of months later, he just talked me in to coming with him, and I figured it'd be like a fresh start for me," Johnson said. "That way I could focus on my school and just get back on track."
 
Removed from the only environment he'd ever known, Johnson adapted to life in the Tar Heel state at an exceptional rate.
 
In his first year at Raleigh's Millbrook High School, he buckled down in the classroom, raising his grades to the point of becoming academically eligible for the first time in his high school career. And, after joining the basketball team halfway through the season, he helped direct the Wildcats to their first state championship appearance in program history.
 
"They really embraced me, and my coach (Scott McInnes) helped make the transition easier for me," Johnson said. "It was an awesome experience that I'll never forget."
 
The fortuitous timing of Millbrook's inaugural trip to the state final provided Johnson with the coveted opportunity to showcase his skills— nimble ball handling, keen vision, a fluid shot—under the prep spotlight in one of the nation's most hoop-crazed states.
 

The exposure came at exactly the right time.
 
Prior to his senior season, the year he was supposed to raise his recruiting stock and draw increased college interest, Johnson learned he wouldn't be able to play, losing his final year of eligibility due to the academic trouble he encountered as a freshman in D.C.
 
Not granted an appeal he submitted to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, his prep career came to an abrupt and premature end.
 
Adding insult to injury, the Wildcats entered the season as favorites to return to the state final, having only lost one player from the previous year's squad.
 
"Finding out that I wouldn't be a part of it, I was hurt, man, because I felt like I had finally found a home," Johnson said.
 
Playing without one of its stars, the team advanced through the first three rounds of the state playoffs before losing in the Elite Eight.
 
Luckily for Johnson, none of that mattered to John Meeks, head men's basketball coach at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Ala.
 
As a result of Johnson's pivotal junior year, coupled with a stellar showing on the AAU circuit, Meeks felt comfortable enough with the report he compiled on Johnson to offer him a scholarship.    
 

"He said that I could come to Wallace State as a true freshman and basically just start over, and that's how it happened," Johnson said.
 
Ushering in a new and exciting chapter of his life after graduating from Millbrook in 2012, he turned the page on his past as he made the southward journey to the dot-on-a-map town in Cullman County, population 3,096.
 
"Coming from D.C. to Raleigh, I thought it was really country, but then going from Raleigh to Hanceville, that was really a shock to me," Johnson said.
 
Similar to his first year at Millbrook, however, he demonstrated a unique brand of adjustability. Initially limited to meager playing time in an unfamiliar place, the deft playmaker found his rhythm on and off the court.
 
Statistically, Johnson tallied a team-high 88 assists over the course of the season and boosted his scoring average to 9.9 points per game. In the classroom, meanwhile, he displayed an identical level of dedication, maintaining a 3.0-plus GPA.
 
"As the season went on, coach told me that he wanted me to be the starting point guard on the team, but I had to learn how to be a leader," Johnson said. "From that day on, I started to get all of my priorities in order. That year was definitely the turning point in my career, both on the court and in the classroom."
 
After becoming a father at the conclusion of his freshman year, to now 2-year-old daughter Kylie, Johnson picked up where he left off the following season. Averaging 13.5 points per game, he helped propel his team to the NJCAA Division I Men's National Basketball Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
 

Despite being hampered by a severe hip flexor injury that nearly rendered him unable to walk, Johnson drew upon his inner will in the tournament's opening contest, grinding through 32 minutes of floor time in route to a riveting 101-99 double-overtime victory.
 
Little to his knowledge, the man who held the key to his future had been spectating in the stands.
 
Even though he was impressed by the performance, it wasn't until long after the final buzzer Samford assistant coach Jake Headrick grasped the magnitude of the gutsy effort he had witnessed.
 
"I had no idea when I was watching him play that he was hurt. Then when I found out he was hurt later on, I was like, man, you know that says a lot about the kid to be out there fighting and playing through a major injury," Headrick said. "A lot of kids these days would sit out and wouldn't do it, so the number one thing that stood out was that this guy has a lot of toughness to him, and that's what our team needs."
 
Chiseled by the varied experiences of his past—the neighborhoods that shaped his identity, the  academic shortcomings that threatened to derail his career, the cultural transitions that forced him to adapt— Johnson epitomizes toughness, the frequently sought after quality that has become increasingly difficult to find.
 
At Samford, he's amply met the demand.
 

Since committing to the Bulldogs in the spring of 2014, Johnson has continually elevated his game while displaying the grit that originally won over the coaching staff.
 
"I just knew the program needed a guy that would battle and that winning was important to and that would come to work every day," Headrick said. "That was the thing about Marcus that I've been really pleased with."
 
Primarily coming off the bench over the past season and a half, Johnson has tenaciously earned his minutes, bringing an unselfish attitude, high energy level and elite marksmanship to the Samford lineup.
 
To Headrick, he presents the team with a competitive edge.
 
"The minutes he's been able to give us the last two years, it's basically like it's almost having another starter coming off the bench," he said.
 
Although Johnson's shooting percentage is down a few ticks from last season, when his 3-point mark ranked second on the squad, his playing time and subsequent scoring average have experienced increases in 2015-16.
 
But it's not just on the court where Johnson is thriving. After being recognized last April by the Alabama State Board of Education as a community college student success story, due to his academic performance at Wallace State, Johnson remains on pace to graduate with a distinguished Samford sports administration degree.
 

"It's awesome, man. My dad told me before I went to college, 'if you're going to go, make sure you go and finish,' because he had went and didn't get a chance to finish," Johnson said. "It's big to accomplish something like this."
 
The end, though, is still at a distance, and Johnson has other unfinished business to attend to. With his sights set on the NCAA Tournament in the final season of his collegiate career, he wants this team to leave a mark.
 
"This is the time to stop talking and actually go make something happen," Johnson said.
 
Although achieving such a lofty goal won't come easy, the team isn't shying away from the challenge. After a narrow loss at Texas followed by a signature win at Nebraska in non-conference play, the first triumph over a Big Ten opponent in program history, the Bulldogs (10-7) believe they can compete with anybody.
 
To continue reeling off such top-notch performances down the stretch, Headrick knows Johnson will have to fill an important role.
 
"We need him to score and make shots, especially late in the season, for us to win some games that maybe we're not supposed to win," Headrick said.
 
Recently spotted in the Pete Hanna Center putting in extra reps after practice in a dogged effort to perfect his shot, Johnson's preparing to rise to the occasion.
 
With a game on the line and the final seconds ticking away, he may have no other option.
 
He never really has.
 
Johnson and the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a two-game weekend homestand against the ETSU Buccaneers in a key league matchup to be broadcast by ESPN3 and held at Samford's Pete Hanna Center.
 
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