Avery Johnson: Difference between revisions

From Bhamwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Created page with "'''Avery Johnson''' (born March 25, 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former NBA player and coach and the current head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide Alaba...")
 
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Avery Johnson''' (born [[March 25]], [[1965]] in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former NBA player and coach and the current head coach of the [[Alabama Crimson Tide]] [[Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team|men's basketball team]].
'''Avery Johnson''' (born [[March 25]], [[1965]] in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former NBA player and coach, and the current head coach of the [[Alabama Crimson Tide]] [[Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team|men's basketball team]]. He was hired to replace [[Anthony Grant]] in April [[2015]].


As a high school senior in 1983, Johnson led New Orleans' [[St. Augustine High School (New Orleans)|St. Augustine High School]] to a 35–0 record and the Class 4A Louisiana State Championship. Johnson matriculated at [[New Mexico Junior College]] before moving on to [[Cameron University]], and finally [[Southern University]], at which in his senior season in 1988 he led [[Division I (NCAA)|NCAA Division I]] with 13.3 assists per game, an all-time record. In that season, he also averaged 11.4 points per game, making him the first men's Division I player ever to average double figures in points and assists in the same season—a feat that was not duplicated until [[Jason Brickman]] of [[LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball|LIU Brooklyn]] did so in [[2013–14 LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball team|2013–14]].
Johnson grew up in New Orleans and starred for the St Augustin High School Purple Knights. In his senior season he led the team to a 35-0 record and a Class 4A Louisiana state championship. He enrolled at New Mexico Junior College and transferred from there to Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, and then to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a senior point guard for the [[1988]] Jaguars team, Johnson set an NCAA Division I record by averaging 13.3 assists-per-game. He was not selected in that years NBA draft and spent the next summer with the Palm Beach Stingrays of the U.S. Basketball League. Afterward he was signed as a free agent by the Seattle Supersonics and made his NBA debut on [[November 5]].


Upon [[graduation]] in 1988, Johnson was not selected in the [[1988 NBA Draft|NBA Draft]].
Over the next sixteen seasons, Johnson played for five different teams. His best years were with the San Antonio Spurs, where he was dubbed the "Little General", playing alongside the "Admiral," David Robinson. His scoring output peaked at 13.4 points per game during his first season with the Spurs in [[1994]]. He is best remembered for his role in helping the Spurs win the 1999 NBA Championship against the Knicks. Johnson's shot with 1:06 left in game 5 clinched the series. San Antonio retired his jersey number (6) in [[2007]] and he was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in [[2009]].


After a summer season with the [[USBL]]'s [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]] Stingrays, however, Johnson was signed by the [[Seattle SuperSonics]] and spent the next 16 years playing in the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]], including stints with the [[Denver Nuggets]], [[Houston Rockets]], [[Golden State Warriors]], and [[Dallas Mavericks]]. A [[Journeyman (sports)|journeyman]] player, Johnson is best known for his time with the [[San Antonio Spurs]] in 1991, 1992–1993, and 1994–2001, and particularly his integral role on the [[1998–99 San Antonio Spurs season|1998–99 Spurs team]] that won the [[1999 NBA Finals|NBA championship]] against the [[New York Knicks]]. Johnson made the go-ahead, championship-clinching shot in Game 5 on a jumper with 1:06 remaining in the game. The Spurs retired Johnson's number 6 on December 22, 2007, in a home game against the [[Los Angeles Clippers]]. He was also inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame on February 20, 2009.
Johnson was released from the team in [[2001]] and signed with the Denver Nuggets, who traded him the next season to the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas, in turn, sent him to the Golden State Warriors in [[2003]]. He returned to Dallas as a free agent in September [[2004]], but retired from the game the same October to join Don Nelson's Mavericks coaching staff as an assistant. When Nelson retired on [[March 19]], [[2005]], Johnson was tapped as his replacement. The Mavs finished the season on a 16-2 run and defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2005 NBA playoffs before being eliminated by the Phoenix Suns.


===Coaching career===
Johnson's Dallas team continued its improvement in 2005-06, claiming the second-best record in the Western Conference and a spot in the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat in six games. Johnson was named NBA Coach of the Year and was selected to coach the West team in that year's NBA All-Star Game. The following year, the Mavericks entered the playoffs with a league-best 67 wins, but were upset by Don Nelson's 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. Dallas was again eliminated in the first round of the [[2008]] NBA playoffs and Johnson was dismissed on [[April 30]].
====Dallas Mavericks====
On October 28, 2004, Johnson retired from playing and signed as an assistant coach with the [[Dallas Mavericks]] under [[Don Nelson]]. Johnson had played under Nelson from 2001–2003, and it was understood from the beginning that he was being groomed to eventually succeed Nelson as [[head coach]]. His transition from assistant to head coach came five months later on March 19, 2005, after Nelson resigned.  


