Purdue men’s basketball head coach Matt Painter has announced that Terry Johnson will join the Boilermaker coaching staff.
Johnson comes to Purdue after a successful stint as an assistant coach at Ohio State. In his four years at Ohio State, Johnson has helped transform the Buckeyes into a national power on the court while serving as an outstanding recruiter in Columbus.
During his four seasons at Ohio State, Johnson helped the Buckeyes to an 87-44 record during the span, while reaching three NCAA Tournaments, including second-round appearances in 2018 and 2019 and a No. 2 seed in the 2021 tournament and making the Big Ten Tournament title game in March.
This past season, the Buckeyes were ranked as high as No. 4 nationally before ending the season ranked No. 7 in the final AP Top 25 poll. Ohio State finished with a 21-10 record that included nine Quad-1 victories and wins over Final Four participant UCLA and NCAA Tournament teams Rutgers (2), Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament. He was instrumental in the development of First-Team All-Big Ten selection E.J. Liddell, and the Buckeyes boasted the fourth-most efficient offense in America.
In his first year in Columbus, Ohio State finished the 2018 season with a 25-9 overall record. The Buckeyes recorded a 15-3 Big Ten Conference regular-season record to help the Buckeyes to a second-place finish in the league standings.
Ohio State completed the 2018-19 campaign with another 20-win season and a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament Second Round after a defeat of Iowa State in the NCAA First Round game in Tulsa.
Heading into the 2020 Big Ten Tournament, which, along with the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled, the Buckeyes built an overall record of 21-10 with a league mark of 11-9, good enough for a tie for the No. 5 spot in the league standings. The Big Ten was considered the best league nationally and the toughest top-to-bottom in perhaps the history of the league in 2020, only to be outdone in 2021.
Johnson arrived in Columbus after 10 seasons as an assistant at Butler, where he helped the Bulldogs to eight NCAA Tournaments, including consecutive Final Fours in 2010 and 2011, four regular-season conference championships and three conference tournament titles. The Bulldogs ranked in the Top 25 nationally eight times in those 10 seasons, had seven players garner Academic All-America honors and sent two players to the NBA. In 2015, Johnson was invited to the Villa 7 Consortium, which brings together university athletics directors and the country’s elite assistant coaches in an effort to prepare the next generation of college basketball leaders.
Prior to assisting at Butler, Johnson spent the 2006-07 campaign as an assistant on Dane Fife’s staff at Purdue Fort Wayne and served as director of basketball operations at Butler for two seasons. Johnson also served in an administrative capacity at Auburn in 2003-04 and had stops as an assistant coach at Lincoln Trail Junior College, Indiana Tech and IPFW.
Johnson played both basketball and baseball at Lincoln Trail from 1992-94, where he was named all-conference in both sports and was named an honorable mention All-American in basketball. From there, he went to Lamar University and again played both sports from 1994-96, leading the basketball team in assists and steals two years in a row. Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree from IPFW in 1998, earning all-conference, team MVP and Co-Male Athlete of the Year honors while playing baseball for the Mastodons. Johnson went on to play baseball professionally for the Tri-City Posse of the Western League for two years and the Anderson Lawmen of the Heartland League for another season. In addition, Johnson earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Western Kentucky in 2011.
Johnson and his wife, Kristen, are parents of three boys, twins Jalen and Jordan, and Caden.
The Terry Johnson File
Personal
Wife – Kristen
Children – Jalen, Jordan, Caden
Collegiate Coaching Experience
Purdue — Assistant Coach (Present)
Ohio State – Assistant Coach (2018-21)
Butler – Assistant coach (2008-17)
Purdue Fort Wayne – Assistant Coach (2007)
Butler – Director of Operations (2005-06)
Auburn – Administrative Position (2004)
Lincoln Trail JC – Assistant Coach (2002-03)
Indiana Tech – Assistant Coach (2000-01)
Purdue Fort Wayne – Assistant Coach (1998-99)
Collegiate Playing Experience
Lincoln Trail JC – Basketball and Baseball (1993-94)
Lamar – Basketball and Baseball (1995-96)
Purdue Fort Wayne – Baseball (1998)
College Education
Purdue Fort Wayne – Bachelor’s Degree (1998)
Western Kentucky – Master’s Degree / Sport Administration (2011)
Johnson moves from Ohio State to Purdue
