Author: Sam Hargrave
On the 30th August 2024, Netflix star Bryan Penn-Johnson was announced as a new addition to the roster for the 2024-25 NBL Division One season.
Three weeks later, we caught up with the 7’1” American to see how he has settled in and what we can expect to see this coming season.
Penn-Johnson commenting on pre-season: “It has gone pretty well. We still have the rest of this weekend and then into next week but yes it has been pretty good.”
Loughborough Riders 24/25 campaign started with a 77-60 win in the trophy over the Bristol Hurricanes.
Reflecting on the teams performance, Penn-Johnson said: “The team played pretty good. I have watched some of the film and we have figured out some little pointers and some things we need to adjust on defence but once I get on the court more frequently with the guys we are going to figure a lot of things out, so it is pretty exciting.”
Since that first win of the season, Will Maynard’s side have lost 77-80 to MK Breakers in an agonising loss and have beaten City of Birmingham Rockets 78-74.
Alongside Penn-Johnson there have been three other new additions to the roster for this season with Loughborough welcoming Mike Joiner, Liam Campbell and Cameron Nyarko. Bryan informed us on how they have all settled into life at the Riders.
“Pretty well. A lot of the guys were already out here. I know Mike was in Nottingham and Liam was already in London before. A lot of the guys have been out here for a while now, so the adjustment is pretty quick for them, and they are used to the lifestyle. On the court we have already matched up pretty well.”
Fans can expect some very solid team performances this year: “I have been discussing where my opportunities and position is going to be with coach Will. It is mainly going to be on the defensive side. I think we are a very defence orientated team. Really, we are going to see a lot of us shutting teams down and imposing our will.”
Penn-Johnson on individual and team goals for the season ahead: “Just to have fun and win. Just go out there and enjoy basketball. I think that this is a pretty good year for that, I think we have guys who have matched really well. There are no egos on the team. We are going to have a fun year.”
Penn-Johnson, who joins from California Polytechnic State University, featured in Netflix’s “Last Chance U” series. He suited up for East Los Angeles College and won the Pac-12 championship with the Huskies before transferring for LSU as a junior.
We asked Bryan if the cameras added any pressure on performance whilst Netflix were shooting the series.
“Not really. It added something different with all of the cameras being there. The majority of the guys really did not care that the cameras were there because a lot of us were there to improve our lives and improve our basketball”
“For me personally I found it fun, I am not going to sit here and act like it was not, but it was not my cup of tea.”
He also played for Wasatch Academy helping them to a 24-2 record and to a number three state ranking in the state of Utah.
Reflecting on his time there Penn-Johnson said: “It was really fun. I was in Vegas for a couple of years before that so moving from Vegas to Utah was insane. Going from a desert to a mountain valley and having to deal with that weather change”
“But by going there I gained brothers for life who I still talk to, to this day.”
Here is what fans can expect from Penn-Johnson this season: “I go out there and try to be a force on both ends. I try to find myself positionless, not in a sense of not having a position, it just means that my activity can stretch across one through five. I can go out there and effect the game in any position”
“My activity, my intensity, my energy, helps produce the game in different ways.”
“It maybe me adding points, maybe rebounds, maybe blocks some games, maybe assists, maybe five charges sometimes. It depends on what the game and flow is and where I am at.”
We asked the former top-ranked player in Utah who has his favourite basketball player of all time and his favourite athlete outside of the sport.
“My favourite athlete outside of basketball would probably be Jon Jones. I am a big fan of combat sports. I really like UFC and boxing. I did boxing for a couple of years”
“When it comes to on the court I liked Kevin Garnett. I enjoy the way he played the game, his intensity and passion for it. I think I model myself a lot after him.”
