Rahsaan Johnson
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Rahsaan Johnson
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|4|1}}
| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lbs = 175
| high_school = Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)
| college =
| draft_year = 2002
| career_start =
| career_end =
| career_position = Guard
| career_number =
| years1 = 2005
| team1 = Kotwica Kołobrzeg
| highlights =
- NEC Player of the Year (2001)
- 2× First-team All-NEC (2001, 2002)
- Second-team All-NEC (2000)
}}
Rahsaan Paul Johnson (born April 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Monmouth Hawks and was selected as the Northeast Conference Player of the Year in 2001.
High school career
Johnson attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and played on the basketball team.{{cite news |last1=Handleman |first1=Bill |title=Out of the Shadows |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-out-of-the-shadows-pa/169098478/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |work=Asbury Park Press |date=February 7, 2001 |page=31 |via=Newspapers.com}} He was a role player when the team won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference during his senior season in 1997.{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Tony |title=He's finally the main man |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-hes-finally-the-main/169098340/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |work=Asbury Park Press |date=March 3, 2000 |page=35 |via=Newspapers.com}}
College career
Johnson started his collegiate career at Allegany College of Maryland where he was a teammate of Steve Francis.{{cite news |last1=Vaccaro |first1=Mike |title=Lost and found: Born star made at Monmouth |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-ledger-lost-and-found-born-sta/169098302/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |work=The Star-Ledger |date=March 11, 2001 |page=90 |via=Newspapers.com}} Johnson was a key reserve on the team that accumulated a 34–1 record during the 1997–98 season. He arrived back on campus in August 1998 only to be told by an assistant that head coach, Bob Kirk, had decided to revamp his roster and Johnson was no longer wanted.
Johnson returned to Washington, D.C., and participated in pick-up basketball games at a court near his grandmother's home.{{cite web |last1=Argeris |first1=Steve |title=Johnson Is Quite a Pickup |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2001/03/15/johnson-is-quite-a-pickup/6c4a4dfe-ea15-4518-b375-56526dc6ad82/ |website=The Washington Post |access-date=March 29, 2025 |date=March 14, 2001}} He played against Kevin Nickelberry who was an assistant coach for the Monmouth Hawks. Nickelberry, who had previously recruited Johnson as an assistant for the Howard Bison, was so impressed by Johnson that he urged Hawks head coach Dave Calloway to give him a scholarship to join the team. A position on the Hawks became available when two players were cut from the team for disciplinary reasons and Johnson was slated to join the team in 1999. Johnson attended Montgomery College during the 1998–99 season to maintain his grade and earn credits without losing his eligibility. He frequently attended Maryland Terrapins games to watch his former Allegany teammate Francis.
Johnson made his debut for the Hawks during the 1999–00 season. He averaged 17.7 points per game and was nominated to the All-Northeast Conference (NEC) second-team. Johnson averaged 19.4 points per game during the 2000–01 regular season and was named as the NEC Player of the Year. He scored the game-winning points in the 2001 NEC tournament final to qualify the Hawks for the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.{{cite web |last1=Edelson |first1=Stephen |title=Who are Monmouth's greatest players of all-time? |url=https://www.app.com/story/sports/college/monmouth-university/2017/02/10/monmouth-greatest-players/97660902/ |website=Asbury Park Press |access-date=March 29, 2025 |date=February 10, 2017}} Johnson averaged 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and a league-best 5.4 assists during the 2001–02 season and was selected to the All-NEC first-team.{{cite news |title=Johnson, Byfield honored |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-johnson-byfield-honor/169099063/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |work=Asbury Park Press |date=March 1, 2002 |page=41 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Professional career
Johnson played one game for Kotwica Kołobrzeg of the Polish Basketball League during the 2005–06 season.{{cite web |title=Rahsaan Johnson |url=https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/13914/rahsaan-johnson |website=Proballers |access-date=March 29, 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://monmouthhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/rahsaan-johnson/147 Monmouth Hawks bio]
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/rahsaan-johnson-1.html College statistics]
{{Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Rahsaan}}
Category:Allegany Trojans men's basketball players
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Poland
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Washington, D.C.
Category:Gonzaga College High School alumni