Truman State University Athletics

Johnnie Wesley attended Manley High School in Chicago, where he received honorable mention All-Area accolades. After graduation in 1978 he attended Triton (Ill.) Junior College where, as a sophomore, he was named the MVP of the N4C League and was chosen to the All-Region 4 third team. He and a Triton teammate, Leroy Carter, transferred to the university in the fall of 1980. The Bulldogs finished fourth in the regular MIAA campaign. But they won the first-ever postseason playoff to determine the MIAA representative to the NCAA Division II tournament. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Southwest Regional in Florence, Ala., where they beat Jacksonville State (Ala.) in the first round. However, they lost a tough 63-59 regional championship game to host North Alabama the next night. Mr. Wesley averaged 17.3 points. As a team the 1981-82 Bulldogs were unable to duplicate the achievements of the 1980-81 squad. However, Mr. Wesley improved on most of his junior season statistics. As a senior he averaged 23.7 point. When he finished his Bulldog career, he held five school records. He recorded 1137 career points despite playing just two seasons at Truman He is the only Bulldog basketball player to earn a spot on two All-American teams in the same season. After finishing his career at the university, Johnnie Wesley played a year of professional basketball in Spain. In 1984 he was invited to perform for the Forestville Eagles in the South Australia Basketball Association. Three years later, he joined the SAFM Buffaloes in the Southeast Australia Basketball League. Then, on September 3, 1989, he met an untimely death in an automobile accident in Australia just 11 days before his 30th birthday.