New Penn State Shenango men's basketball coach Johnson eager to embark on leading the Lions

Jul. 14—SHARON — New Penn State Shenango men's head basketball Coach Bruce Johnson Jr. hit the ground running, which should prove beneficial. That's because Johnson will spend this season on the road — literally.

Johnson resides in the Cleveland suburb of Elyria, so his 2021-22 college cage season will be one, long road trip. However, he is eager.

"I have a vision, and it's a unique vision. I don't think that it's hard, but it's not just basketball-specific," Johnson recently related. "So I think it's better to be in a young program and athletic department. We're all just gonna build it together. That was one of the things that drew me in(to PSU-Shenango) — just being a part of a young athletic department, and everybody building together."

The local Lions qualified for the Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs during each of the program's first 2 seasons before becoming a COVID-19 casualty in 2020-21. Johnson reported 9 players remained with the program during the year-long hiatus.

"We have nine committed. Usually you have about fifteen on a roster, so we're in great shape," observed Johnson, who will continue recruiting this summer until the academic year begins in late-August.

One of the players he's already met online is Gannon Murray. Two years ago when Shenango surged to 15 wins and the PSUAC postseason tournament Final Four Murray was a mainstay, leading the Lions in scoring (15.5), assists (4.0), steals (1.8) and minutes (30.9), while contributing 5.1 rebounds. Murray made 49.8 % (151 of 303) of his field-goal attempts, including 36.8% (14 of 38) from beyond the 3-point arc, and converted 70.3% (71 of 101) of his free throws.

Unfortunately, what would have been Murray's sophomore season was short-circuited by a summertime ACL tear. However he is back and Johnson said, "He's definitely gonna be one of our best players again. It's just a shame he only has one year left, but it's great for me."

Johnson's coaching background is diverse, ranging from scholastic (Cleveland Central Catholic High assistant), to NCAA Division II (Notre Dame College assistant) and D-III (Oberlin College assistant), to schools similar in size to Shenango — (Owens Community College head coach; Lakeland Community College assistant; Lorain County Community College associate head coach), to AAU (Score More Athletic Club head coach for players, grades 4-through-11).

And Johnson has enjoyed success at every stint, both athletically and academically.

During 3 years at Lakeland CC those teams compiled an aggregate 60-34 won-lost ledger. The 2014-15 contingent won Ohio Community College Athletic Conference regular-season and postseason tournament titles, concluding with a 5th-place finish in the National Junior College Athletic Assn. championship tourney. At Owens CC he initiated an athletic department-wide mandate for study tables and academic retention sheets, and the basketball program responded with a collective 2.75 GPA.

Johnson's background includes degrees from Lorain CCC (associate's in Applied Science/Sports and Fitness Management) and Cleveland State University (bachelor's in Applied Science-Physical Education), and he also is a certified personal trainer. The native of Lyndhurst, Ohio, graduated from Charles F. Brush High.

His refined resume reads thusly: "My career objective is to obtain a coaching position where I can utilize my skills as a recruiter, player-developer and role-model. I am committed to student-athlete growth, and continuously seek creative ways to improve their physical abilities as well as strengthening their character and academic endeavors. My ultimate goal is to properly cultivate and maintain a successful program culture on the court, in the classroom and in the community."

As for X's and O's, Johnson related, "Defensively, we want to keep people out of the paint ... we want to discourage ball-reversals — we don't want people flippin' the floor easily — and we want to get on the glass. Offensively, you just want to spread people out. ... We want to have as many guys on the court at one time that can handle the ball, shoot the ball, pass the ball, and be as versatile as possible. Kind've traditional, with how basketball's played today, I think."

He said he embraces the 3-point line as part of his team's offensive game plan, also.

Penn State Shenango's season does not start until November with Kent State-Tuscarawas, but Johnson's competitive nature immediately surfaced.

"Obviously, I don't think you coach at the college level if you're not competitive. I want to win every game that we play," he began. "But, realistically, I want to establish my vision: Try and be super-focused on academics, tryin' to be focused on being respectful (he bagged groceries for senior citizens during his time at Owens CC), and tryin' to be focused on giving maximum effort. Tryin' to instill that culture. This is four-year school, so we're also tryin' to establish ourselves within the community."

To the latter point Johnson is hoping to initiate summer kids' cage camps in order to "get them exposed to our program, K-through-eight (grades), and then maybe, nine-through-twelve have a 'prospect' camp. ... Get our name out there more, and just try and bring in more enrollment to our college and more notoriety for the area.

"We're just trying to create a good foundation, to be honest," Johnson continued. "Obviously, we want to win every game. And I think with the guys we have comin' back and the guys we've recruited, I think we're going to have enough talent to be successful. But you've gotta go out there and you're gotta be healthy, make sure guys are playin' well together. And you have to have some good fortune, as well.

"But, as I said, mostly from a program standpoint, it's just makin' sure we're building from a solid foundation," Johnson emphasized. "I'm excited to be here. The community and the people at the college have been very accepting, and very, very helpful."

A tune-up and new tires for his vehicle may be helpful, too.

"I think it's a good opportunity for me. I love that it's a small college ... I love that it's under two hours from Cleveland. I would never be a head coach somewhere where I didn't believe in the vision and mission of the institution and the athletic department, or send my own child there, or where I wouldn't go myself if I was a player," Johnson summarized. "I'm excited to be here, I'm humbled to be here, and, honestly, just ready to get to work and show results."