A decade ago, a Burlington County boy had an on-court scare. In his altered future? UConn’s NCAA title run.

Mathew Johnson can recall the moment that his life could have ended on the basketball court as if it was yesterday.

More than a decade ago, his father, Herman, drove his son an hour-and-a-half from their home in Columbus, N.J., to an AAU practice in Paterson. Johnson, then a junior at Life Center Academy in Burlington, played for the Playaz Basketball Club.

The 5-foot-9 point guard was running through a three-man weave drill, one of which he’d done at least 300 times before. But after he ran twice up and down the court, Johnson started feeling dizzy and light-headed. He walked over to the bleachers, trying to reclaim his balance, but in a split second he blacked out.

When Johnson regained consciousness moments later and looked to get back on the court, his father insisted on taking him to an emergency room. After seeing cardiac specialists, Johnson stayed overnight to undergo more testing. Not thinking much of it, he was more worried about making it to the buses for a tournament in Virginia.

“When I woke up, my mom’s walking into the room and she’s crying,” recalled Johnson, now 28. “I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ She comes to sit by the bed and tells me the doctor said, ‘You have a heart condition and you’ll never be able to play basketball again.’ I remember crying for probably 36 hours straight. I was crushed, completely in shock.”

Johnson was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that has taken the life of Philly basketball players Hank Gathers and Danny Rumph. While the diagnosis was said to have been confirmed by a second opinion at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, his parents remained optimistic they could find more answers.

Those answers took time. Johnson thought his career was over until they found a third opinion from Minneapolis Heart Institute that indicated he did not have HCM after all. At that point, he knew his path in basketball would be different from his original vision.

“That was music to my ears; it was a no-brainer,” Johnson said. “I had to keep telling myself that I was lucky to be alive, but I put so much stock into the game of basketball and trying to get a college scholarship that I was like, ‘I’m going to go back and play.’”

Now in his fourth season on the UConn’s men’s basketball staff, Johnson has kept the game in his life. As a video and scouting coordinator, he’s carving a path on the coaching scene, where he helped the Huskies win the NCAA title in April.

It was his alternative journey that allowed Johnson to find a passion in coaching.

“After having my setback with HCM, I continued to play the game in college,” Johnson said. “It’s just my passion for the game that continues to propel me to the point that I’m at. I couldn’t imagine life any other way.”

Throughout Johnson’s playing career, he has seen and learned from legendary coaches, but the biggest influence has been his father.

“From the time that I was born, I was in the stroller and I would go with him to the gym,” Johnson said. “He was the person that introduced me to basketball, taught me basketball, and really just made sure that I kept it as a daily thing.”

Herman Johnson grew up in Jersey City in a neighborhood called Curries Woods. He played four years of basketball at Henry Snyder High. After becoming a firefighter, he looked to get involved in the game again through coaching.

His stints as an assistant coach came from two powerhouse programs in the area: St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J., learning under Kevin Boyle, who’s now at Montverde Academy; and St. Anthony High School, run by UConn coach Dan Hurley’s father Bob for 45 years before the school’s closure in 2017.

Spending most days in the gym meant Herman Johnson brought his sons along for the ride, including Mathew.

“He was born in the gym,” the elder Johnson said. “The thing I loved about him is that he always wanted to do things the right way. I would tell people, if you put the team in the gym and tell them to run 10 laps, half the team would be cutting the corners. Mat was that guy that would make sure he ran outside of the lines.”

With his father’s mentorship, Johnson competed for top-notch programs. He began his high school career at St. Anthony’s before transferring to Life Center Academy. It wasn’t long until college basketball coaches started learning his name. He was on the rise and becoming one of the best guards in New Jersey.

“That was just the result of me putting in the amount of time that I did,” Johnson said. “Being outside for five or six hours a day just playing basketball, and waking up before middle school and getting a workout in the driveway.”

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After Johnson was diagnosed with HCM, he transferred for his senior year to Northern Burlington Regional, where his father had coached for seven seasons.

It took about eight months to uncover more answers about Johnson’s heart condition. He was flying out to Minnesota to receive a series of tests, including monitoring his heart during six months of inactivity. Even after a doctor told him that it wasn’t HCM, Johnson had to wait as part of a lengthy process to get fully cleared to play with Northern Burlington because of concerns about liability.

And the other aspect, Johnson wondered, was if any of this would be worth it if he couldn’t play in college.

“I had a bunch of schools that were on the brink of offering scholarships at Division I universities,” Johnson said. “But once I had the whole heart issue, a bunch of schools said, ‘We can’t get our athletic trainers to sign off on this.’”

With the colleges that were recruiting him reversing course because of the medical risk, Johnson decided to do a postgraduate year under coach Ron Kane at the Lawrenceville School, hoping to prove that he could compete at a high level for a full season.

There were still nerves within his family. Johnson’s parents almost lost their son that day on the court. Some would say they were crazy to let him play, and his father was never at ease watching. He signed off on allowing his son to continue basketball since it was what Johnson loved most.

“Usually people find out that they have HCM when they’re doing an autopsy,” Johnson said. “My parents asked every day, ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘Are you good?’ ‘Maybe you should take a break.’ It was constant.”

Johnson’s year at Lawrenceville rebuilt his confidence as a player.

Coming off the bench, he averaged 16 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. His performance didn’t go unnoticed. The phone calls were coming in again from college recruiters.

He decided to play Division II ball at the University of Tampa as a preferred walk-on. His wife, Cyanna — who was his girlfriend at the time — received a large amount of academic funding for schooling there, so they decided to go together. Within two weeks of being on campus, a scholarship offer opened on the team, and Johnson took that spot.

Throughout his four college seasons, Johnson did not have a scare on the court. But in his senior year, he was battling a lingering groin issue. There were opportunities to play overseas, but part of Johnson wasn’t sure how feasible it could be. He came to the realization that it might be time to pursue a different path.

“The ball stops bouncing at some point, and for me, it was almost earlier than I would have liked,” Johnson said. “But I’ve accomplished my goals of playing college basketball. I’ve exceeded the risk. Now it’s time for me to pivot because the risk isn’t necessarily worth the reward at this point.”

Johnson recalls at a young age being told he would make a great coach. Before he was cleared to play, he would help run AAU basketball clinics in the area. During a practice, Bob Hurley said, “You can still have an impact on the game of basketball through coaching.”

Those words stuck with him. Years later, there happened to be an opening for a graduate assistant on the UConn staff. Johnson got the job, moved to Connecticut, and embarked on a new journey.

This past year marked a special point in Johnson’s life. UConn earned its second NCAA title in 10 years with its 76-59 win over San Diego State, and Johnson’s second son was born during the Final Four.

“It’s really incredible the culmination of this entire year,” Johnson said. “My first year in a full-time role as the video coordinator, the success that we had all year long, and the birth of my son. My wife sent me a picture before the game of her on a couch with both of the boys in UConn gear — I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”

Johnson hopes one day to lead a team as a Division I coach. He’s learned along the way the importance of leadership, determination, and overcoming adversity. He hopes to impart those values upon athletes who hold a similar passion for the game.

“You make sacrifices to accomplish hard things,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s being told that you can’t play basketball anymore, it requires a lot of sacrifice to achieve those things. I’m just so grateful that it all paid off.”

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