Johnson Comes Back Home; Takes Over Citrus Basketball Program
Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Athletics Department is pleased to announce that former assistant Patrick Johnson has been named the program's 11th head coach in the program's 64 year history. Johnson comes back to Citrus after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Concordia University in Irvine, and replaces former Head Coach Chris Victor who took a position on NCAA DI Eastern Washington Universities staff.
"Having worked at Citrus before, I know what a great community it is. Citrus is full of passionate and hard-working individuals at all levels and I was extremely attracted by the opportunity to come back and be a part of that," Johnson said. "There is a great chance here to help young people improve themselves and achieve their goals, and I am looking forward to doing my part in that effort."
As a student-athlete, Johnson played four years for Duke University and legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. As a member of the Blue Devils, Johnson's team appeared in one final four, three Sweet 16's, and four NCAA Tournaments. Duke also won three Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championships, and two ACC Regular Season Championships, while Johnson was a member of the program.
In his most recent college coaching stint, Johnson helped lead the Eagles at Concordia to a 69-31 record over the course of three seasons. Concordia went to the NAIA National Championship Tournament two out of three seasons in which Johnson was a member of the staff.
Prior to Concordia, Johnson was at Citrus for two seasons, helping the Owls to back to back State Championship Final Four appearances. Citrus went 55-8 with his help between the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. In 2010-2011, the Owls advanced all the way to the CCCAA State Championship game, losing 83-81 to San Francisco City College. In 2011-2012, Citrus returned to the Final Four, falling in the semi-finals to Fresno City College 69-71.
"My vision first and foremost for this program is that everyone who is a part of Citrus Basketball will represent themselves and the program in a way that makes Citrus proud. We're going to compete at everything we do, work extremely hard on and off the court, and put in extra time around campus and in the community," Johnson said. "Ultimately I will judge our program's success on moving players to the 4-year level, so everything we do will be working toward that goal."
Prior to Citrus, Johnson spent a season at NCAA Division II Missouri Southern State University and one season at NCAA DIII Claremont McKenna College where the Stags won the SCIAC Championship. Johnson's first coaching stint was in the high school ranks where he spent two seasons at Claremont High School.
"We are excited to welcome Patrick back into the Citrus College family," said Dean of Kinesiology and Athletics Jody Wise. "He has demonstrated himself to be a man of character, a leader of young men, and is a strong choice to take over the men's basketball program. We know that he will continue to keep Citrus as one of the top programs around the State."
http://www.citrusowls.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/20150717785fh4