Player Bio: Trent Johnson :: Men's Basketball
| ||||||||||||
Stanford University named Trent Johnson as its men’s basketball head coach on May 25.
The 47-year-old Johnson, a Stanford assistant coach for three seasons from 1996-99, had been the head coach at Nevada for the past five campaigns (1999-2004). He becomes the 16th men’s basketball head coach in Stanford history and replaced Mike Montgomery, who resigned at Stanford after 18 seasons on May 21 when he was named the new head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
Johnson took over the reigns of a Stanford program that has qualified for 10 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, making an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1998 and an Elite Eight showing in 2001.
“Trent Johnson has become one of the top basketball coaches in the country,” said Stanford Director of Athletics Ted Leland. “We are excited to have him rejoin the Stanford Athletics family and maintain the excellence that his been established by his predecessors.”
Last season, Johnson led Nevada to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history as the Wolf Pack tied a school-record with 25 wins (25-9). Nevada posted upset victories in the 2004 NCAA Tournament over Michigan State and Gonzaga before the Wolf Pack was finally ousted by eventual national runner-up Georgia Tech in a regional semifinal game.
Nevada also tied for a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular season crown for the first time in school history and captured the WAC Tournament.In 2002-03, Johnson was named the WAC Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com when the Wolf Pack received an NIT bid and finished with an 18-14 record. Johnson also guided Nevada to the championship game of the 2003 WAC Tournament.
Prior to Johnson’s arrival, Nevada had made just two NCAA Tournament appearances in school history and had never won an NCAA Tournament game.Johnson posted a 79-74 record in his five seasons at Nevada.
During his three seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford, the Cardinal made only the second NCAA Final Four appearance in school history (1997-98), reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen (1997-98) and captured a Pac-10 title (1998-99), while racking up a 78-20 (.796) overall record.
Before his three-year stint at Stanford, Johnson spent four years at Rice (1992-96). During his four seasons with the Owls, Rice made an appearance in the NIT. Johnson was also an assistant coach at Washington (1989-92). His 1991-92 recruiting class included two of the top five newcomers in the Pacific-10, including the conference’s Freshman of the Year Mark Pope.
Johnson began his Division I collegiate coaching career at Utah (1986-89), where he established himself as a top recruiter. He signed Josh Grant, the 1990 WAC Most Valuable Player and a Naismith Award finalist. He was also responsible for recruiting Jimmy Soto, a finalist for the College Little Big Man Award. The Utes made two trips to the NIT during Johnson’s three seasons in Salt Lake City.
Johnson was also a successful player, lettering four years at Boise State (1974-78). During his sophomore season (1975-76), the Broncos won the Big Sky Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with former Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery as an assistant.
The following year (1976-77), Johnson was named Boise State’s Most Improved Player and as a senior (1977-78) he was the team’s Most Inspirational Player. He also earned All-Big Sky Conference honors in his final season in Boise.Johnson played professionally for the Washington Lumberjacks of the Western Basketball League and also had a free agent tryout with the Phoenix Suns of the NBA.
Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from Boise State in 1983. Johnson and his wife, Jackie, have two children: a daughter, Tinishia, 20, and a son, Terry, 17. Tinishia is currently a junior at Arizona State and a long jumper on the Sun Devils’ track and field team. Terry is a senior at Reno High School in Reno, Nevada, and a four-year varsity letterwinner on the Huskies basketball team.