Cleveland State Men’s Basketball Hires Kwanza Johnson as Assistant Coach

Cleveland, OH-Kwanza Johnson has been named to an assistant coach position on the Cleveland State men’s basketball staff, Head Coach Daniyal Robinson announced today. Johnson replaces Jermaine Henderson, who departed for a similar position at the University of Dayton a short time ago. 

Johnson brings over twenty years of college coaching experience to Cleveland State and shares a strong connection to Coach Robinson after the two worked together at Arkansas Little-Rock. 

“I am extremely excited to welcome Kwanza Johnson and his family to Cleveland,” said Coach Robinson. “Coach Johnson’s experience speaks for itself, having dedicated over 25 years of his life to this game as both a player and coach. Kwanza takes great pride in developing and serving student-athletes on and off the court, building long lasting genuine relationships, while maintaining a relentless work ethic on the recruiting trail. I look forward to seeing him continue to do all those things here at Cleveland State. Please join myself and our entire staff in welcoming Coach Kwanza Johnson, his wife Kim, his daughters Kaitlyn and Kendall, and his son Kalli, to the Viking Family!” 

Johnson comes to Cleveland following a one-year stint at The University of California-Berkley this past season. He served as the Golden Bears’ Coordinator of Video and Recruiting Operations in 2022-23. 

“Cleveland State is a special university and I am blessed to be a part of this vibrant community,” Coach Johnson said. “Coach Robinson did an excellent job coaching last year’s team. I am both excited and grateful to be afforded the opportunity to be a part of his remarkable program. I look forward to working with this exceptional staff and being a part of developing these young men as student-athletes. Together we will strive for success off the court and championships on it!” 

Prior to his time at Cal, Johnson spent four seasons at Tulsa, his alma mater, as an assistant coach. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree from Tulsa in 1995. He got his start as an administrative assistant under Bill Self from 1997-99, and then completed two separate stints as an assistant coach on the Golden Hurricane staff. 

He served as an assistant from 2001-05 and returned for his most recent stint from 2019-22. He helped coach Tulsa to an American Athletic Conference regular season championship in 2020, as the Golden Hurricane finished with a 13-5 record in conference play. 

In addition to his time at Little Rock, Johnson’s career also includes stops at Nevada, TCU, Georgia, and Eastern Illinois. 

Johnson spent two seasons as the associate head coach at Little Rock from 2016-18. He spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at TCU from 2013-16. During his stint with the Horned Frogs, TCU ran off a run of 13 consecutive victories to start the season in 2014-15, which remains a program record. 

Prior to that, Johnson spent eight seasons as an assistant coach under Mark Fox at Georgia (2009-13) and Nevada (2006-09). 

Johnson mentored several key players during his time with Georgia and Nevada. At Georgia, he mentored Trey Tompkins and Travis Leslie, both of whom went on to earn All-SEC honors before being selected in the 2011 NBA Draft. He also worked with 2013 SEC Player of the Year Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who went eighth overall to the Detroit Pistons in the 2013 NBA Draft. 

At Nevada, Johnson mentored Nick Fazekas, who earned First Team All-America honors in 2007 in addition to winning the WAC Player of the Year award. JaVale McGee also exceled under Johnson’s watch and was selected 18^th overall in 2008 by the Washington Wizards. 

As a player, Johnson led Tulsa to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference titles and two Sweet 16 appearances during his time with the Golden Hurricane. He also played two seasons for Rose State College before transferring to Tulsa. 

Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree from Tulsa in 1995 and later added a Juris Doctor degree from the Tulsa College of Law in 1999. 

He and his wife Kim have three children; daughters Kaitlyn and Kendall and son Kalli.

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