Temeka Johnson has been hired as the head girls basketball coach at John Curtis Christian School. She replaces Barbara Farris, who is now coaching at Stetson University as an assistant. Coach Temeka Johnson has not been in the coaching world long, but has a wealth of basketball experience. She was most recently the head basketball coach at McKinley Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, La. McKinley is known for its top-notch girls basketball program and is perennially one of the top teams in the state.
Coach Johnson is known as one of the best basketball players to ever come out of the metropolitan New Orleans area. Prepping at Bonnabel High School in Kenner, La., Temeka was a 4-time All-State player while compiling a record of 111 wins and 20 losses, while amassing nearly 3,000 points and having over 1,000 assists in her high school career.
She played collegiately at Louisiana State University. While there, she became LSU’s all-time career assist leader from 2001-2005. In 2004, she earned the Nancy Lieberman award, which recognizes the top collegiate point guard in the country. While at LSU she received a Bachelor’s Degree, focusing on Sociology, History and African American studies. She was taken as the #6 overall selection by the Washington Mystics in the WNBA draft in 2005.
Her professional career started off with a bang. She earned the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2005, while amassing 177 assists for the season. In all, she played 11 WNBA seasons. Some highlights of her WNBA career are: won the community assist award for her contributions off the court, while with the Phoenix Mercury. This award sparked the idea of the H.O.P.E. foundation. In 2009 she became a World Champion, winning the WNBA title with the Phoenix Mercury. In 2014, while playing for the Seattle Storm, Temeka posted the first triple-double in a game in franchise history, 5th player in league history and was the shortest (5’3”) player to do so. In her last professional season, in 2015 with the Los Angeles Sparks, Johnson posted her 2500th career point and 300th career steal.
During the offseason in her professional career, she also played internationally. She played in Russia, France, Poland and Israel, while winning the Euro Cup during the 2011-12 season. She was also a member of the United States World Championship for Young Women team that won a Gold Medal.
She will begin teaching and coaching immediately at John Curtis Christian School. She will be in charge and oversee the entire girls basketball program, which comprises of girls from grades 5th through 12th. She will try to continue the success of the basketball program, who has seven state championships to their credit.
{Courtesy: Press Release from John Curtis Christian School}
