John Johnson (basketball, born 1956)

Jonathan M. Johnson (born 23 October 1956) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was part of the first influx of foreign basketball players in Iceland in the late 1970s. In 1979, he set the single game scoring record in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla when he scored 71 points for Fram against ÍS. In 1980, he won the Icelandic championship and the Icelandic cup as an assistant coach with Valur.

This article is about John Johnson who starred in Iceland. For the former NBA player born in 1947, see John Johnson (basketball).
John Johnson
Personal information
Born (1956-10-23) October 23, 1956
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
PositionGuard
Career history
As player:
1978–1979Fram
1978→ÍS
1979–1981ÍA
1980→Valur
1994Selfoss
As coach:
1978–1979Fram
1979–1980Valur (assistant)
1979–1981ÍA
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

As assistant coach:

Early life

Johnson was born and grew up in Los Angeles.[1]

Professional career

In August 1978, Johnson signed as a player-coach with Fram in the Icelandic second-tier 1. deild karla.[2] In his debut on 23 september, he scored 55 points in Fram's 93-81 victory against Ármann in the annual pre-season Reykjavík Basketball Tournament.[3] He led the team to the tournament finals where the team lost to Valur despite Johnson scoring 41 points.[4] On 12 November, he scored 52 points in a victory against KFÍ.[5]

In November 1978, Johnson was loaned to ÍS for their upcoming games against FC Barcelona in the 1978–79 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup.[6][7] Although Johnson played well and scored 24 points in both games, ÍS suffered a loopsided losses.[8][9]

At the seasons end, Fram finished first in the league and achieved promotion to the top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla. After some uncertainty of his return due to Fram's poor financial situation,[10] Johnson re-signed with the team for the 1979–80 season.[11]

On 17 November 1979, Johnson set the Úrvalsdeild single game scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against ÍS.[12][13] In the beginning of December, tension between Johnson and the team reached a breaking point with Johnson being unhappy with the lateness of his salary while the board of the team was unhappy with his temperament. In the end, Johnson left the team after playing 7 games where he averaged 35.0 points per game.[14][15]

After his departure from Fram, he served as an assistant coach to Tim Dwyer of Valur[16] where he would win the national championship[17] and the Icelandic cup in March 1980.[18] Alongside assisting Dwyer, Johnson was hired as a player-coach for 2. deild karla club ÍA in December 1979.[19] Johnson re-signed with ÍA the following season[20] and in October 1980 he was loaned to Valur for its upcoming games against Cibona Zagreb in the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup.[21] After scoring only 14 points in the first game between the teams,[22] Johnson scored a game high 31 points in the second game.[23]

In 1994, Johnson signed with 1. deild karla club Ungmennafélag Selfoss.[24] He was released by the team after appearing in 7 games.[25]

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References
  1. "Maður borðar ekki vini sína, er það?". Bæjarblaðið (in Icelandic). 8 March 1980. pp. 5, 9.
  2. "Kanarnir flæða inn í landið". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 August 1978. p. 31. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  3. Gylfi Kristjánsson (25 September 1978). "Þeir bandarísku í aðalhlutverkum". Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  4. "Valsmenn meistarar eftir hörkuleik". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 11 October 1978. p. 31. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  5. "Úrslitin í 1. deild eins og spáð var". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 14 November 1978. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  6. "ÍS leikur með tvo bandaríska leikmenn á móti F.C Barcelona". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 November 1978. p. 47. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  7. Gylfi Kristjánsson (21 November 1978). "Betra að spila með Dunbar en á móti". Vísir (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  8. "Snilldarleikur Johnson dugði ekki til". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 23 November 1978. p. 9. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  9. "Allt annar klassi". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 23 November 1978. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  10. Sigurður Sverrisson (28 April 1979). "Það er alls ekki öruggt að ég komi hingað aftur". Tíminn (in Icelandic). p. 13. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  11. "Kanarnir streyma nú til landsins". Vísir (in Icelandic). 19 September 1979. p. 6. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  12. Gylfi Kristjánsson (19 November 1979). "Johnson var í banastuði". Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  13. "Johnson var stórkostlegur!". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 19 November 1979. p. 27. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  14. Gylfi Kristjánsson (3 December 1979). "John hættur hjá Fram!". Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  15. "Johnson hættur hjá Fram". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 4 December 1979. p. 12. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  16. "Þórir hetja Valsmanna". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 6 December 1979. p. 15. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  17. "Stórleikur hjá Þóri innsiglaði sigurinn". Vísir (in Icelandic). 18 March 1980. p. 7. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  18. Gylfi Kristjánsson (20 March 1980). "Valur bætti þriðja titlinum í safnið". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 7. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  19. "Johnson fer upp á Skaga". Vísir (in Icelandic). 17 December 1979. p. 11. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  20. Kjartan L. Pálsson (30 September 1980). "Johnson áfram". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 16. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  21. "Valur ræðst ekki á garðinn þar sem hann er lægstur". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 10 October 1980. p. 11. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  22. "Cibona lék á annari hæð". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 October 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  23. "Valur stóð fyrir sínu". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 20 October 1980. p. 20. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  24. Björn Ingi Hrafnsson (8 December 1994). "Enn að". Helgarpósturinn (in Icelandic). p. 19. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  25. "Sá öflugasti með Selfossi?". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 10 January 1995. p. 17. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
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