Virginia Tech fires basketball coach James Johnson after just two seasons

James Johnson was fired as the head coach of the Virginia Tech basketball program, after the Hokies turned in the program’s worst season in 59 years.

“I want to thank Coach Johnson for his dedication and hard work for our university and our basketball program over the past seven years,” Virginia Tech athletics director Babcock said. “A change of this significance affects many people and is never taken lightly, but I felt a change and a new direction was necessary for the long term, best interest of our department.”

Johnson essentially coached the 2013-2014 season with one hand behind his back, with three of his top scorers missing a combined 31 games due to injury, and still the Hokies were competitive down the stretch in what turned into a 9-22 season.

Overall, Johnson’s teams were 22-41 in his two seasons in Blacksburg, and just 6-30 in the ACC. He had three years remaining on his contract at an annual salary of $680,000 a year.

Johnson had been hired in April 2012 by Babcock’s predecessor, Jim Weaver, who parted ways with the quite successful seth greenberg despite a nine-year run that saw the Hokies go 167-117 overall and 66-71 in the ACC, with one NCAA Tournament appearance, in 2007, and near-misses in 2009 and 2010.

The Virginia Tech program has made just three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 30 years, and had 13 winning seasons in that span, seven of those coming under Greenberg.

The 2013-2014 Hokies won just two ACC games, but were a tough out down the stretch, leading most of the way against #1 East Regional seed Virginia last month before falling 57-53, and losing tight games against three other NCAA Tournament teams, Pitt, North Carolina and NC State, before losing 62-57 in two overtimes to Pitt, and losing 60-56 to the Tar Heels and 71-64 to the Pack.

That late run made some think that Johnson deserved more time to continue his build of the Virginia Tech program post-Greenberg.

“I want to thank Coach Johnson for his dedication and hard work for our university and our basketball program over the past seven years,” Babcock said. “A change of this significance affects many people and is never taken lightly, but I felt a change and a new direction was necessary for the long term, best interest of our department.”