Basketball court dedicated to Jimmy Johnson

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday to refurbish and rename a local basketball court in honor of a longtime Morgan City Recreation Department volunteer who died recently.
The basketball court under the U.S. 90 bridge overpass at Fourth and Greenwood streets will be named Jimmy Johnson Memorial Park in honor of Coach Jimmy Johnson, who passed away nearly two months ago.
Johnson was a long-time volunteer in the Morgan City Recreation Department in football, basketball and baseball and also coached black youth in the same sports prior to integration.
The refurbishment was done in partnership of the City of Morgan City and Hoodstock, a local community organization.
Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said that Hoodstock founder Courtney “Schola” Long approached him when he first became mayor about remodeling the basketball court, which Grizzaffi said is the most used in the city.
However, Grizzaffi said that at the time, he had a lot on his plate with just taking over as mayor and working on many projects for the city.
“It was a great idea,” Grizzaffi said at Tuesday’s groundbreaking. “We kind of kept pushing it back, pushing it back, and then there’s a big community push to do something for Mr. Jimmy Johnson. Had many ideas in play, and then here comes Courtney again and he says, ‘remember that idea I had when you first became mayor? We’d like to try it again, but this time name it after Coach Jimmy.’”
After securing funding and getting approval from Johnson’s wife, Deloris Johnson, the project will go forward.
“It’s an opportunity to make it a first-class venue, and that’s what we plan on doing here today,” Grizzaffi said.
Grizzaffi said the court has been ordered and work was to begin Wednesday on the renovations. He said they will take about a month to complete. The facility will have two sets of bleachers as well as be encircled by a black fence. The court will have Johnson’s face emblazoned in the center with the court’s name, Jimmy Johnson Memorial Park, surrounding it.
Although it has taken some time to get the court remodeled, Long said Tuesday there was a reason why things worked out like they did.
“With the unfortunate passing of Mr. Jimmy, it was a perfect opportunity and well deserved for him to be honored in this manner, because I feel like being that this court is highly utilized, there will be kids from years to come that’ll come out there and see Mr. Jimmy’s face in the middle of the court and ask those questions: ‘who is Mr. Jimmy?’ So it gives an opportunity for his legacy to continue even beyond the generations that actually got a chance to know him,” Long said.
Long said he has plans to have a tournament at the court.
He also said the park will be a complex with future plans of expanding it beyond one court. Long said it "offers an opportunity to promote another tourist attraction to the city and spread Mr. Jimmy's story and legacy beyond Morgan City as visitors come in to the city."
Johnson’s family was honored to have the court named for him.
“To have this happen for my dad, it’s awe-some,” Jimmy Johnson Jr. said.