Former Hurricane Stars Named to Tulsa Basketball Coaching Staff
4/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 12, 2001
Tulsa, Okla. - Two former University of Tulsa basketball players, Kwanza Johnson and Alvin "Pooh" Williamson, both of whom starred on Tulsa's NCAA Tournament "Sweet Sixteen" teams of 1994 and 1995, are returning to their alma mater as assistant basketball coaches, announced today by TU Head Coach John Phillips.
Johnson, 29, spent the past season as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, helping the Trojans post an 18-11 overall record. During the 1999-00 season, Johnson was an assistant coach at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
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Johnson was the basketball administrative assistant at Tulsa for two seasons, 1997-99, while working towards his law degree.
A two-year letterwinner, Johnson was instrumental in Tulsa reaching the NCAA Tournament in his two seasons after transferring from Rose State (Okla.) Junior College. As a senior, Johnson averaged 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in a starting role. He was named to the Missouri Valley Conference's all-defensive team his senior campaign. Johnson played his prep basketball at Oklahoma City's John Marshall High School.
Johnson received his bachelor's degree from TU in economics in 1995. He earned a law degree from The University of Tulsa, College of Law in 1999.
Williamson, 28, comes to Tulsa after one season on the coaching staff at Tulane University. Previously, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Illinois State, where he tutored guards Victor Williams and Tarise Bryson, the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively.
Prior to his stint at Illinois State, Williamson served one year as an assistant coach at Washington State University. He was instrumental in the development of starting point guard Blake Pengally, who as a freshman totaled 120 assists.
Williamson, a four-year letterwinner at Tulsa, started 63 games for the Hurricane during his final two seasons. He was a double-figure scorer in both his junior and senior seasons, and had a 7.2 career scoring average. Williamson was a first-team all-MVC selection and all-defensive team peformer as a senior in 1995.
A native of Beggs, Okla., Williamson completed his collegiate career ranked seventh on the school's all-time assists chart and 10th on the career steals list.
'It's great to have two young guys who have solid coaching experience and are graduates of The University of Tulsa return home," said Phillips. "In their brief coaching careers, both Kwanza and Pooh have demonstrated their abilities to recruit and teach the game of basketball. As players, they helped put Tulsa basketball on the map, and as coaches they'll be instrumental in continuing our basketball success."
