John Johnson (basketball, born 1956) explained

John Johnson
Position:Guard
Height Cm:187
Birth Date:12 July 1955
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California
Nationality:American
High School:Alhambra High School
Years1:1978–1979
Team1:Fram
Years2:1978
Team2:ÍS
Years3:1979–1981
Team3:ÍA
Years4:1980
Team4:Valur
Years5:1994
Team5:Selfoss
Cyears1:1978–1979
Cteam1:Fram
Cyears2:1979–1980
Cteam2:Valur (assistant)
Cyears3:1979–1981
Cteam3:ÍA
Highlights:As player:

As coach:

As assistant coach:

Jonathan M. Johnson (born 12 July 1955) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was part of the first influx of foreign basketball players in Iceland in the late 1970s. In 1979, he set the single game scoring record in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla when he scored 71 points for Fram against ÍS. In 1980, he won the Icelandic championship and the Icelandic cup as an assistant coach with Valur.

Early life

Johnson was born and grew up in Los Angeles.[1]

Professional career

In August 1978, Johnson signed as a player-coach with Fram in the Icelandic second-tier 1. deild karla.[2] In his debut on 23 September, he scored 55 points in Fram's 93–81 victory against Ármann in the annual pre-season Reykjavík Basketball Tournament.[3] He led the team to the tournament finals where the team lost to Valur despite Johnson scoring 41 points.[4] On 12 November, he scored 52 points in a victory against KFÍ.[5]

In November 1978, Johnson was loaned to ÍS for their upcoming games against FC Barcelona in the 1978–79 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup.[6] [7] Although Johnson played well and scored 24 points in both games, ÍS suffered a lopsided losses.[8] [9]

At the season's end, Fram finished first in the league and achieved promotion to the top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla. After some uncertainty of his return due to Fram's poor financial situation,[10] Johnson re-signed with the team for the 1979–80 season.[11]

On 17 November 1979, Johnson set the Úrvalsdeild single game scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against ÍS.[12] [13] In the beginning of December, tension between Johnson and the team reached a breaking point with Johnson being unhappy with the lateness of his salary while the board of the team was unhappy with his temperament. In the end, Johnson left the team after playing 7 games where he averaged 35.0 points per game.[14] [15]

After his departure from Fram, he served as an assistant coach to Tim Dwyer of Valur[16] where he would win the national championship[17] and the Icelandic cup in March 1980.[18] Alongside assisting Dwyer, Johnson was hired as a player-coach for 2. deild karla club ÍA in December 1979.[19] Johnson re-signed with ÍA the following season[20] and in October 1980 he was loaned to Valur for its upcoming games against Cibona Zagreb in the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup.[21] After scoring only 14 points in the first game between the teams,[22] Johnson scored a game high 31 points in the second game.[23]

In 1994, Johnson signed with 1. deild karla club Ungmennafélag Selfoss.[24] He was released by the team after appearing in 7 games.[25]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Maður borðar ekki vini sína, er það? . Bæjarblaðið . 8 March 1980 . 5, 9 . Icelandic.
  2. News: Kanarnir flæða inn í landið . 9 December 2019 . . 30 August 1978 . 31 . Icelandic.
  3. News: Gylfi Kristjánsson . Þeir bandarísku í aðalhlutverkum . 9 December 2019 . . 25 September 1978 . Icelandic.
  4. News: Valsmenn meistarar eftir hörkuleik . 9 December 2019 . . 11 October 1978 . 31 . Icelandic.
  5. News: Úrslitin í 1. deild eins og spáð var . 9 December 2019 . . 14 November 1978 . Icelandic.
  6. News: ÍS leikur með tvo bandaríska leikmenn á móti F.C Barcelona . 9 December 2019 . . 18 November 1978 . 47 . Icelandic.
  7. News: Gylfi Kristjánsson . Betra að spila með Dunbar en á móti . 9 December 2019 . . 21 November 1978 . 12–13 . Icelandic.
  8. News: Snilldarleikur Johnson dugði ekki til . 9 December 2019 . . 23 November 1978 . 9 . Icelandic.
  9. News: Allt annar klassi . 9 December 2019 . . 23 November 1978 . 12–13 . Icelandic.
  10. News: Sigurður Sverrisson . Það er alls ekki öruggt að ég komi hingað aftur . 15 December 2019 . . 28 April 1979 . 13 . Icelandic.
  11. News: Kanarnir streyma nú til landsins . 9 December 2019 . . 19 September 1979 . 6 . Icelandic.
  12. News: Gylfi Kristjánsson . Johnson var í banastuði . 9 December 2019 . . 19 November 1979 . Icelandic.
  13. News: Johnson var stórkostlegur! . 9 December 2019 . . 19 November 1979 . 27 . Icelandic.
  14. News: Gylfi Kristjánsson . John hættur hjá Fram! . 9 December 2019 . . 3 December 1979 . Icelandic.
  15. News: Johnson hættur hjá Fram . 9 December 2019 . . 4 December 1979 . 12 . Icelandic.
  16. News: Þórir hetja Valsmanna . 9 December 2019 . . 6 December 1979 . 15 . Icelandic.
  17. News: Stórleikur hjá Þóri innsiglaði sigurinn . 9 December 2019 . . 18 March 1980 . 7 . Icelandic.
  18. News: Gylfi Kristjánsson . Valur bætti þriðja titlinum í safnið . 9 December 2019 . . 20 March 1980 . 7 . Icelandic.
  19. News: Johnson fer upp á Skaga . 9 December 2019 . . 17 December 1979 . 11 . Icelandic.
  20. News: Kjartan L. Pálsson . Johnson áfram . 9 December 2019 . . 30 September 1980 . 16 . Icelandic.
  21. News: Valur ræðst ekki á garðinn þar sem hann er lægstur . 9 December 2019 . . 10 October 1980 . 11 . Icelandic.
  22. News: Cibona lék á annari hæð . 9 December 2019 . . 17 October 1980 . 21 . Icelandic.
  23. News: Valur stóð fyrir sínu . 9 December 2019 . . 20 October 1980 . 20 . Icelandic.
  24. News: Björn Ingi Hrafnsson . Enn að . 9 December 2019 . Helgarpósturinn . 8 December 1994 . 19 . Icelandic.
  25. News: Sá öflugasti með Selfossi? . 9 December 2019 . . 10 January 1995 . 17 . Icelandic.