The family settled in Kansas City, Kansas, where John would first go to Dunbar Elementary School and later Sumner High School. John became enamored with the sport of basketball while on a field trip from Dunbar Elementary to the new Northeast Junior High School in Kansas City, Kansas, where he saw his first official basketball court. He soon became an all-around athlete at Sumner High School and chose basketball as his favorite sport, although he failed to make the basketball team at Sumner. Instead, he lettered in gymnastics and was the basketball team manager.