SAN JOSE, Calif. – San José State men's basketball has added the first piece to the puzzle for Tim Miles' coaching staff with Ben Johnson joining the Spartans as an assistant coach. Miles made the announcement on Thursday.
"Ben is the ultimate professional," Miles said. "He is a man of tremendous integrity and has a wide variety of experiences that will help elevate our program. Ben is an excellent recruiter, and he does a great job on the floor with player development and game planning. Most importantly, he is a strong mentor for the young men we come into contact with daily. He will make an impact for SJSU Men's Basketball in many ways."
Johnson joins the Spartan coaching staff after a five-year stint at the University of Portland, which ended with him coaching the Pilots' final seven games of the 2020-21 season as their interim head coach.
For 10 seasons spanning from 2003 to 2013, Johnson was an assistant coach at Washington State where he took part in just about every role of coaching duties during the stint. As an assistant under Ken Bone, Dick Bennett and three-time National Coach of the Year Tony Bennett, Johnson was known to be an outstanding recruiter with an eye for under the radar talent. He had a major hand in the recruitment and development of NBA Superstar Klay Thompson and NBA World Champion with the San Antonio Spurs, Aron Baynes.
During his time in Pullman, Wash., Johnson helped the Cougars reach back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007-08, as well as a pair of NIT Tournaments and a national finalist at the 2011-12 CBI Tournament. He coached five players to All PAC-12 honors, including first-teamer Taylor Rochestie and 2012 PAC-12 Most Improved Player, Brock Motum.
"My family and I are extremely thankful and grateful to Coach Miles for this incredible opportunity to come to San José State University," Johnson said. "Coach Miles is a rock star and an incredible coaching hire by Marie Tuite and the SJSU Administration. He will move mountains and move our student-athletes into action. I'm so excited to be here and to begin this new era in San Jose State men's basketball history. Go Spartans!"
A member of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Hall of Fame, Johnson made his name known as both a player and coach for the Phoenix. He helped the program advance to three-straight postseason appearances as a player, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1991 as a team co-captain. He returned to the Phoenix in 1995 as an assistant coach and helped lead the team to a 25-4 overall record including a 16-0 mark in conference play and a spot in their third-straight NCAA Tournament. Johnson remained on staff at UW-Green Bay until 2002.
In 2002, Johnson began his first of two stints as a head coach at the international level. For the 2002 and 2003 seasons he was the head coach and program director for Indigenous North Basketball (Kuiyam Pride) of the Queensland Basketball State League, where he recruited and coached future NBA player Nathan Jawai. Johnson returned to Australia for another stint from 2013-16 as the South State Head Coach and Program Director for Basketball Queensland where he oversaw development and coached the top high-performance athletes of Queensland, many of which played or currently play at the NCAA Division I level.
Ben and his wife, Nicky, have two children – Samira and Aziah.