Aug. 11, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
Thomas Johnson, a long-time high school coach in both Alabama and Tennessee, and more recently an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee and UAB, was officially named an assistant men's basketball coach at Samford University on Monday, announced Head Coach Jimmy Tillette.
"Thomas is going to be a great asset to our staff," said Tillette. "He brings a wealth of experience to our basketball program and he has excellent recruiting connections here in the region. In addition to those qualities, he is also a first-class person and will be very well-liked by everyone on the team and in the athletic department."
Johnson was hired Monday to fill the position vacated by Derrick Jones, who recently accepted a coaching job at the University of New Orleans (UNO).
Johnson comes to Samford after spending two seasons as the top assistant coach under Kermit Davis at Middle Tennessee. Prior to his time at MTSU, Johnson logged more than 20 years as a successful high school college coach in both Alabama and Tennessee.
Johnson, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Bulldog staff, also spent four years on the staff at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), helping lead the Blazers to three winning seasons and an NCAA Tournament berth.
"I'm really excited to be here at Samford and I'm looking forward to working with this staff," said Johnson. "I've always really admired Coach Tillette and what he's been able to accomplish here at Samford and now it's a good feeling to be a part of it. I think that this team has a lot of potential and I'm excited about the upcoming season."
His duties on the Samford men's basketball staff will include, but are not limited to, recruiting, scouting, film exchange, as well as the day-to-day preparation of the Bulldog basketball team.
During his time at Middle Tennessee, Johnson, who is regarded as a staunch recruiter, was part of a Middle Tennessee staff that landed a 2007 signing class rated No. 1 in the Sun Belt and No. 48 nationally by HoopScoop, as well as the No. 13-rated class among the nation's mid-major programs by Rivals.com.
"This is going to be a fun recruiting position, because Samford is not going to be hard to sell at all," Johnson said. "The facilities here are all first-class and from a basketball standpoint we have everything that we would want. Joining the Southern Conference is also going to be great for us, because it is an outstanding league and the success of Davidson has also helped step up the excitement in the conference."
Johnson, who coached at Wooddale High School in Memphis, went to Middle Tennessee after overhauling the Wooddale High School program during his four seasons there. Prior to Johnson's arrival the Memphis high school endured an 0-23 season in 2001-02, but it enjoyed four straight seasons of 22 wins or more in his four years there, including a 24-9 mark in 2002-03.
For his efforts, Johnson was named the District 15-3A Coach of the Year in 2002-03, as well as the Commercial Appeal Co-Coach of the Year for the same season.
Wooddale, which enjoyed a 94-36 record and three seasons of 24 wins, won the district championship in 2005-06 and finished second in the district two other times. Additionally, the program reached the Region 8-3A semifinals all four years under Johnson and missed the state tournament by one game each time.
Prior to his four seasons at Wooddale, Johnson was on Murry Bartow's UAB staff as an assistant coach for four seasons and was part of three winning seasons and a NCAA Tournament berth in 1998-99 when the squad fashioned a 20-12 mark. The Blazers won the Conference USA National Division championship during the 1998-99 season.
Johnson spent 17 years (1981-98) as the head coach at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala., before joining the staff at UAB and he enjoyed a sterling 309-191 record. He was a three-time Shelby County Coach of the Year (1982, 1987, 1995) and his teams won five area championships, four area runners-up and reached the sub-state playoffs on five other occasions.
"It's good to be back in the Birmingham area," said Johnson. "I was a long-time high school coach here earlier in my career and I still have a lot of friends in the business. I was recently asked to speak at the Alabama High School Coaches Association and that helped me meet a lot of new coaches as well. This is a hotbed for basketball talent and I'm glad to be back in the area."
Johnson's first head coaching stop was at Weogufka (Ala.) High School, where his team's posted a 49-29 record during his four seasons. In all, the successful coach produced a combined ledger of 452-266 for a 63 percent winning percentage in 25 seasons.
Johnson, who played college basketball at Montevallo (Ala.), has two daughters - Adrian (29) and Katie (21), as well as two sons - Marques (26) and Caleb (14).
The Samford University basketball team completed its 2007-08 campaign with a 14-16 overall record and a 10-10 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Bulldogs finished the year as the fifth-place team in the conference and qualified for postseason play for a school-record 15th-straight season.
In the upcoming 2008-09 campaign, Samford will make its long-awaited transition to the esteemed Southern Conference, and will begin competition in the new conference in December.
The Bulldogs will return three starters from last year's squad, along with seven returning lettermen, three talented incoming freshmen and the services of highly-touted redshirt freshman Matthew Friday and transfer Peter Carroll.
Thomas Johnson Timeline
Years, Pos., School
1973-77, Player, Montevallo
1977-81, Head Coach, Weogufka HS (Weogufka, Ala.)
1981-98, Head Coach, Thompson HS (Alabaster, Ala.)
1998-02, Assistant Coach, UAB
2002-06, Head Coach, Wooddale HS (Memphis, Tenn.)
2006-08, Assistant Coach, Middle Tennessee
2008-present, Assistant Coach, Samford
