LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Lock Haven University assistant men’s basketball coach “Jumpin” Johnny Wilson has been featured in a tell-all book entitled “Jump, Johnny, Jump”.

“Jump, Johnny, Jump” features stories of Wilson’s playing days as a Harlem Globetrotter, his baseball playing days in the Negro Leagues as a player for the Chicago American Giants and stories of growing up in the great hoops town of Anderson, Indiana.

The book, penned by one-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and Orlando Sentinel writer Dick Burdette, focuses on Wilson’s struggles growing up in the Great Depression era as well as his struggles with adverse poverty and segregation.

“There are so many stories about the things we faced when I was growing up, I’m just pleased to get them out there so people can get a look into the way things were and how we overcame adversity,” said Wilson of his memoir.

Wilson’s story also follows the people who were placed in his life, such as Los Angeles Dodgers great and Wilson’s best friend of 70 years, Hall of Famer Carl Erskine and Anderson head coach Mr. Charles L. Cummings, as Wilson refers to him, who helped him succeed and strive for his great goals in life and athletics.

“The story tells a great narrative of how things were when my dad grew up”, said Wilson’s son and current Lock Haven Men’s Basketball head coach John Wilson Jr., “I heard so many of these stories when I grew up and I’m delighted that my dad could get his story out there for people to read.”

The 245 page memoir, published by AuthorHouse Publishers is available for $18.00 and will be sold to the public at future home basketball contests and the LHU bookstore in the Parson’s Union Building on campus. At the games where Wilson’s books will be sold, Wilson will also be available to sign the narrative following each individual contest.