Nikita Johnson enters his second season as an assistant coach on the Hilltopper Basketball staff under head coach Rick Stansbury.
Johnson, who spent the last four seasons at Stetson, brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to the Hilltopper staff.
The highlights of his career include coaching or recruiting more than 50 players who went on to play professionally, including NBA players Glen Davis, Tyrus Thomas, Brandon Bass, Mike James, Anthony Randolph and Elfrid Payton.
Before arriving at Stetson, Johnson spent two seasons on the bench at Louisiana-Lafayette, helping the Ragin’ Cajuns post their first winning season in seven years in the 2011-12 campaign.
He was the associate head coach at Louisiana Tech from 2007-10, as the Bulldogs made an appearance in the College Insider Tournament in 2010 after recording 24 wins, the program’s most in 25 years.
Johnson served three seasons on John Brady’s staff at LSU from 2004-07, during which the Tigers made a run to the Final Four in 2006, captured the SEC West Division title in 2005 and went a combined 64-34 over this three seasons.
From 1993 to 2004, Johnson spent time on the staffs of Murray State, Duquesne, Tennessee State and New Orleans. He got his staff in college coaching in 1981 at Chipola College, where he was part of six conference titles.
After two seasons at his alma mater West Georgia and two more at Odessa College, Johnson moved to the Division I ranks at Murray State. The Racers won two Ohio Valley Conference titles, made one NIT appearance and one NCAA Tournament appearance during his time in Murray.
A native of Greenwood, Fla., Johnson earned region, all-county, and all-district honors at Marianna High School. He helped his team go 76-10 in three seasons, including two runner-up finishes in the state playoffs in 1977 and 1978.
Johnson earned his Associate of Arts degree at Chipola College in 1981, and his Bachelor of Arts at West Georgia in 1989.
