Former University of Tulsa basketball star Kwanza Johnson has been hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater, for the second time. Johnson, a 1995 graduate of TU, brings 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, including stops at TCU, Georgia, Nevada, Little Rock and Eastern Illinois.

Johnson got his start as an administrative assistant under Bill Self for the Golden Hurricane (1997-99) and after a year as an assistant at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, he returned to a spot on the TU coaching staff from 2001-05.

“I’m very excited to welcome Kwanza and his family back to Tulsa,” TU head coach Frank Haith said in a statement. “I’ve been able to watch Kwanza grow in this profession and am extremely happy to add someone with his skill set, knowledge and ability to connect with student-athletes to our coaching staff. He is an incredibly loyal and hard-working person who has been able to work with several high-level coaches and has recruited many high-level student-athletes.

“Additionally, Kwanza has an affection and love for The University of Tulsa,” Haith said. “He was on some great teams here and left with two degrees. We know he’s excited to be back home and we are thrilled to have him.”

Johnson comes to TU after two seasons (2016-18) as the associate head coach at Little Rock and he spent the previous three years (2013-16) as an assistant coach at TCU. During the 2014-15 season, the Horned Frogs were one of six programs to start 13-0, which remains the best start in program history.

“I am extremely excited and honored to have the opportunity to join Frank Haith’s staff at The University of Tulsa,” Johnson said. “It is humbling, and a dream come true for me to return to my alma mater. I appreciate Coach Haith’s belief and trust in me to assist him, as he continues to lead this proud program forward. I am prepared to come in and contribute in any way necessary to keep this program performing at a high level.”

An Oklahoma City native, Johnson was a star on the court during his playing days and came to TU after two seasons at Rose State College. He was named the top JUCO player in the state before choosing the Golden Hurricane and he helped lead Tulsa to a pair of Missouri Valley Conference titles and back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.

In his career at TU, he totaled 405 points, 300 rebounds, 90 assists and 66 steals in 63 games. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from TU in 1995 before adding a Juris Doctor degree from the TU College of Law in 1999. He and his wife, Kim, have three children: Kaitlyn, Kendall and Kalli.

ORU ADDS GRAD TRANSFERS

The Oral Roberts men’s basketball team has added former Glencoe, Okla., standout and junior college All-American Ty Lazenby to the Golden Eagles roster as a graduate transfer after earning his degree from the University of Oklahoma. Lazenby is the second graduate transfer to join the Golden Eagles for the 2019-20 season. The transfer of Deondre Burns’ from Little Rock was announced last week.

Lazenby led Glencoe High School to three straight state championships and was the MVP of all three state tournaments. He was named to the Oklahoma’s “Super 5” team as one of the top five high school players in the state in 2015. He spent two years at Northern Oklahoma College, earning NJCAA First Team All-American honors.

Lazenby averaged 22.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 2016-17, and played in 26 games as a junior at Oklahoma in 2017-18, redshirting the 2018-19 season.

“Ty is a wonderful addition to our basketball team for the upcoming season,” said ORU head coach Paul Mills. “As a graduate transfer from Oklahoma, he has experienced high level competition, understands the intensity required to succeed and is a phenomenal leader. He was a Junior College All-American at NOC-Enid leading his team to the national tournament. He is a coach’s son who cares about helping his teammates and doing all that is necessary to contribute to winning.”