Under Johnson, the Mavericks closed out the [[2004–05 NBA season|2004–2005 season]] with a 16–2 run and a first-round playoff victory over the [[Houston Rockets]], before being eliminated by the [[Phoenix Suns]] in the second round of the [[NBA playoffs|playoffs]]. Johnson was named the April 2005 NBA Coach of the Month, only one month after becoming a head coach for the first time.
Johnson spent the next two seasons working as a studio analyst for ESPN. In June [[2010]] he was hired to coach the New Jersey Nets. He helped the team improve from 12-70 (0.146) to 24-58 (0.268) in his first season, and in his second, lockout-shortened, season the team continued its mediocre play, improving slightly to 22-44 (0.333). He moved with the team to Brooklyn in [[2012]] and started the next season 11-4, but the Nets lost ten of the next thirteen and Johnson was relieved of his duties on [[December 27]]. He returned to ESPN as an analyst in [[2013]].


The [[2005–06 NBA season|2005–06 season]] was even more successful for Johnson and was marked by a series of milestones. In November 2005, Johnson won his second NBA Coach of the Month award (which was also his second consecutive award, following the one he had won in April the previous season), making him the first NBA coach to win the award in his first two months as a head coach. On January 28, 2006, when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the [[Utah Jazz]], Johnson's record as head coach improved to 50–12, making Johnson the fastest coach to reach 50 wins. In February 2006, he was chosen to coach the [[2006 NBA All-Star Game|2006 NBA All-Star team]] for the [[Western Conference (NBA)|Western Conference]]. Although Johnson ultimately led the Mavericks to the second-best record in the Western Conference, the team entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the West due to the structure of the [[2006 NBA Playoffs]] seeding. In April 2006, Johnson was rewarded for his success throughout the season with the 2006 [[NBA Coach of the Year Award]].
On [[April 5]], [[2015]] Johnson was interviewed by [[University of Alabama]] athletic director [[Bill Battle]] and [[University of Alabama Board of Trustees|trustee]] [[Finis St John IV]] and accepted their offer to take the helm of the Crimson Tide team.


In June 2006, after defeating the [[Memphis Grizzlies]], the defending champion [[San Antonio Spurs]], and the [[Phoenix Suns]] in the first three rounds of the playoffs, Johnson led the Mavericks to their first ever [[2006 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]] appearance. However, the Mavs were defeated in [[Best-of-seven playoff|six games]] by the [[Miami Heat]], losing four straight after winning the first two games.
On December 31, 2006, Johnson became the fastest head coach (at the time) to win 100 games when his squad defeated the [[Denver Nuggets]]. This record was later broken by [[Tom Thibodeau]] and the [[Chicago Bulls]]. In the [[2006–07 NBA season|2006–07 season]], Johnson's Mavericks had the best record in the NBA with 67 wins and entered the playoffs as the top seed. However, his Mavericks lost to the eighth-seeded [[Golden State Warriors]], led by former Mavericks head coach [[Don Nelson]], in one of the biggest upsets in recent NBA history.
With the Mavs' win over the Grizzlies on November 18, 2007, Johnson became the fastest coach to reach 150 wins. Following the [[2007-08 Dallas Mavericks season|2007–2008 season]], the Mavericks under Johnson were eliminated in the first round of the [[2008 NBA Playoffs|playoffs]] for the second year in a row. A day later, on April 30, 2008, Johnson was dismissed as head coach of the Mavericks.
====First stint at ESPN====
On October 17, 2008, Johnson joined [[ESPN]] as a studio analyst. He remained in that role for two seasons, until he received an offer to become head coach of the [[New Jersey Nets]].
====New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets====
On June 10, 2010, Johnson was hired as head coach of the [[Brooklyn Nets|New Jersey Nets]], which had just finished a dismal [[2009–10 New Jersey Nets season|2009–10 campaign]] with a 12–70 record. In his first year as coach of the Nets, the team improved slightly, doubling its win total from the previous season and finishing 24–58. However, the next year saw no such improvement, as his team went 22–44 in the [[2011–12 NBA season|lockout-shortened season]].
Johnson remained with the Nets when the team moved to Brooklyn in 2012. He was named the [[Eastern Conference (NBA)|Eastern Conference]] Coach of the Month for October and November 2012 following an 11–4 start to the season. Despite that early success, the team went on to lose ten of its next 13 games, and subsequently Johnson was fired from his head coaching position on December 27, 2012.
====Second stint at ESPN====
In 2013, Johnson rejoined ESPN to appear as an analyst on ''[[NBA Coast to Coast]]'', ''[[SportsCenter]]'', and ''NBA Tonight''.
====Alabama====
On April 5, 2015, ESPN reported that Johnson had verbally agreed to become the new head basketball coach at the [[University of Alabama]], replacing [[Anthony Grant]]. The following day, the university officially announced Johnson's hiring.
==Personal life==
Johnson and his wife Cassandra have two children, Avery Jr. and Christianne.
Johnson and his wife Cassandra have two children, Avery Jr. and Christianne.


