Entering his fourth year as the Head Boy’s Varsity Basketball Coach,
at Melrose High School, Jermaine Johnson has taken the next step in the
rebuilding process of the Golden Wildcats Basketball program. In his
first campaign at the helm, Johnson helped re-establish a disciplined
program with a cornerstone of Pursuing Victory with Honor and winning
the District 16AAA tournament Title, also advancing to the semifinals
of the 2008 regional championship. The 2008-2009 basketball season, Jermaine
Johnson led the Golden Wildcats to a 29-7 overall record. He led them
to a District 16 –AAA regular season title, MIAA City –runner-up,
16AAA tournament runner-up, Region 8-AAA runner-up, and TSSAA State sectional
appearance in just his second season. This past year, he led them to
a 2009 Arby's Classic title, District 16 AAA tourney crown, Region 8
AAA
title, Sectional Champions, and 2009-2010 TSSAA Class AAA State Champions.
In 2000, Coach Johnson headed to the University of Memphis as a Student
Assistant Coach for Head Coach John Calipari. In 1998 Johnson left Memphis,
TN for the University of Texas-Arlington and led the Movin Mavs to the
Southland Conference Championship game. Jermaine took the reigns of the
YOMCA Team Memphis AAU basketball program and established himself as
one of the up and coming young coaches in Tennessee. Johnson directed
the rebuilding process of the Big Y by doubling the win total from the
two summers prior to his arrival and leading the YOMCA back to Orlando
for the AAU championships. By doing this, Johnson left this program in
better shape then when he arrived. Johnson was the Founder and Director
for the Memphis Elite Basketball program and was highly involved in the
fundraising success of ME athletics. As Director, Jermaine was the Coach
for the 2003 Memphis Elite 15 &under AAU team that finished 11th
place in the Division I Nationals Boy’s Basketball Tournament.
Coach Johnson is definitely no stranger to the TSSAA. As an Assistant
Coach for Ridgeway High, JJ helped direct the Roadrunners to an 88 -
17 record, one State Championship, 1 freshman city championship with
a 30-1 record, and three TSSAA Regional Tournament appearances. In one
of his two seasons at RHS, the ‘Roadrunners where ranked in the
top 20 and reached as high as number sixteen in the country in both 2005
season by the USA Today Super 25.
During his time in Craigmont, Johnson was the Academic, Scouting, and
Player development Coordinator. A strong believer in the STUDENT-athlete,
he set up a highly organized and successful academic advisement, tutoring,
and study hall program that yielded a team GPA of 3.00.
An active participant in summer basketball camps, he has organized and
run several camps across the country including those at Cordova High,
Adidas Jr. Phenom Camp, Grizzlies Summer Hoops-Camp, and Team Camps,
and was the Co-director of his own 1on1basketball Academy Camp. He has
also helped organize and run the City of Lakeland’s Fall Coaches
Clinic and the ‘CBL Fall Youth League.
In addition to Coach Johnson’s success at Ridgeway, his journey
didn’t stop in East Memphis. He headed to Cordova High School and
build a freshman basketball program, nevertheless within two years his
squad was the best freshman team in the city of Memphis with a 28-2 record.
Coach Johnson has won two out of three MIAA freshmen city championships
in 2005 and 2007.
Johnson began his coaching career at Craigmont High School, as a Volunteer
Assistant for two seasons. During his two seasons, the Chiefs went 33-21,
breaking the school record for winning percentage in a season (20-7,
.740) his second year at Craigmont.
The younger of two children, he graduated from Ridgeway High School in
Memphis, Tn. He earned his Bachelor’s from the United States Sports
Academy and is presently pursuing his Master’s in Physical Education
at the University of Tennessee Tech. In addition to his coaching skills,
Johnson is an entrepreneur and an accomplished professional basketball
trainer. He have a eight year-old son Carson Johnson, and reside in Memphis.
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