LSU Gold

Nikita Johnson Season 2023-24

LSU
Nikita Johnson
Title
Assistant Coach
Email
ngjohn13@lsu.edu

Nikita Johnson enters his second season on the LSU coaching staff and his abilities both on the floor and in recruiting have made him a strong addition to the LSU basketball family.

Johnson fit well in to the coaching rhythms of the staff and was able to provide his own coaching expertise in practices and has blended in well with coach John Brady and associate head coach Butch Pierre as part of the recruiting trio of the staff.

Johnson came to LSU after six years with the University of New Orleans and experience on the Division I level as an assistant coach since 1993. At UNO, Johnson worked under Joey Stiebing and later, Monty Towe, where the Privateers produced four classes that received strong marks in the national ratings.

A graduate of the University of West Georgia and Chipola Junior College, the 45-year-old Johnson also served as an assistant coach at each of those schools, as well as Odessa (Texas) College before moving to the Division I level where he served as assistant coach at Murray State from 1993-95, Duquesne from 1995-98, Tennessee State in 1998 and six years at UNO.

Four coaches he has worked for in Division I have been named Coach of the Year during his tenure at their respective schools.

That included Stiebing in 2001 when the UNO coach was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. In his last year, as part of Towe’s staff, he helped lead the Privateers to the championship game of the Sun Belt Tournament. In his first year with the Tigers, LSU was the co-champions of the SEC West and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

At Murray State, he was part of a staff that won two Ohio Valley Conference championships and advanced to the NIT and NCAA Tournament. The 1993-94 team posted a 23-6 record.

Johnson coached NBA players Moochie Norris (Odessa) and Mike James (Duquesne), both presently in the league, and also coached Marcus Brown at Murray State who played for several years in the NBA.

As a junior college coach, Johnson helped Chipola win six conference titles for Coach Milton Johnson, the winningest coach in Florida junior college history. Johnson was on the staff of the 1993 Odessa team when the school finished eighth in the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament. This came several years after Johnson as a player helped lead
Chipola to a fifth-place finish in the same event.

“Nikita’s talents are numerous and he helps us in every aspect of our program. Nikita’s experience as a coach is a great asset, plus he’s an outstanding recruiter and he communicates well with our players,” said LSU Coach John Brady.

Johnson was born in Donaldsonville, Ga., and grew up in nearby Greenwood, Fla. He earned regional, all-county and all-district honors for Marianna (Fla.) High. He helped his team go 76-10 in three seasons, including a pair of runner-up finishes in the Class AAA state playoffs in 1977 and 1978.

Johnson is married to the former Tonya Ramey of Pittsburgh, Penn.

College Coaching Experience
1981-87 — Assistant Coach, Chipola Junior College
1987-89 — Student Assistant, University of West Georgia
1989-91 — Assistant Coach, Chipola Junior College
1991-93 — Assistant Coach, Odessa College
1993-95 — Assistant Coach, Murray State
1995-98 — Assistant Coach, Duquesne University
1998 — Assistant Coach, Tennessee State
1998-04 — Assistant Coach, University of New Orleans
2004 — Assistant Coach, LSU

The Johnson File
Year at LSU: Second
Birth Date: Aug. 13, 1960
Age: 45
Hometown: Greenwood, Fla.
Wife: Tonya
College: AA, Business Administration, Chipola Junior College, ’81; BS, Municipal Recreation, West Georgia, ’89