Clinton "Trey" Johnson III (born August 30, 1984) is an American-Qatari former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball with the Alcorn State Braves and the Jackson State Tigers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). During his senior year, he won the SWAC Player of the Year award. He has spent much of his professional career with the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA Development League (NBA D-League), a minor league basketball organization owned and run by the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his time in the D-League, he received a call-up to the NBA and has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers. He has also spent several short stints overseas in Serbia, France, and Italy. He has represented Qatar in international competition.
Early life
Trey Johnson was born and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. His father, Clinton Jr., and his older brother, Will, played college baseball for Jackson State University. He followed his father footsteps and started playing baseball since he was little. He then started to play basketball during his teenage years. However, he only played basketball intermittently through middle school and high school. He attended Murrah High School and played both basketball and baseball there. He starred as a pitcher during high school and after graduating, he was selected in the 30th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the Kansas City Royals. However, he opted to attend college and play collegiate sports before turning pro.
College career
Johnson attended Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi. He played both baseball and basketball there for one season. As a basketball player, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. After a year, he enrolled at Alcorn State University and continued to play both sports there. However, at his first appearance as a pitcher for Alcorn State, he suffered a ligament injury on his elbow that required a Tommy John surgery. He needed one year to fully recover from the injury and therefore, he became a full-time basketball player. He averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 41.5% from three-point range. However, he was unsatisfied with the basketball program there and later transferred to Jackson State University for his junior season.
Due to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer rules, Johnson sat out the 2004–05 season. The following season, he led the Jackson State Tigers to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Semifinal but the Tigers was defeated by the eventual champion, the Southern Jaguars, 66–59. He averaged 23.5 points on 45.5 percent shooting, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32 games. With 23.5 points per game, he became the 10th leading scorer in the country and second in the SWAC. He scored a season-high 40 points during a game against Texas Southern. After his junior season, he declared himself eligible for the 2006 NBA draft but later withdrew his name and decided to return to Jackson State for his senior year.
In his senior year, Johnson led the Tigers to the SWAC Final. He scored a game-high 33 points in the final as Jackson State defeated Mississippi Valley State 81–71. Jackson State also earned a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years. However, their NCAA trip was cut short when the Tigers was beaten 112–69 by the eventual champion, the Florida Gators. Nevertheless, Johnson became one of the season's best performers by averaging 27.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 35 games. He ranked second in scoring, after Reggie Williams who averaged 28.1 points per game. He was also named as the SWAC Player of the Year. He scored a career-high 49 points during a game against UTEP. He finished his college career with 1,698 points in only two seasons with Jackson State and became the school's eighth all-time leading scorer.
Professional career
2007–08 season
Johnson was automatically eligible for the 2007 NBA draft after finishing his four-year college eligibility. However, he went undrafted. He then played for the Miami Heat in the 2007 Orlando Summer League. On October 1, 2007, he was signed by the New Orleans Hornets for their training camp and preseason roster. He played in five games, averaging 4.0 points and 1.8 assists in 13.8 minutes per game. Before the season started, Johnson was waived by the Hornets and became a free agent.