Clemon Johnson Biography
Clemon James Johnson Jr. (born September 12, 1956) is an American retired professional basketball player and the former head basketball coach at Florida A&M. Johnson was a 6'10", 240:lb (110:kg) center who played 761 games for four teams during his 10 seasons in the National Basketball *ociation. From 1974 to 1978 he played college basketball at Florida A&M University where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in sports management.
Johnson was selected with the 22nd pick of the second round of the 1978 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He was acquired along with a 1984 third-round selection (48th overall–Georgia forward James Banks) by the Philadelphia 76ers from the Indiana Pacers for Russ Schoene, a 1983 first-rounder (23rd overall–Mitchell Wiggins) and a 1984 second-rounder (29th overall–Stuart Gray) on February 15, 1983. He famously said that his trade to the 76ers was "like going from the outhouse to the White House." He was a reserve with the team when it won the NBA Championship later that season. After his NBA playing days ended in 1988, Johnson extended his career overseas in Italy.
After his professional basketball career, Johnson became an economics teacher and high school basketball coach in Tallah*ee, Florida. His son Chad played college basketball at the University of Pittsburgh until 2002.
In May 2007, Clemon Johnson was named interim head coach of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks men's basketball team. He served as interim head coach in 2007–08 and was named head coach following that season. He has coached the team for four total seasons (2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11). On May 6, 2011, Johnson was named head coach at his alma mater, Florida A&M. After three seasons and a 32–64 record, Johnson was fired from Florida A&M by athletic director Kellen Winslow.
Head coaching record
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com::and:Basketball-Reference.com
