| April 17, 2004 |
UTSA's Brandon Johnson named assistant coach at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. - Former Oregon and South Carolina assistant John Cooper has been named associate head coach at Auburn and former Texas-San Antonio and Jacksonville State assistant Brandon Johnson has been named assistant coach, Tigers' head coach Jeff Lebo announced Friday.
"I feel like I've put together a strong staff with great experience," Lebo said. "John has SEC coaching experience and has coached at the highest level at Oregon under Ernie Kent. Brandon is from Atlanta and coached three years in the state at Jacksonville State University. He is familiar with Georgia and Alabama and the Southeast."
Cooper, a 10-year veteran assistant, spent the past two seasons at Oregon where he helped the Ducks to a 41-23 mark. The Ducks went 23-10 with a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002-03 and had an 18-13 record last year, losing in the NIT semifinals. He coached a pair of All-Americans in Pac-10 Player of the Year, Luke Ridnour, now with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and Luke Jackson, who is a projected NBA first round pick this year.
Cooper spent six years as an assistant at South Carolina under his former college coach, Eddie Fogler, from 1995-2001, helping lead the Gamecocks to the SEC Championship with a 24-8 (15-1 SEC) record in 1996-97. Cooper and Lebo were Fogler's assistants at USC for three years from 1995-98. USC made four postseason appearances, including back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 1997 and 1998 and a pair of NITs in 1996 and 2001. Cooper coached former Cleveland Cavalier Ryan Stack and the Gamecocks' all-time leading scorer, All-American B.J. McKie, at South Carolina.
Prior to South Carolina, Cooper spent two seasons as an assistant to Rick Duckett at Div. II Fayetteville (N.C.) State where the Broncos went 18-10 in 1993-94 and 15-10 in 1994-95.
Cooper, 35, was a standout forward for Wichita State, playing his first two seasons under Fogler. He scored 1,153 points during his career (1988-91), which ranks 21st in Shocker history and was the team MVP as a junior. The Kansas City, Mo., native led Wichita State in scoring and rebounds during both his junior and senior seasons, averaging 20.8 points as a senior and 17.0 points as a junior. He was a team captain his final two seasons and a Rhodes Scholar candidate.
After graduating in 1991 with a Business Administration degree from Wichita State, Cooper was drafted by Fort Wayne of the Continental Basketball Association. He played one year with Fort Wayne and then another season for the Commodore Mustangs in Den Helder, Holland, before joining the coaching ranks.
"First of all, I am so excited to join the people at Auburn and to work with the young men and the administration," Cooper says. "It's always nice to come back and work with somebody you know and respect. There is a lot of great character and good people in the program. It will be fun and enjoyable, and I can't wait to get started and develop relationships."
Johnson, a 12-year coaching veteran, spent the past two seasons as an assistant at the University of Texas-San Antonio, where the Roadrunners won the Southland Conference and made a NCAA Tournament appearance.
Johnson, 38, has coaching ties in both Alabama and Georgia, including a three-year stint as an assistant at Jacksonville State University from 1998-2001. Prior to going to UTSA, he was the head coach at Atlanta Technical College in 2001-02, where he was in the process of developing the new men's basketball program.
Johnson was an assistant at Clayton College & State University in Morrow, Ga., in 1997-98 and was an assistant at Atlanta Metropolitan College in 1996-97. He started his coaching career in 1992 as an assistant at Atlanta's Frederick Douglass High School for two years and then was an assistant at Benjamin Banneker High School in College Park, Ga., for two seasons from 1994-96.
Johnson helped lead Atlanta Metropolitan to the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association Championship with a 14-0 record in 1996-97. His coaching honors include being named a three-time Georgia High School Association Assistant Coach of the Year in consecutive years from 1993-95.
A 1997 Georgia State University graduate in Psychology, Johnson earned a Master's in General Administration from Central Michigan University in 2002. The Lansing, Mich., native has numerous camp and clinic teaching experience, including his five-year affiliation with the Pete Newell Big Man Camp in Hawaii; working with the New Zealand National Team in 2000 and Nigerian Basketball League in 2003; and working at basketball schools for Bob Knight, Tubby Smith, Tom Izzo, Eddie Fogler, Bobby Cremins, Jud Heathcote and Randy Ayers.
"It feels great to be coming to Auburn," Johnson said. "First and foremost, it is a great opportunity to work with Jeff Lebo. He is a very good coach, and he is well-respected by his peers in the coaching profession. He is very knowledgeable of the game and has been successful wherever he's been. I am very excited about bringing a winning tradition back to Auburn."
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION,
Contact: Chuck Gallina (334) 844-9701