I just needed a change,” said former Glendale basketball star Monty Johal. “Something that could maybe regenerate what I had going for me when I was going into college.”
And what he had going into college was historic. The last time we saw Monty Johal play in the Ozarks, he was setting Springfield Public Schools and city scoring records in 2018. It earned him a Division I basketball scholarship to Tennessee State. “I had a great time at Tennessee State, but I couldn’t stay healthy,” said Johal.
First, he blew out his Achilles tendon. “It happened right before Covid, and I couldn’t walk for about five months,” said Johal. “When I came back, my other Achilles had pretty bad tendinitis so I had to have surgery on that as well.”
He thought 2021 was his year. “This past season I broke my left hand the day before our very first game,” said Johal. “And the season before that I was always hurt, there was something always going on.”
But now he’s back here at the Strafford Sports Center, filling in on the Southwest Baptist summer league team. “I’m almost back,” he said. “This is the best I’ve felt in years. Having six surgeries in three years, a lot of people might stop playing basketball, and that might be the smart thing to do.”
But Monty has made the smart decision for him. Monty now has his degree from Tennessee State and is transferring to Division II Carson-Newman University in Tennessee with a full three years of eligibility remaining. “No one really ever does have seven years of college eligibility,” said Monty. “But in my circumstance with Covid and medical redshirts, I have seven. I plan to get my MBA next year.”
Monty, whose parents are from India, is used to blazing his own trail. “It’s crazy the love you get from different people,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’m one of maybe 20, maybe 15 Punjabi people to play Division I basketball. It’s an honor to be part of that 15.”
And he plans to put it all to good use in the Ozarks after he gets a few things done first. “I really want to play basketball overseas,” said Monty. “Get to experience what that feels like. And then I want to save up my money and come back and start my own business. I’m not sure what kind of business, but some kind of local business.”
