Matthew Johnson (born circa 1969) is an American basketball coach and former player best known for his collegiate playing career at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

from 1987 to 1991. His professional basketball career was a one-year stint in Ireland in 1994–95. He served as the head boys' basketball coach at Burlington High School in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

from 2002–2016, winning four Vermont Division I boys' basketball championships, and an overall record of 265–61. He was named head boys' basketball coach at Jefferson County High School in

Dandridge, Tennessee Dandridge is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Tennessee. It had a population of 3,341 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Jefferson and Hamblen co ...

in 2017.

High school career

Matt Johnson attended

Bellows Free Academy, St. Albans Bellows Free Academy is a high school, grades 9-12, in St. Albans, Vermont, USA. BFA-St. Albans is the largest secondary school in Franklin County, Vermont. There were 987 students in attendance as of the 2014–2015 school year. The school has ...

in St. Albans, Vermont. In his four-year prep career he scored 2,121 points, which as of January 2010 is the second-highest total in state history behind

Bruce Dalrymple Henry Van "Bruce" Dalrymple (born April 21, 1964) is an American former basketball player best known for his college career at Georgia Tech. He was a second round pick in the 1987 NBA draft. Dalrymple was born in Manhattan, but attended prep scho ...

's 2,477.Green Mountain gunners: The top 12 scorers in Vermont high school boys basketball history. (January 8, 2010). ''examiner.com.'' Retrieved on January 17, 2014. The

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

line was instituted his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season. At the end of the year he was named the 1987 Vermont High School Athlete of the Year. Despite this, Johnson was lightly recruited by colleges.

College career

One college that did pursue Johnson was his home state's

, an

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 ...

school who was a member of the North Atlantic Conference (now known as the

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

). He accepted an athletic scholarship to play for the Catamounts. In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

season he averaged a modest 4.5 points per game in limited action. Johnson began progressing during his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

season in 1988–89 and averaged over 16 points per game in his final six games of that season. It was in his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

season that he began to make a name for himself. Johnson averaged 14.3 points per game, good for seventh in the conference, and he came through in crunch time during the North Atlantic Conference tournament. He was named to the All-NAC Tournament Team, although Vermont lost in their first-ever championship match. In 1990–91, Johnson's senior season at Vermont, he averaged a conference-best 20.7 points per game, scored a then-school single season record 580 points, and tallied 40 or more points three different times. In the North Atlantic Conference's 22-year existence at that point, he became the first player to be named the NAC Player of the Week four straight weeks. Johnson led the Catamounts to their first winning season in 10 years and was named not only a first team all-conference performer, but also became Vermont's first North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year. At the time of his graduation his 1,264 points ranked 10th in school history.

Post-college

After graduating in 1991, Johnson spent the 1992–93 year as Proctor High School's head boys' basketball coach and was named the Marble Valley League Coach of the Year. He then spent the 1993–94 year as an assistant coach for his collegiate ''alma mater'' before spending one season playing professional basketball in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for Queen's Strongbow. Upon returning home to the United States, Johnson earned a Master's in Public Administration at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

in 1997, then moved back to Vermont. From 1997 to 1999 he was an assistant coach at Peoples Academy in

Morrisville, Vermont Morrisville is a village (Vermont), village in the town of Morristown, Vermont, Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the village population was 2,086. Mor ...

. In 2002, Johnson became the head boys' basketball coach at Burlington High School, where he coached until 2016, winning four state titles with an overall record of 265–61 with the Seahorses. Johnson also worked as a teacher and counselor at a juvenile correctional facility. He and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters, Haley and Madison and one son, Nick. Johnson was inducted into the University of Vermont Hall of Fame in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Matt Living people American expatriate basketball people in Ireland American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Vermont Basketball players from Vermont High school basketball coaches in the United States People from St. Albans, Vermont San Diego State University alumni Small forwards Sportspeople from Burlington, Vermont Vermont Catamounts men's basketball coaches Vermont Catamounts men's basketball players Year of birth missing (living people)