He played basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats and Golden Gophers before becoming an assistant coach for several major college programs.
Following Dayton, Johnson became an assistant at the University of Texas–Pan American where he was heavily involved in recruiting and backcourt development.
[3] In 2013, Johnson returned to his alma mater to become an assistant under then-head coach Richard Pitino.
Johnson was also a key factor in the recruitment and development of Jordan Murphy who broke many Gopher records during his career.
On March 22, 2021, Johnson was announced as the new head basketball coach for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.