John was much more than his bio read, everything he did, he did with flair and class. He would talk to younger players and steer them in the right direction. The famous rapper Jay Z even put his name and his catch phrase in the song “Public Service Announcement”. This made the phrase “Finish Ya Breakfast” famous. To John Finish Ya Breakfast meant; after I spoon feed you (give you a nice pass) Finish Ya Breakfast or make the layup. The term would expand to working really hard to get an offensive rebound and miss the put back or making a great dribble move to fake out your defender but miss an easy layup.
John was also the elder statesman of the New York City Summer Tournament scene. He would play in as many tournaments as his body would allow. His favorites were The Dyckman Basketball Tournament, The Entertainers Basketball Classic, Hoops in The Sun, The Kingdome and the Tri State Classic. All of these tournament directors had his phone number on speed dial. His opinion really mattered so he was always consulted on many major decisions.