Line 48: Line 25:


==References==
==References==
*
* "[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avery_Johnson Avery Johnson]" (April 9, 2015) Wikipedia - accessed April 9, 2015


{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Avery}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Avery}}

Revision as of 11:54, 9 April 2015

Avery Johnson (born March 25, 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former NBA player and coach, and the current head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He was hired to replace Anthony Grant in April 2015.

Johnson grew up in New Orleans and starred for the St Augustin High School Purple Knights. In his senior season he led the team to a 35-0 record and a Class 4A Louisiana state championship. He enrolled at New Mexico Junior College and transferred from there to Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, and then to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a senior point guard for the 1988 Jaguars team, Johnson set an NCAA Division I record by averaging 13.3 assists-per-game. He was not selected in that years NBA draft and spent the next summer with the Palm Beach Stingrays of the U.S. Basketball League. Afterward he was signed as a free agent by the Seattle Supersonics and made his NBA debut on November 5.

Over the next sixteen seasons, Johnson played for five different teams. His best years were with the San Antonio Spurs, where he was dubbed the "Little General", playing alongside the "Admiral," David Robinson. His scoring output peaked at 13.4 points per game during his first season with the Spurs in 1994. He is best remembered for his role in helping the Spurs win the 1999 NBA Championship against the Knicks. Johnson's shot with 1:06 left in game 5 clinched the series. San Antonio retired his jersey number (6) in 2007 and he was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Johnson was released from the team in 2001 and signed with the Denver Nuggets, who traded him the next season to the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas, in turn, sent him to the Golden State Warriors in 2003. He returned to Dallas as a free agent in September 2004, but retired from the game the same October to join Don Nelson's Mavericks coaching staff as an assistant. When Nelson retired on March 19, 2005, Johnson was tapped as his replacement. The Mavs finished the season on a 16-2 run and defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2005 NBA playoffs before being eliminated by the Phoenix Suns.

Johnson's Dallas team continued its improvement in 2005-06, claiming the second-best record in the Western Conference and a spot in the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat in six games. Johnson was named NBA Coach of the Year and was selected to coach the West team in that year's NBA All-Star Game. The following year, the Mavericks entered the playoffs with a league-best 67 wins, but were upset by Don Nelson's 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. Dallas was again eliminated in the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs and Johnson was dismissed on April 30.

Johnson spent the next two seasons working as a studio analyst for ESPN. In June 2010 he was hired to coach the New Jersey Nets. He helped the team improve from 12-70 (0.146) to 24-58 (0.268) in his first season, and in his second, lockout-shortened, season the team continued its mediocre play, improving slightly to 22-44 (0.333). He moved with the team to Brooklyn in 2012 and started the next season 11-4, but the Nets lost ten of the next thirteen and Johnson was relieved of his duties on December 27. He returned to ESPN as an analyst in 2013.

On April 5, 2015 Johnson was interviewed by University of Alabama athletic director Bill Battle and trustee Finis St John IV and accepted their offer to take the helm of the Crimson Tide team.

Johnson and his wife Cassandra have two children, Avery Jr. and Christianne.

Preceded by:
Anthony Grant 		Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coach
2015– 		Succeeded by:
?

References

  • "Avery Johnson" (April 9, 2015) Wikipedia - accessed April 9, 2015
Retrieved from "http://bhamwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Avery_Johnson&oldid=114094"