The Student News Site of Bellevue West Senior High School

The Thunderbeat

The Student News Site of Bellevue West Senior High School

The Thunderbeat

The Student News Site of Bellevue West Senior High School

The Thunderbeat

Q & A with the Johnson Family

Photo Courtesy of Andrea Johnson
Back row, left to right: Cedric, Junior, CJ, Cade, and Taylyn Johnson Front row, left to right: Zayda and Keegan Johnson

CJ, Cade, Junior, and Cedric Johnson are two sets of brothers who also happen to be cousins. All will travel to Lincoln today to defend Bellevue West’s Class A State Basketball title. Last week, I sat down with the boys for an inside look on their relationships with each other as well as their future plans.


Did you all play on teams together when you were younger?

Cade: (referring to Junior) He played on the same football team with us a long time ago and then he quit.

Junior: Yeah, I was bad.

CJ: I only played with Cade.

Cade: It was just me and CJ.

Cedric: I was on the younger team.

Cade: Yeah Cedric has always been on the younger team.

Cedric: Yeah I was always by myself, with my own age.

CJ: No one cares about Junior.

(All four laugh)

Junior: Yeah I’m more of a social guy, I don’t play sports.

Cedric: He isolated himself as a little boy.

Cade: Cedric actually skipped two grades and played up with me and CJ Junior was actually down a grade. Just kidding. We all played our own ages except for me and CJ; we played together.

 

How would you describe your chemistry on the court and the field?

 

CJ: Not very good. (laughs)

Cade: No, it’s good! Junior and Cedric are kinda on the same page, and me and CJ are more on the same page because they’re on varsity but they’re on scout. So it’s a lot different than the main group. But they’re both two different players and CJ is a different player. I mean, we’re all different players so we all kinda do our own thing.

 

Since CJ is going to Wyoming, is Wyoming on the radar for the rest of you?

 

Cade: For me! Yeah!!

Junior: I’m looking at ITT Tech.

Cade: It’s definitely on the radar for me. For Cedric, it’d be the University of Phoenix. I don’t know about them.

Cedric: It’s on the radar for me.

Junior: I’m looking for a good community college.

Cade: Junior and Cedric are still young so. For me, by this summer I’m gonna have to figure out where I want to go. Wyoming’s pretty high on the radar.

CJ: No. Please no.

Cade: I think if I went to Wyoming I’d probably room with CJ.

CJ: Nooo way! No.

Cedric: I’ve completely converted over to Wyoming.

Junior: I’ve already committed.

CJ: Gosshhhhhhh.

 

Who are your role models?

 

Cedric: CJ.

Junior: Obama.

Cade: My role model is probably…I know J. Cole came out with an album called Role Models. Um I actually am considering a rap career coming up soon.

CJ: Oh my gooosshhh.

Cade: I mean, CJ’s my manager.

CJ: The worst rapper.

Junior: He’s not that bad.

Cade: But my role model would probably be my Dad.

Cedric: I was actually looking into taking an accounting class, because if CJ goes NFL, I can be his manager.

CJ: What the hell.

Cedric: And handle the money.

Junior: I’ve always wanted to be an artist.

Cade: What does that have to do with our role models?

Junior: Uhhh I’d say Picasso is.

Cade: No, Junior like serious.

Junior: Oh, seriously? Kobe. Kobe Bryant.

Cade: What about you CJ?

CJ: I would say my Dad.

Cade: Yeah I’d say my Dad too because he’s left some pretty big footsteps for us to follow in. He’s been a lot of places and knows a lot of things.

 

How do you feel about Cade’s vine career?

 

CJ: God it’s sooo bad.

Junior: He’s like Jack & Jack really.

CJ: It’s fallin’ off!

Cade: Well first of all, I promised my fans that I would take a little break because you know, you have to keep them on their feet. So as soon as I hit you with one, it’s just gonna hit!

CJ: He doesn’t have any fans!

Cade: They don’t like it as much because with me comes all the fame. We can’t go in public that much or they can’t be with me.

Junior: How do you go to the mall?

Cade: I don’t go to the mall, I can’t.

CJ: He does a lot of online shopping.

Cade & CJ, how did it feel at the end of your last football game together?

 

Cade: I cried.

CJ: I was just happy for it to be over.

Cade: No he was not happy. But I don’t think it was our last football game together if I commit to Wyoming.

CJ: (laughs) Go your own waayyy!

Cade: I know but I’m saying if…

Junior: I’m still looking at ITT Tech.

Cade: If I get offered by Wyoming and then other schools then I don’t know, I’m just really curious. But I like Wyoming a lot. I think I like it almost more than CJ.

Cedric: I think I like Wyoming too.

Cade: [Junior and Cedric] have never been to Wyoming, so they can’t say anything.

CJ: Cedric, what’d you say?

Cedric: I think Wyoming has a big interest in me too.

CJ: They probably do.

Cade: We’ll see.

Junior: I’m looking at Bowling Green like Malik, so might have to go that direction.

 

How do your parents show support for you?

 

Cedric: Need a new pair of shoes?

(laughs)

Cade: That’s actually for Junior. Junior gets a new pair of shoes every week!

Junior: I didn’t get mine this week so…

Cedric: Need shoes, call Mom. Need some sports advice, call Dad.

Cade: Our parents are always there supporting us. We all do summer basketball and we travel a lot and they’re always there with expenses. The program that we play for is $1,000 a player.

Cedric: Plus jerseys, plus hotels.

Cade: Plus your gas money getting there.

Junior: Plus food.

Cade: They’re really active, two great sets of parents.

Cedric: Our Mom flies down here once a month just to see me & Junior play. Or maybe drives 16 hours just to see us for three days, so I really appreciate how much she does for us.

How do you show support for each other?

 

Cade: I’m hard on both Junior and Cedric because they need to get their act together sometimes. They’re both great guys. CJ, I can’t really tell him anything.

Cedric: CJ tells us all something!

Cade: But we do spend a lot of time together. On the weekends, we hang out. Every day I give them rides home from practice.

Cedric: We live like five minutes away from each other, if even that much.

Do you have a favorite moment together?

 

CJ: My favorite moment was in practice once when Coach Klein said, “You can’t dribble the ball.” and …

Cade & CJ & Junior: …the first thing Cedric does is he dribbles the ball!

(laughs)

Cade: We have a lot of fun moments. You can’t really rule out one. Because all of the moments are fun moments.

Cedric: Exactly.

Do you have any hidden talents?

 

Cedric: I used to be able to sing back in my day.

Cade: Like legit, I’m kinda a good singer.

Junior: I might become a rapper.

Cade: They have a lot of talents but they aren’t really hidden. I can sing, I can rap, I can vine.

Junior: Is rapping a talent?

CJ: I can juggle.

Cedric: I was the best juggler at my elementary school.

Junior: I’m really good with my hands. I can walk on my hands.

CJ: Show us right now.

Junior: I can’t.

Cedric: Show us.

Junior: It’s a HIDDEN talent!

One more question, who’s the best athlete?

 

CJ: Me…I’mma leave on that!

Cade: I can put them in order! CJ then me then Cedric then Junior.

Cedric: Yeah, that would be it.

Junior: I’m at the bottom of the chain.

Cade: Junior’s fast but not as good as me.

Junior: Like I was saying, I’m looking at a career path through ITT Tech.

Cedric: If you want to bring us all up, I think my cousin and their little brother Keegan, would be at the top.

Junior: Or our little sister. She’s going D-I!

Cade: Is that all?

Junior: Follow us on Twitter. And Instagram.

 

Codi Pierce 

Reporter

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