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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Jim Weaver has announced the hiring of James Johnson as the Hokies’ head men’s basketball coach.

“I am very pleased to welcome James Johnson as the new head men’s basketball coach at Virginia Tech,” Weaver said. “He is an individual with 19 years of coaching experience, who has spent the last five years here at Virginia Tech. He knows and has recruited most of our current players. We believe that he is the right person at this moment in time.”

No stranger to the Hokie Nation, Johnson spent the last five seasons on the men’s basketball staff at Virginia Tech. He was an assistant coach from 2007-2011 before being promoted to associate head coach prior to last season. He had accepted an assistant coaches’ position at Clemson on April 13 of this year, but returns to Blacksburg to take over the reins of the men’s basketball program.

“Virginia Tech and the Hokie Nation have a special place in my heart and I am blessed and excited for the opportunity to become the head basketball coach,” Johnson said. “I look forward to working with a great group of young men and moving forward with this program.”.

Johnson joined the Hokies following two seasons as an assistant at George Mason. While at Mason, he focused on organizing the team’s defensive efforts in practice and games. The Patriots were a combined 45-23 in his two seasons and advanced to the 2006 NCAA Final Four. Before GMU, Johnson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State. He was the recruitment coordinator for the Nittany Lions. Prior to Penn State, Johnson had a one-year stint as an assistant at the College of Charleston and he spent two years as an assistant at Elon.

Johnson, a native of Powhatan, Va., was a four-year player and three-year starter at Ferrum College. A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, he helped guide his team to two conference championships and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. He was also voted his team’s Most Valuable Player in 1993. In 2001, Johnson was selected as one of the Top 10 players in Ferrum basketball history. In September of 2009, Johnson was elected into the Ferrum College Athletic Hall of Fame.

After graduating from Ferrum with a bachelor of science in psychology in 1993, he immediately stepped into the coaching ranks at his alma mater and served as an assistant for two seasons. Johnson helped guide the Panthers to a regular-season conference title.

In 1995, Johnson moved on to Longwood College as an assistant and then spent one year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he worked with the post-graduate team. In 1997, he began a three-year run as an assistant at Old Dominion. Johnson is a member of the Black Coaches Association (BCA) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). In March 2001, Johnson was named one of the Top 20 Assistant Coaches at Mid-Major Division I Schools by Rivals.com. He was a squad leader in the Army National Guard from 1989-91.

Fans interested in receiving ticket information for the 2012-13 men’s basketball season should click here to enter in your information. All those that register will receive a free e-photo of Coach Johnson as well as be entered into a drawing to win free basketball tickets and an autographed ball.

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