There are two sides to every story and there are also two versions of George Brown College student athlete Ted Johnson.
On the basketball hardwood, the 20-year old shooting guard is aggressive, highly motivated, wanting to excel at every opportunity and taking instructions from head coach Jonathan Smith to make his game better.
When he's not playing hoops, Johnson is focused on his studies in the second year of a three-year Business Administration-Accounting program that, he hopes, will one day help him secure work in the accounting field.
And helping him on the basketball court and in the classroom is his interest and fascination with - numbers.
"I want to be successful and the more work I put in, the better it is," said Johnson, who was born in Montreal and now lives in Toronto. "Need lots of patience and time. They both go hand-in-hand and that's for everything I do – patience and time."
Johnson likes problem solving with equations. He's also one who can sit quietly in the corner of a room figuring out puzzles. Get him a book of Sudoku puzzles and he's your friend for life.
"Numbers, I like figuring out puzzles," said Johnson, who didn't know when he first got hooked on the world of mathematics.
A former two-time high school basketball MVP, Johnson is quite content in his job with the Huskies - and that's coming off the bench. He's also fourth in scoring on the 17-man George Brown roster with a 66.7 percent shooting average.
"I spent the summer working on my game and basketball coach Jonathan Smith helped me out," recalled Johnson. "It's all about patience, time and learning. I am now averaging twice as many points as last year."
Basketball is a hot topic for discussion at the Johnson household. His older brother Dickson played the game in high school and his younger sister, Barbara, is being touted as one of the top 16-year old female players in the country.
"He's a great young man," said Smith when asked about Johnson. "He averaged about 25 points a game in high school, but what I like about him is that he works hard, takes advice and packages it in a way that is special to his success."
When he's not focused on academics, working out, practicing hoops, playing games or listening to his favorite hip hop or R and B music, Johnson is also quite active away from George Brown helping out at community events.
"My mother has influenced me greatly," said Johnson. "She has guided me and said to work hard, get serious about my future and stay focused. When I'm not, she's on me with a reminder to buckle down."
Source: George Brown College
Photo Credit: Thomas Chung