Vickie Johnson (born April 15, 1972) is an American former basketball player and head coach of the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

. Johnson is the former head coach of the

San Antonio Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

. Upon the sale and relocation of the Stars, Johnson was hired by head coach

Bill Laimbeer William J. Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his rough and violent style of play, he played a big part in the P ...

as an assistant coach of the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conferenc ...

, the Stars' decedent team.

Early years

Johnson grew up in

Coushatta, Louisiana Coushatta is a town in, and the parish seat of, rural Red River Parish, Louisiana, Red River Parish in north Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the east bank of the Red River of the South, Red River. The community is approximately 45 mile ...

. Johnson was a letter-man in basketball and track and field. In track and field, she was the Louisiana State Champion on the long jump as a senior.

College years

Vickie Johnson was a two-time All-American and

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

MVP at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

. She led the Lady Techsters to the 1994 NCAA Championship Game, was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 1995 and earned Louisiana Player of the Year honors in 1996. She finished her career at Louisiana Tech with 1,891 career points and 831 rebounds and was inducted into the

Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame The Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1984 to honor student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and benefactors who have been highly successful at Louisiana Tech and who have distinguished themselves professionally. ...

in 2007. She graduated from Louisiana Tech in 1996.

WNBA career

Johnson was selected 12th overall in the second round of the inaugural

WNBA Elite draft In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on A ...

in 1997, which was composed of professional women's basketball players who had competed in other leagues, usually international leagues. She was a two-time WNBA all-star and was the first New York Liberty player to record 2000 points. In June 2005 in honor of Johnson's 3,000 points scored, Sandy Levine, owner of the world-famous Carnegie Deli in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, created the VJ Classic sandwich, a belly-busting sandwich. Johnson ended an eight-year career with the Liberty by signing with the San Antonio Silver Stars on February 9, 2006. Johnson retired from play at the end of 2009 season.Vickie Johnson Announces her Retirement at the End of 2009 Season
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Coaching record

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European career

* 1996-1997:

Tarbes Gespe Bigorre Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (often called Tarbes GB or TGB) is a French women's basketball club, taking part to the professional French league for women, the LFB, and to European Cups (now EuroLeague Women). It is the most important club sport in the t ...

* 1997-1998: W Bordeaux Basket * 1998-2000: Lachen Ramat Hasharon * 2000-2001: Elitzur Cellcom Holon * 2004-2005: Trentino Rovereto Basket * 2005-2007: MiZo Pécs * 2007-2008:

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

References

External links

WNBA player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Vickie 1972 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Dallas Wings coaches Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Las Vegas Aces coaches Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball players New York Liberty draft picks New York Liberty players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Coushatta, Louisiana San Antonio Stars coaches San Antonio Stars players Shooting guards Tarbes Gespe Bigorre players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars