Tarius Johnson named new South Gibson boys basketball coach
Tarius Johnson
Two weeks after Drew Pirtle resigned to become the athletic director at Columbia Academy, South Gibson has its new boys basketball coach.
Tarius Johnson was named the new head boys basketball coach on Thursday.
“We are very excited to welcome Coach Johnson to SGC,” South Gibson athletic director Mark Dunn said via press release. “With his background as a championship, Hall of Fame player and experience playing for some of the best coaches during his high school and college career, Coach Johnson has what it takes to continue building our boys’ basketball program on the court and off.”
Johnson has spent the last two seasons at Chester County and led the Eagles to a 13-43 record.
Johnson played high school basketball at Liberty in Jackson and went on to play at Three Rivers Community College and Eastern Kentucky.
South Gibson is coming off the best season in program history as the Hornets reached the Class 3A state quarterfinals for the first time after winning the District 13-3A and Region 7-3A championships.
“I’m incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to become a teacher and the head boys basketball coach at South Gibson County High School,” Johnson said via press release. “This is a special opportunity, and I look forward to building relationships throughout the community while helping establish a basketball culture that connects every level of the program, from our elementary schools all the way through high school. My goal is to leave a lasting impact on our student-athletes and build a program our community can be proud of. I want to thank the South Gibson administration for believing in me, trusting my vision, and sharing a commitment to the long-term success of this program. Their support means a great deal to me. I also want to thank the players, administrators, and community of Chester County for the last two years. Thank you for believing in me and supporting our journey together. Those relationships and memories will always be special, and I’m excited for this next chapter at South Gibson! Let’s go Hornets!”
During his time at Liberty, Johnson was a freshman on the 2007 Class AA state championship team, and his senior season was 2010 when the Crusaders finished as the Class AA state runner-up. His jersey is retired at Liberty, and he is the second all-time leading scorer at the school with 1,733 points.
At Three Rivers Community College, he averaged 17.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game as a freshman, and then as a sophomore, he averaged 20.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals to be named a third team All-American. He finished his career with 1,234 points.
At Eastern Kentucky, he played in and started all 35 games and averaged 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds, as he was Eastern Kentucky’s second-leading rebounder.
