Gordon Cavell Johnson (born March 28, 1985) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player. At a height of 2.05 m (6'8¾"), he played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions on the court. Johnson was named an

NBL Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franch ...

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and won its Slam Dunk Contest the same season. He was often considered one of the top defenders in the league, having been named to two All-Defence Teams, and winning the NBL Canada Defensive Player of the Year Award. Johnson played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

, and the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

. He then started his coaching career with KW Titans after he was appointed head coach in 2018.

Early life

Johnson was born on March 28, 1985, and raised in

Fort Washington, Maryland Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, it had a popul ...

, and

Temple Hills, Maryland Temple Hills is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Temple Hills borders the communities of Hillcrest Heights, Marlow Heights, Camp Springs and Oxon Hill. Per the 2020 c ...

. In seventh grade, he dunked his first basketball. In an interview in 2008, he said that it was his most memorable moment as an athlete.

Collegiate career

Johnson initially competed at the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

level with the

James Madison Dukes The James Madison Dukes are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's se ...

, but chose to transfer to UMBC after three seasons. He claimed that he was unhappy with his previous school and felt that he would see more immediate success with the Retrievers. One of Johnson's teammates also transferred to the same team with him, making the process smoother in his opinion.

Professional career

In 2011–2012, Johnson played with the Beltway Bombers in the

American Professional Basketball League The American Professional Basketball League (APBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league that began play in 2010. Originally known as the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL), the league changed its name before the 201 ...

(ACPBL). The Bombers won the ACPBL championship and Johnson won the APBL Finals Most Valuable Player award. In 2012–2013, Johnson joined the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

's (NBLC)

Saint John Mill Rats The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division ...

. With the Mill Rats, he averaged 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. Johnson then spent the next two years with the Brampton A's in the NBLC. In 2014, Johnson was selected to the All-NBLC Second Team after averaging 14.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He also won the Defensive Player of the Year Award and was selected to participate in the NBLC All-Star Game. In 2015, Johnson averaged 12.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and was tops in the league with 1.6 blocks per game. He was an All-NBL Canada Third Team member that season and helped the A's reach the NBLC Semi Finals. On August 3, 2015, Johnson signed a one-year contract with

Salon Vilpas Vikings Salon Vilpas is a professional basketball club based in Salo, Finland. The team currently plays in the top level Korisliiga. The Vikings are a part of the Salon Vilpas multi-sport club. In 2021, Vilpas won its first Korisliiga championship. Curre ...

of the Finish League. On August 1, 2016, Johnson signed with Promitheas Patras of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

. He was officially released from the team on November 28, 2016, in order to attend to personal matters in the States. He then signed with

KW Titans KW Titans (formally known as Kitchener-Waterloo Titans Basketball Club) are a professional basketball team based in Regional Municipality of Waterloo that competes in the Basketball Super League. The team plays its home games at Kitchener Memoria ...

in the NBLC.

Coaching career

On February 25, 2018, the

parted ways with coach

Serge Langis Serge Langis is a Canadian teacher and professional basketball coach, last serving as the head coach of the KW Titans in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada). He previously served as assistant coach (2012–14) and head coach (2 ...

and named Johnson new head coach, a position he held until 2021. On April 4, 2024, Johnson was revealed to be an assistant coach for

Bangui Sporting Club Bangui Sporting Club, also known as Bangui SC, is a Central African basketball team based in Bangui. The team plays in the Bangui Basketball League (LBBB) and has won the championship in 2022 and 2023. In the 2024 season, Bangui played in the ...

of the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

(BAL).

Early life

Collegiate career

Professional career

Coaching career

References

External links