Kevin Johnson (basketball coach)

Kevin Johnson

Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Southern
Conference	SWAC
Record	18–14 (.563)
Biographical details
Born	(1966-11-11) November 11, 1966 (age 58) Morgan City, Louisiana, U.S.
Playing career
1984–1988	Texas Pan–American
1988–1989	Leicester Riders
1990–1992	Oldham Celtics
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1989–1990	Northwestern State (assistant)
1990–1992	Oldham Celtics
1992–1996	Bryan HS (TX) (assistant)
1996–1997	Texas Pan–American (assistant)
1997–1999	Centenary (assistant)
1999–2005	Centenary
2005–2007	Louisiana Tech (assistant)
2007–2010	Nicholls (assistant)
2010–2019	Louisiana (assistant)
2019–2023	Tulane (assistant)
2023–present	Southern
Head coaching record
Overall	83–114 (.421)

Kevin Johnson (born November 11, 1966) is an American basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Southern Jaguars men's basketball team.^[1][2]

Playing career

Johnson played at Texas Pan–American (now UT Rio Grande Valley) under Lon Kruger for two seasons. In his senior year, he averaged 16.2 points per game and earned American South Conference First-Team honors.^[3][4] He'd embark on a professional career in England, playing one season for the Leicester Riders, and two seasons with the Oldham Celtics, acting as player/coach for the latter.^[4]

Coaching career

After his first year of playing abroad, Johnson returned stateside for a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Northwestern State. Once his playing career was completed he spent four years as an assistant coach at Bryan High School in Texas before rejoining his alma mater as an assistant coach for the 1996–1997 season.^[5] In 1997, he'd join Billy Kennedy's staff at Centenary and when Kennedy departed for the head coaching position at Southeastern Louisiana, Johnson was elevated to head coach. From 1999 to 2005, he put together a 65–100 overall record with the Gentlemen.^[6] He stepped down after a 3–24 season.^[7]

After Centenary, Johnson would have assistant coaching stops at Louisiana Tech and Nicholls before a nine-year stretch under Bob Marlin at Louisiana.^[8][5] With the Ragin' Cajuns, he'd be on staff for the squad's Sun Belt conference tournament championship team and 2014 NCAA Tournament team. In 2019, Johnson joined Ron Hunter's coaching staff at Tulane.^[4]

On March 29, 2023, Johnson was named the 15th men's basketball coach in Southern history, replacing Sean Woods.^[1][9]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Centenary Gentlemen (NCAA Division I Independent) (1999–2003)
1999–00	Centenary	10–18	–	–
2000–01	Centenary	8–19	–	–
2001–02	Centenary	14–13	–	–
2002–03	Centenary	14–14	–	–
Centenary Gentlemen (Mid-Continent Conference) (2003–2005)
2003–04	Centenary	16–12	10–6	3rd
2004–05	Centenary	3–24	1–15	9th
Centenary:		65–100 (.394)	11–21 (.344)
Southern Jaguars (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (2023–present)
2023–24	Southern	18–14	12–6	T–3rd
Southern:		18–14 (.563)	12–6 (.667)
Total:		83–114 (.421)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

1. "Southern Names Kevin Johnson Head Men's Basketball Coach". Southern University.
2. "Kevin Johnson - Head Men's Basketball Coach - MEN'S BASKETBALL Coaches". Southern University.
3. "Kevin Johnson College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
4. "Kevin Johnson - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory". Tulane University Athletics.
5. "Kevin Johnson - Men's Basketball Coach". Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
6. "Kevin Johnson Coaching Record". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
7. "Centenary basketball coach steps down - UPI.com". UPI.
8. "Kevin Johnson - Men's Basketball Coach". LA Tech Athletics.
9. "Southern University names new coach of men's basketball". AP NEWS. March 30, 2023.