The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Coach Dana Johnson joins Canisius HOF
Current Norristown basketball coach honored by recognition
Dana “Binky” Johnson was inducted into the Canisius College Sports Hall of Fame last month.
“It really didn’t hit me until actually when I went to Buffalo on January 26th how this thing was an achievement in basketball,” the 1994 graduate said, “once I saw how they recognize the magnitude of it. Prior to that you receive different accolades along the way for sports that you never really set out to achieve because when you play sports it’s usually about fun and just having an activity. Then as you start getting older you start hearing people say things, it never really resonated to me because I always did it for the love and passion of the game, then I realized it may have been a vehicle for a free education, but to this magnitude, once I got there and saw the mayor was there and so many people came back out to actually cel-
ebrate the moment with me I was blown away by it.”
The Norristown native was a four-year player for the Golden Griffins men’s basketball team and twotime captain.
He appeared in 99 games from 1990 through 1994, earning 65 starts. He averaged 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds. 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
As a senior in the 1993-94 season, Johnson was FirstTeam All Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. He posted 12.2 points and 4.4 assists per game, leading the Griffins to a 12-2 MAAC record and their first regular season league championship.
As a junior Johnson had one of his best moments. With one second left in the MAAC quarterfinals, the guard hit a running onehanded shot to beat Iona and send the Griffins to the semifinals for the first time.
“The timing of it was perfect,” Johnson said. “It platformed the whole program. It put us at the point where we got to being known as a competitive team back in the MAAC conference. At that time it was being run by teams like La Salle out of Philadelphia and Manhattan. It really resonated to the point of — OK now Canisius is back in the saddle of being mentioned with the elite teams in the conference and from there propelled us back to being a dominant team in the conference for the next five years that (head coach John) Beilein was there.”
Beilein, who took over Canisius in the 1992-93 season and is currently in his 12th season at the University of Michigan, had a big impact on Johnson both on and off the court.
“It’s amazing because when I talk about Beilein he had such an impact way beyond basketball and that’s why I really respect him so much,” Johnon said. “When I had (coach) John Cresswell in high school (at Norristown), he allowed me to show so many of my leadership qualities running the team. I started in high school where Cresswell allowed me to be a leader on the court, be a vocal leader. He allowed me to really display my leadership abilities — he put the ball in my hands and said, ‘you’re the leader of this team, you’re the general.’ That started in high school with John Cresswell and then when I got to college I was able to continue on with that leadership when Beilein let me do it as well.”
He set a program record during his junior year by grabbing 79 steals. His 1.8 steals per game over the course of his career rank third in school history.
Johnson currently coaches the Norristown Area High School boys basketball team. His defensive aggressiveness as a player has translated to his team playing a similar style.
“The biggest compliment as a coach is that your team is a reflection of you,” he said. “Beilein always talks about that. He was like, ‘I can imagine just playing for you now. Defensively I’m sure your guys are engaged and locked in.’ It’s a reflection of who we are as Norristown and when you play basketball everyone can’t be the leading scorer. You have to have sacrifices and you play to your strong points. One of mine is being a point guard — not only running the team, but defensively it starts with you. I’ve coached some great point guards over the years ... and I always taught them the same concept — everything starts with you. Whether you’re setting up things on offense or defensively you have to be the catalyst. Everything starts with their guard bringing the ball up the court.”
Johnson, a 1990 Norristown graduate, became the Eagles head coach in 2017. Last season he coached the team to the District 1 quarterfinals and a state playoff appearance. This year his team is primed for another postseason run, currently holding a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed in the District 1 playoffs.
He played varsity boys basketball for four years at Norristown and started for three. He helped lead the Eagles to league championships in 1989 and 1990 and a District 1 championship in 1990.