John graduated from Deshler High School in 1959 where he was a four sport athlete. He played basketball, baseball, football and ran track as a Tiger. In basketball he was team MVP in 1959, All Tri-Cities in 1958 and 1959, All-District in 1958-1959, All-TVC in 1958 and 1959, and All-State in both his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 26 points per game in 1958 and 23 points in 1959. Four times during his high school career he scored over 40 points in a game. After high school, John attended Auburn University on a basketball scholarship. He played four years lettering in 1962 and 1963. The 1962 Tiger team was 18-6 and was 11-3 in the SEC. The following year they went 18-4 and 10-4 in league play.