Coach Herb Sendek announced in early April of 2013 that Stan Johnson joined his staff as assistant coach, and Johnson's efforts helped the Sun Devils earn a spot in the 2014 NCAA Tournament and post a 16-1 home record, its best home mark since the 1974-75 season.
Johnson, most recently at Drake from 2011-2013, spent the previous three years at the University of Utah as an assistant coach for the Utes, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
During his two seasons at Drake, he helped coach Ben Simons and Joey King to Missouri Valley Conference honors with Simons earning All-MVC second-team honors each of the final two seasons and freshman King earning all-freshman honors in 2012-13. That same season saw the Bulldogs vault to the top of the national three-point shooting rankings as Drake made 8.7 three-pointers per game on 38.8 percent shooting.
Johnson brought eight years of experience as an assistant coach upon his arrival at Drake.
In Johnson's first season with the Bulldogs in 2011-12 he helped guide Drake to its second-highest conference finish (tied for third) since 1986, and a victory in the postseason for the first time since 1975. Two Bulldogs were named second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference (Ben Simons and Rayvonte Rice), and Simons was named captain of the MVC's Most Improved Team.
During his three-year stay at Utah Johnson was part of a staff that coached the Utes in 2008-09 to a 24-10 record, a share of the Mountain West Conference Championship and the postseason conference tournament title. Utah finished the season ranked No. 25 in the AP poll and earned a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region, at the time the highest seed ever given to a Mountain West team.
The 2008-09 Utes also ranked No. 1 in the MWC in opponent field-goal percentage and recorded a school-record 166 blocked shots. In 2009-10 Utah led the MWC in opponent three-point field-goal percentage, set another school record for blocked shots (186) and recorded 172 steals.
Johnson came to Utah after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge in 2007-08. The Matadors finished 20-10 overall and earned a share of their first Big West Conference regular season championship with Johnson on the staff.
Prior to his year at Cal State Northridge, Johnson spent three seasons (2004-07) on the bench at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. The Bearcats were 50-30 in that period, with three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history. The 2005-06 squad posted a 27-5 record, including a school-record 14 wins in a row to open the season. Southwest Baptist captured the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title that year and made a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament, finishing No. 6 in the national rankings.
Johnson started his coaching career at Bemidji (Minn.) State University in 2003-04. In his lone season at Bemidji, Johnson helped coach the Beavers to a 20-10 mark and their first-ever 20-win season. Bemidji State was 14-2 in conference play that season, earning a berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament and leading the nation in 3-pointers per game, with 11.7.
As a player, Johnson was a three-year letterman at Southern Utah University. He was a team captain and starter in 2000-01 and helped lead the Thunderbirds to the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they dropped a close 68-65 decision to No. 3 seed Boston College. Johnson was a three-time member of the Mid-Continent Conference All-Academic Team and earned a bachelor's degree in communications from SUU in 2003.
Johnson played his senior season of college basketball at Bemidji State (2002-03), where he served as a team captain and earned honorable mention all-conference accolades. He averaged 13.5 points and distributed a team-high 114 assists during his one season with the Beavers.
Johnson is a graduate of Taylorsville (Utah) High School. Stan and his wife Brittany have a four-year-old daughter, Brooklynn, and a three-year-old son, Myles.