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Juneau Basketball pioneers the way
Milwaukee Juneau is off to one of its best starts ever, led by four-star Gonzaga commit Dooney Johnson and coached by his father, as the Pioneers chase a first state appearance.
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Juneau Pioneers have found lightning in a bottle.
What we know:
Juneau is off to one of its best starts in program history. The boys basketball team has run roughshod over their competition in the Milwaukee City Conference's Gold Division.
"This is all new history now for these boys that's in this gym, so they're creating their own path at this point and then they also brought a lot of good energy back," said Torre Johnson, Milwaukee Juneau boys basketball coach.
The Pioneers are led by 6-foot-6 guard Dooney Johnson, a 4-star Gonzaga commit. Johnson is averaging close to 28 points and just over 8 rebounds per game this season.
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"This is our by far best season going against great competition and playing how we've been playing, so it's really a great season," said Dooney Johnson, Milwaukee Juneau junior guard.
Dooney and his teammates are coached by his father, Torre Johnson, who is a former Pioneer himself. Torre spent the last seven seasons as Juneau's assistant coach before taking over the team last summer.
"To be able to come over to your alma mater, and then to not only coach your son, but also coach kids that you've been working with for quite a while now, so for me, it's like a dream come true," said Torre.
You can call this season a full circle moment for this father-son duo.
"It's pretty cool that he set records here or whatever, like did his thing, had a little show here, so to come back and do that, it feels good," said Dooney.
Dooney is certainly making his own history at Juneau. He is now the Pionners' all-time leading scorer. He's also one of the top 30 recruits in the country for the Class of 2027. ESPN has him ranked at No. 28.
Plenty of national attention came his way after a breakout sophomore season, along with his stellar play for Team Herro during Nike's EYBL last summer.
"To see how his work has paid off and to see himself put himself into a position to win off all his passion and hard work, it's a beautiful thing," said Torre.
From there, Division 1 teams from around the country came calling. Wisconsin and Marquette were two of them, but Gonzaga ultimately earned Dooney's commitment.
What they're saying:
"It's all about basketball," said Dooney. "It's the culture, the love of the game, the love of each other, it's just really great out there."
Torre has Division 1 experience himself. After all, he went on to play basketball for Oklahoma State and UW-Milwaukee, but Dooney required no assist from his father on his decision.
"Not a lot of kids from this area get an offer from a Gonzaga, especially at an early timeframe in their career," said Dooney. "For me as a father, it was a proud moment just to see your son group up and make a decision for himself."
For Dooney, his basketball aspirations are high.
"My ultimate goal is to go to the NBA," said Dooney.
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But in the near future, they both have some milestones they want to reach on the court together. That includes leading Juneau to its first state appearance in school history.
Even better, they're bringing back hope.
"I wanted to bring some energy back to the Milwaukee City Conference," said Torre. "I wanted to show the kids in Milwaukee that you can actually go to an MPS school and flourish and get up out of here and also too to try to rebuild the city that I once grew up in."
Dooney is also a bit of a pioneer himself.
"Me growing up, looking up to Jalen Johnson and them and stuff like that, and now becoming one of them and kids are looking up to me means a lot," said Dooney. "Kids be texting me all the time asking for inspiration and stuff. I be telling them what to do and stuff. It's just a really great feeling."
There is something special brewing at Juneau and this culture of winning is just beginning.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by the FOX6 sports team.