John received only 106 at-bats as a freshman at NC State in 2009, but made the most of them, hitting .302 with 25 runs scored and stealing 7 bags for the Wolf Pack. In high school he was named to the Newark Star-Ledger’s all-prep team as a senior in 2008 when he hit .350, but his most impressive season at the Hun School (Princeton, NJ), came as a junior in 2007. He finished that season with an absurd .525 batting average and 48 stolen bases in just 49 attempts, which converts to a 98% success rate. John finished his high school career with a school-record 108 total steals, and also set the record for home runs in a season (8) as a sophomore and set the mark for both career and single-season goals scored for the soccer team.