Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 205-348-4551
Avery Johnson was introduced as Alabama’s 20th head men’s basketball coach on April 7, 2015. Johnson, who led the San Antonio Spurs to the 1999 NBA title as a player and was named the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year, came to the Capstone after a successful career in the NBA.
Johnson has turned many heads in the college basketball world during his three seasons at Alabama, as it didn’t take long for fans and student-athletes alike to heed his motto “Buckle Up” in reference to the excitement he expects his tenure will offer.
And so far, that has come to fruition.
In three seasons at the Capstone, Johnson has guided the Crimson Tide to three consecutive postseason appearances – the first Alabama coach to achieve that feat in each of his first three seasons in nearly a quarter of a century (David Hobbs from 1993-95). Since his arrival in 2015, Johnson owns a record of 57-46 (.553) and is coming off the Tide’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years.
During the 2017-18 campaign, Johnson continued to lead the program back to national prominence as the Crimson Tide reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. Alabama didn’t just get to the tournament, but reached the second round with an 86-83 victory over Virginia Tech which was the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2006. Moreover, Alabama finished the season with 20 victories (20-16), which was the first time since 2013 that UA reached the 20-win plateau.
On the court, the Crimson Tide played one of the toughest slates in program history, finishing the season the fourth-ranked strength of schedule according to ESPN.com. Alabama played nine teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, finishing with an impressive 6-3 record. That number not only set a school record for most wins over AP Top-25 teams in a single-season in program history, but it also tied for the most in the nation during regular season play. In his three seasons, Johnson has guided the Tide to an 11-10 record against teams ranked in the top 25, which is a huge improvement considering the Tide had lost 21 consecutive games against ranked opponents prior to his arrival.
Additionally, Alabama reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for a second consecutive season in 2018, which marked the first time since 1994 and 1995 that a Crimson Tide team achieved that feat. Johnson boasts a record of 5-3 in SEC Tournament action, including three straight seasons reaching at least the quarterfinals.
Off the court, fans responded to the excitement surrounding the men’s basketball program. For the second time in Johnson’s three seasons at the helm of the program, a new record was set for overall (227,640) and per game average (13,391) home attendance. The overall attendance mark bettered the record of 203,109 from the 2016-17 season, while the per game average eclipsed the 13,110 set in Johnson’s first season (2015-16).
Much of the reason for the excitement surrounding the 2017-18 team came prior to the year during the recruiting period as Johnson and his staff brought in the nation’s seventh-ranked recruiting class according to Rivals.com in 2017 – the highest recruiting class ranking on paper in program history. For reasons like that and much more, Alabama basketball fans could see evidence that the men’s basketball program was headed in the right direction.
During his second season at Alabama in 2016-17, Johnson guided the Crimson Tide to a 19-15 overall record, including a 10-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play, as the program reached the National Invitation Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Alabama tied for fifth place overall in the final 2017 SEC standings – a significant improvement from the 10th-place finish in league play in 2015-16. The five-spot improvement tied for second-best in the SEC in 2016-17 and trailed only Florida, who improved six spots from a year ago (T-8th in 2016 and second in 2017).
The Tide went on to reach the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013 when it captured wins over Mississippi State (75-55) in the opening round and South Carolina (64-53) in the quarterfinals, before falling to eventual SEC Tournament champion Kentucky Wildcats. The win over the Gamecocks gave Alabama a season sweep of South Carolina, which would go on to reach the Final Four. The Tide defeated the Gamecocks, 90-86, in an epic quadruple overtime contest earlier in the year. It also gave the Tide two victories in the same league tournament, which marked the first time that happened since doing so in the 2002 event.
The win over then-No. 19 South Carolina in Columbia, was not only the second quadruple-overtime game in program history, but also gave the Crimson Tide its first victory over a top-25 team in a true road game since Alabama captured a win at then-No. 4 Mississippi State on Feb. 21, 2004.
During the 2015-16 season, his inaugural as a collegiate head coach, Johnson gave the fans a glimpse of the excitement that was in store. The Crimson Tide finished with an 18-15 record and earned an at-large selection to the 2016 National Invitation Tournament.
On the court, Alabama knocked off four teams that were ranked in the Associated Press’ Top 25 during the 2015-16 campaign which led the SEC. It marked the first time since 2001-02 that an Alabama team recorded four AP Top 25 victories in the regular season.
The first two wins over top-25 teams came in back-to-back games, as the Tide was victorious over then-No. 20 Wichita State, 64-60, on Nov. 27 and then-No. 17 Notre Dame, 74-73, on Nov. 29. It was the first time a Tide team captured consecutive wins over top-25 teams since defeating then-No. 8 Tennessee (92-79) and then-No. 12 Florida (82-77) on Feb. 18 and Feb. 26, 2006. The Crimson Tide also claimed victories over then-No. 19 South Carolina, 73-50, on Jan. 13 and then-No. 15 and eventual NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 team, Texas A&M, 63-62, on Feb. 10.
