{"id":735534,"date":"2026-05-16T02:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/735534\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T02:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:39:17","slug":"basketball-brian-johnson-takes-over-as-oswego-easts-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/735534\/","title":{"rendered":"Basketball: Brian Johnson takes over as Oswego East’s coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brian Johnson<\/a> may have lost the job but never the passion for it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not surprising to anyone who saw him leading the boys basketball programs at Kaneland for six years and then West Aurora for eight before the run abruptly ended in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Johnson, however, has been named the new head coach at Oswego East. He succeeds Ryan Velasquez<\/a>, who stepped down following last season to spend more time with his children.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyan has done an amazing job and really put Oswego East on the map during his tenure,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHis record is outstanding. They\u2019ve won a lot of conference titles, regionals and went to an Elite Eight game to get downstate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing. You want to go into a program where people really love the sport, there\u2019s a lot of excitement about it and a lot of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson knows that feeling very well. His final game leading West Aurora was a loss to Velasquez and the Wolves in the Class 4A Lockport Regional championship game.<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

H. Rick Bamman \/ The Beacon-News<\/p>\n

West Aurora coach Brian Johnson huddles talks to his players during a timeout in a game on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2018. (H. Rick Bamman \/ The Beacon-News)<\/p>\n

With this move, Johnson would likely give an assist in the box score of life to Metea Valley coach Isaiah Davis<\/a>, his good friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Brian for a long time,\u201d said Davis, who asked Johnson in 2023 to join his staff as an assistant. \u201cWhatever took place. took place, and when it happened, I reached out to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was important for him to stay in coaching and an opportunity for him to do what he has a passion for \u2014 working with kids. I gave him the reins to our defense and he did a real good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

During three seasons working with the Mustangs, Johnson continued to teach physical education and driver\u2019s education at West Aurora while keeping an eye open for head coaching opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

Mike Mantucca \/ The Beacon-News<\/p>\n

West Aurora coach Brian Johnson encourages his players during a game on Friday, March 9, 2018. (Mike Mantucca \/ The Beacon-News)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super excited for Brian,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI think he\u2019ll do great. It\u2019s a great opportunity. Ryan did a great job there and it\u2019s a great program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson was one of 13 individuals initially interviewed and one of four finalists brought back for a second, according to Oswego East athletic director Steven Tracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s teams won two regional titles at Kaneland and four straight from 2016 to 2020 at West Aurora, along with the 2019-20 sectional title. Under Johnson, the Knights went 99-68, while the Blackhawks ended up 129-102.<\/p>\n

Those stints followed his initial six-year run as an assistant to Dundee-Crown\u2019s Lance Huber<\/a> and one season as an assistant under legendary West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

H. Rick Bamman \/ The Beacon-News<\/p>\n

West Aurora coach Brian Johnson directs his players against Metea Valley during a game in the Aurora vs. Cancer Night of Hoops at Aurora Christian on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. (H. Rick Bamman \/ The Beacon-News)<\/p>\n

\u201cIsaiah taught me a lot and it was cool seeing how he ran his program and built his relationships with the players,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI got to see it with Gordie for just a little glimpse, and Lance is outstanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe match with our intensity, and Isaiah let me coach a lot and handle some games when he had to be away. Just doing that continued to build that fire that I want to be a head coach again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, who will remain as a teacher at West Aurora, will keep Oswego East\u2019s group intact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all sticking around, which is outstanding because it\u2019s such a good coaching staff,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be really smooth coming over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

Sean King \/ The Beacon-News<\/p>\n

West Aurora’s Camron Donatlan (2) listens as coach Brian Johnson offers insight during a break in the action in a game on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (Sean King \/ The Beacon-News)<\/p>\n

Tracy cited Johnson\u2019s experience in announcing the move.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt he could step right in and build great relationships with the kids and staff,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to lose Ryan, but we\u2019re excited to have Brian take over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four-year starter Camron Donatlan<\/a>, who led the Blackhawks to the sectional title under Johnson, agreed in a Facebook post on his former coach\u2019s hiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything fully captures how much respect I have for you,\u201d Donatlan said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t let adversity change you one bit. You let it fuel you. That says everything. I\u2019m grateful I got to learn from you and I know Oswego East is gaining more than just a coach. They\u2019re getting someone who builds people, not just teams. \u2026 Proud of you always, coach Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brian Johnson may have lost the job but never the passion for it. That\u2019s not surprising to anyone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":735535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[28081,28082,7,28085,28086,3255,2679],"class_list":["post-735534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-aurora-beacon-news","tag-aurora-beacon-news-sports","tag-basketball","tag-elgin-courier-news","tag-elgin-courier-news-sports","tag-high-school-sports","tag-local-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116581942419102573","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/735535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}