Ben Johnson joined the Portland men’s basketball program in May 2016. Johnson brings 28 years of coaching experience to the program.
From 1993-95, Johnson was a youth development coach for Cairns Basketball, Australia where he coached hundreds of Cairns junior basketball players in their club, rep and weekend programs.
In 1995-2002, he was an assistant coach at his college alma mater, Wisconsin-Green Bay. In his first college coaching season, he helped the Phoenix to a (25-4) overall record & (16-0) in conference play. That season, the Phoenix returned to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.
During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Johnson was the head coach and program director for Indigenous North Basketball (Kuiyam Pride) of the Queensland Basketball State League. During that time, he identified, recruited and coached future Australian Boomer and NBA player, Nathan Jawai (Toronto Raptors).
In 2003, Johnson was named Queensland Basketball State League (QBL) Women’s Coach of the Year.
From 2003 to 2013, Johnson coached at Washington State University. He assisted and worked with Ken Bone, legendary coach, Dick Bennett and three-time National Coach of the Year, Tony Bennett. While at WSU, Johnson assisted in every role – coaching, recruiting, scouting, practice planning. From 2010-13, he served as the team’s defensive coordinator.
As a recruiter, Johnson is known for his ability to identify “under the radar” type talent. While at Washington State, he played a key role in helping the program recruit, sign and develop Klay Thompson, Aron Baynes, Brock Motum, Taylor Rochestie, Deangelo Casto and Josh Hawkinson.
In 2013-16, Johnson returned to Australia. He was the South State Head Coach and Program Director for Basketball Queensland. He was responsible for identifying, coaching and overseeing the development of the top high-performance athletes in the state of Queensland. Many of the junior level players he identified and coached (U14-U20 age groups) have played or are presently playing at NCAA, Division I colleges. During his years abroad, Johnson has coached and developed hundreds of athletes – both male and female.
In his role with Basketball Queensland, Johnson’s South State Team program achieved great success during that three-year period – capturing 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze medals at the prestigious Australian Junior National Championships between the U16, U18, U20 National levels.
Ben and his wife, Nicky, have two children – Samira (daughter) & Aziah (son).
COACHING ACHIEVEMENTS
- NCAA Tournament, 1st Round: 1995-96, UW-Green Bay (25-4)
- NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round: 2006-07, Washington State University (26-8)
- NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16: 2007-08, Washington State University (26-9)
- NIT Tournament, 1st Round: 2008-09, Washington State University (17-16)
- NIT Tournament, Final Four: 2010-11, Washington State University (22-13)
- CBI Tournament, National Finalists: 2011-12, Washington State University (19-18)
- Queensland Basketball League – 2003 Women’s Coach of the Year
- Australian Junior National Championships – 2016 U18 Nationals, Silver Medal
NOTABLE PLAYERS DISCOVERED
- Klay Thompson, Washington State (2008-11): 2016 Rio Olympics (USA) – Gold Medalist, 3-time NBA World Champion - Golden State Warriors
- Aron Baynes, Washington State (2005-09): 2016 Rio Olympics (Australia), Olympian, NBA World Champion - San Antonio Spurs… also has played with the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns
- Taylor Rochestie, Washington State (2006-09): 1st Team All PAC-10; 2-time PAC-10 All-Academic Team
- Brock Motum, Washington State (2009-13): 2016 Rio Olympics (Australia); 2-time PAC-12 Scoring Champion; PAC-12 Most Improved Player 2012
- Deangelo Casto, Washington State (2008-11); 2nd Team All PAC-10 and 2-time PAC-10 All-Defensive team
- Josh Hawkinson, Washington State (2013-17): 2nd Team All PAC-12, PAC-12 Most Improved Player 2015
- Nathan Jawai, Midland College (2006-07): Olympian (Australia), 2008 NBA draft – Toronto Raptors
COLLEGE PLAYING ACHIEVEMENTS
- NIT Tournament, 1st Round: 1990, UW-Green Bay
- NCAA Tournament, 1st Round: 1991, UW-Green Bay (Co-Captain)
- NIT Tournament, 2nd Round: 1992, UW-Green Bay (Captain)
- UW-Green Bay Hall of Fame (2007 Honoree)
COACHING MENTORS & PROFESSIONAL INFLUENCES
Dick Bennett, Tony Bennett, Ken Bone, Janelle Bressow, Aaron Fearne, Mike Heideman, Jeff Hironaka, Leonard King, Jim Lind, Peter Lonergan, Noel Lord, Rod Popp, Terry Porter, Bob Semling, Keith Wall, Woody Wilson