Quick change for Southern men’s hoops
It apparently didn’t take Southern University Athletics Director Roman Banks long to find a replacement for departed head basketball coach Sean Woods.
Tulane assistant Kevin Johnson is reportedly the choice to take over the program, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. He would take over for Woods who was let go last week.
Banks was a player at Northwestern State during the 1989-90 season when Johnson was in his first season as a college assistant. Johnson has spent the majority of his 30-plus year career coaching in Louisiana.
He spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette under head coach Bob Marlin, helping the program to 174 wins, including a 27-win season during the 2017-18 season, before moving to Tulane prior to the 2019 season.
Prior to his time at ULL, Johnson spent three seasons at Nicholls State, as the Colonels posted a 20-11 record and a 14-2 mark in the Southland Conference in just his second season in 2008-09. He spent two seasons as an assistant with Louisiana Tech after eight seasons at Centenary College from 1997-2005. A star at UT-Pan American — now UT Rio Grande Valley — he spent one season coaching there as well.
Southern went 15-17 under Woods in the 2022-23 season, 11-7 for third place in SWAC play. The Jags lost to Alabama A&M in the SWAC Tournament quarterfinals. Hired in 2018, Woods’ posted a 64-81 overall record during his five years leading the Jaguars with no conference championships or trips to the NCAA Tournament.
