BATON ROUGE — LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson was one of three major college coaches elected in Kansas City Thursday to the board of directors of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Joining Coach Johnson on the board are Jeff Capel of the University of Oklahoma and Gary Williams of the University of Maryland.
“We are very pleased and fortunate to have three outstanding coaches in Jeff Capel, Trent Johnson and Gary Williams join our board of directors,” said NABC President Dale Clayton of Cason-Newman College. “They have all taken active roles with NABC and NCAA committees and initiatives and we look forward to working with them as directors.”
Last season, his first at LSU, Johnson earned Southeastern Conference coach of the year honors while leading the Tigers to a conference-best 13-3 won-lost record and an overall mark of 27-8. It marked the second straight coach of the year award for Johnson who earned the same recognition in the Pac 10 in 2007-08 while coaching Stanford to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.
Johnson’s first head coaching job was at Nevada, where he coached for five season and not only led the Wolfpack to its first-ever NCAA win, but his 2004 team reached the Sweet Sixteen. He moved on to Stanford for four seasons from 2004-08 before leaving to take over the program at LSU.
“I thank the NABC for this appointment and look forward to serving our organization,” said Johnson.
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Forrest “Phog” Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game.
The NABC currently claims nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.