Jermaine Johnson - Director of Player Development - Men's Basketball Coaches

Jermaine Johnson returned home to the Bluff City as an assistant on head coach Penny Hardaway’s staff prior to the 2020-21 season. He moved into the Director of Player Development role midway through the 2021-22 campaign. A Memphis native, Johnson had a highly-successful stint as head coach at Melrose High School from 2007-13.

In 2020-21, Johnson helped the Tigers to a 20-8 record and the 2021 NIT championship. That following summer, Johnson had the honor of participating in the prestigious TopConnect Basketball Symposium, which identifies top assistant basketball coaches and connects them with Athletic Directors to provide networking and leadership developement opportunities.

Johnson came to Memphis after serving as an assistant coach at Troy in 2019-20.

Prior to his one season at Troy, Johnson was a member of UT Martin’s coaching staff from 2014-19. He began his time in Martin, Tenn., as an assistant and was promoted to associate head coach his final two seasons.

Johnson played a key role in the Skyhawks’ recent run of success. With Johnson on the bench, UT Martin won the program’s first two Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) West Division championships (2015-16, 2016-17), made the school’s first two OVC Tournament championship game appearances (2016, 2017) and rolled up five CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) victories.

In addition, Johnson helped oversee 73 wins from 2014-15 to 2017-18, the most victories in any four-year span in the school’s NCAA Division I era (since 1992). UT Martin posted three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in school history (2014-17).

Johnson joined the Skyhawks from Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga., where he helped the Eagles to the Southern Conference (SoCon) Tournament semifinals in 2013-14.

Before moving to the collegiate coaching ranks, Johnson made a name for himself as the Melrose High School head coach from 2007-13. In developing Melrose into a national top-25 program, Johnson led the Golden Wildcats to five straight District 16 AAA championships. He reached the pinnacle of his high school career in 2010 when he guided Melrose to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) Class 3A state crown, the program’s first state title since 1983. Johnson’s 2010 Melrose squad posted a 37-4 record.

During his tenure, he coached 32 seniors and all 32 players received college scholarships, including former Tiger Adonis Thomas. Johnson posted a 353-91 record as a high school head coach.

Johnson graduated from United States Sports Academy in 2007, and he received a master's degree in coaching and athletic administration in 2014.

University of Memphis Athletics

Men's Basketball

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