Southern University announced Kevin Johnson as the 15th head coach of the men’s basketball program at a news conference held Wednesday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
Johnson comes to Southern from Tulane, where he spent the past four seasons as an assistant under Green Wave coach Ron Hunter. Tulane went 20-11 last season, its first 20-win season in 10 years.
“I am thrilled, honored to be the next basketball coach at Southern University,” Johnson said. “And, just as important as that, I am excited.”
In all, Johnson has 28 years of Louisiana coaching experience. Before coaching at Tulane, he had stops at UL, Nicholls, Louisiana Tech and Centenary, where he served as head coach for six seasons.
Johnson inherits a program that went 64-82 in five seasons under Sean Woods. Southern was 15-17 last season, a mark that included a fourth-place finish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at 11-7. The Jaguars were in first place midway through the conference schedule before faltering in the final weeks.
For Johnson, a Morgan City native whose mother is a 1963 graduate of Southern, there were numerous ties that made his decision feel like it was the right one.
He mentioned having met several former Southern coaches during his career. It's a list that includes Carl Stewart, Andy Stoglin and Ben Jobe. He also talked about former coach and current Southern athletic director Roman Banks, whom Johnson coached as an assistant at Northwestern State in the late ‘80s.
“When you think about the history of Southern basketball — 13 regular-season titles, 10 conference tournament championships, nine NCAA tournament appearances, second only to the school across town — that’s remarkable,” Johnson said. “That’s the standard. That’s where we’re going.”
Johnson also took a look back. He spoke about his connections to former Southern and NBA players such as Bob Love, whom Johnson’s mother knew when she was on campus; Avery Johnson, whom he spoke with prior to agreeing to coach Southern; and Bobby Phills, who played against Johnson’s younger brother Dave in high school.
There were call-outs to former Jaguars Kevin Florent and Carlos Sample as Johnson stated his credentials for being a good fit. Fitting in is a process that began Tuesday night, when Johnson had his first meeting with the Southern team.
“In my short time here, I really enjoyed meeting with the players last night,” Johnson said. “When I looked at those guys, I saw an energy. I saw wide eyes. I saw guys who want some direction and who are eager to get to work. I also saw some guys who want to win. It made me feel good.”
The immediate concerns for Johnson are assembling a staff and recruiting. The Jaguars return their most productive post players in Jalen Reynolds, Festus Ndumanya and JaRonn Wilkens, but lost five guards.
“We have about five or six scholarships that we want to fill and, just looking at the roster, we need some guards,” Johnson said. “I see some size that you can compete and win with. I’ve watched several games this season, but we’ve got to go get some guards.”
Johnson said he is looking for an elusive combination in the guards he wants.
“My recruiting manner on guards is simple, but they’re hard to find,” he said. “I’m looking for some jump-shooting, ballhandling blurs. If you know where any are, please direct them this way.”
Prior to his stint at Tulane, Johnson spent nine seasons as an assistant to Bob Marlin at UL. During that time, the Ragin' Cajuns averaged 19 wins per season. Johnson is credited with recruiting nine of UL’s 17 all-conference selections during his stay in Lafayette, including Elfrid Payton, the No. 10 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Johnson went to school at Morgan City before playing collegiately for Texas-Pan American, now known as Texas-Rio Grande Valley. After playing overseas for one year, Johnson began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant at Northwestern State.