USC Upstate head men’s basketball coach Dave Dickerson has announced the addition of Anthony Johnson to the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Johnson, a native of Spartanburg, S.C. and graduate of James F. Byrnes High School, was most recently the director of development and recruiting at Georgia Southern University.
“I am extremely excited to add Anthony to our basketball family at USC Upstate. He will bring a lot of energy to every area of our program, and will be able to hit the ground running and have positive impact on our recruiting and player development from day one,” said Dickerson.
“Anthony has been part of successful programs at the College of Charleston and Texas Tech University where he coached in a National Championship game. He will be a terrific compliment to Stacey [Palmore] and Drew [Garcia] from a coaching standpoint with a primary focus on our perimeter players as well as assisting Stacey on the defensive end of the floor,” Dickerson continued. “Anthony will serve as a mentor to our players both on and off the court.”
Prior to his time at Georgia Southern, Johnson spent the 2019-20 season as the director of player development/video coordinator at the College of Charleston assisting with recruiting, video editing, scouting and academic progress.
Notably, Johnson served as a graduate assistant coach at Texas Tech in 2018-19 during the Red Raiders’ 31-7 Final Four campaign that culminated in an overtime battle against Virginia in the National Championship game.
“I am super excited to be working for Dave Dickerson. I really appreciate the opportunity he has afforded me to be here. Being a first-year assistant coach, this is a perfect fit to be back home in Spartanburg,” said Johnson. “Coach Dickerson has a great staff and I believe we have a good group of newcomers, and I really like our returning players as well. I’m ready to get to work and be part of the #SpartanArmy.”
Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in parks, recreation and tourism management with a minor in sociology from Clemson in 2012 and earned his master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at Texas Tech in May of 2019.
During his prep career, he was a three-year basketball letterwinner at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C. He was selected to the all-region, all-area and two-time all-tournament team. After graduation, Johnson was a two-year basketball letterman at Lees-McRae College before transferring to Clemson.
All hires by the University of South Carolina Upstate athletic department are subject to an approved background check.
