His favorite basketball player was Bill Russell, whom he admired more for his many championships than his athletic ability.[20] He also idolized players such as Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes,[21] and practiced "all day".[3] Johnson came from an athletic family. His father played high school basketball in his home state of Mississippi,[23] and Johnson learned the finer points about the game from him. Johnson's mother, originally from North Carolina,[23] had also played basketball as a child, and she grew up watching her brothers play the game.[20]