The fan support has been tremendous throughout the first three years of Johnson’s tenure. Helped by relocating the student section to create a better in-game atmosphere, Alabama averaged a then-school record 13,110 fans per game in 2015-16 – a number that ranked 22nd-best in the nation. Furthermore, the Tide also sold out five home games, which was the most sellouts in a single year since the 2006-07 season.
In 2016-17, Alabama ranked 27th in the nation in average attendance (11,947 per game), while selling out four games on the year.
This past season, the Tide set a new mark in home attendance for both overall (227,640) and per game average (13,391). UA finished the season with a total of five sellouts. In Johnson’s three seasons, Alabama has had 14 sellouts which is the most in a three-year span and the most in back-to-back seasons in more than two decades.
Johnson owned an NBA career coaching record of 254-186 (.577) after spending four seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (2004-08) and two-plus seasons with the Brooklyn Nets (2010-13).
During his time in Dallas, Johnson led the Mavericks to the postseason in each of his three-plus seasons as head coach. He led the Mavericks to a record of 194-70 (.735) and set the record for reaching the 50-win plateau (62 games) and the 150-win milestone (191 games) the fastest.
In 2005-06, Johnson led the Mavericks to their first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals en route to earning NBA Coach of the Year honors.
Johnson was appointed head coach of the Mavericks on March 19, 2005, following the resignation of Don Nelson. An immediate success, Johnson finished the season with a 16-2 mark, earning Western Conference Coach of the Month honors for April.
In his first full season as head coach, Johnson led the 2005-06 Mavericks to a 60-22 record and the team’s first ever Western Conference Championship. He was named Western Conference Coach of the Month in November of 2005, becoming the first coach in league history to win the award in his first two full months of coaching. Johnson picked up the award for a third time in January, 2006.
As the coach with the best record in the conference, Johnson earned the honor of coaching the 2006 Western Conference All-Star Team.
The following season, he guided the team to an NBA-best 67 wins in 2006-07. In his final season in Dallas in 2007-08, Johnson led his club to 50-plus wins for the third straight year, finishing with a record of 51-31. Making the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, Johnson holds a career postseason record of 23-24 (.489).
Johnson began the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach with Dallas after retiring as a player on October 28, 2004.
In 16 NBA seasons, he averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 25.3 minutes played in 1,054 career games with seven different teams. Known as “The Little General” for his on-court leadership and diminutive stature, Johnson helped guide the San Antonio Spurs to an NBA Championship in 1999.
On March, 28 2003 as a member of the Mavericks, Johnson became the 75th player in league history to play 1,000 career games. At 5-11, he joined Calvin Murphy as the only other player under 6-feet in height to reach that milestone. He ranks second behind Tony Parker in the Spurs’ all-time assist leaders (4,474) and is 38th in NBA history in the same category. In recognition for his contributions to the Spurs organization, Johnson’s No. 6 jersey was retired in December, 2007.
The New Orleans native played his final two collegiate seasons at Southern University, leading the NCAA in assists in each of his two years with the Jaguars, and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the MVP of the conference tournament as both a junior and senior.
He still owns several NCAA Division I records, including most assists in a single game (22 – shared with three other players), most 20 or more assist games (4), the highest single season assist average (13.3) and the highest career assist average (12.0). As a senior in 1988, he averaged 11.4 points per game, making him the first men’s Division I player ever to average double figures in points and assists in the same season.
Despite his numerous amateur accolades, Johnson was not selected in the 1988 NBA Draft. He started his professional career playing with the Palm Beach Stingrays of the United States Basketball League before signing as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics on Aug. 2, 1988.
Johnson changed teams six times during his first six seasons in the NBA. It wasn’t until his fourth different stint with San Antonio in 1994-95 that he was able to finally settle down. Johnson stayed with the Spurs through the end of the 2000-01 season before signing as a free-agent with Denver on Aug. 19, 2001.
Johnson, along with his wife Cassandra, are both very involved in the Tuscaloosa community. Johnson, who was ninth in a family of 10 kids, was raised in the New Orleans’ Lafitte Housing project. As a result of his success, Johnson is known for his impactful and motivational speeches, bringing as much passion into his speaking engagements as he does into the game of basketball. Johnson’s passion extends to the ministry and mentoring of today’s youth.
Through his involvement with the nonprofit organization “Just Say Yes”, Coach Johnson’s mission is to make a positive impact on middle and high school youth. In October 2005, he was co-host of the Katrina Rescue Ride to benefit the Salvation Army and the Red Cross’ relief efforts of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2008, Johnson wrote his second book, “Aspire Higher: Winning On and Off the Court with Determination, Discipline and Decisions” (Collins), an essential game plan for anyone looking to reach their goals.
Johnson received a degree in psychology in 1988 from Southern University. He married his wife Cassandra in July of 1991 in New Orleans. They have two children, Christianne and Avery Jr.
