Shane Sayegh is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain View High School for AZPreps365.com

Mountain View Toros head coach Andy Johnson is a small-town kid with a big-time love for the sport of basketball. Johnson’s upcoming has helped him become the coach he is today.

Johnson is from Batavia, Illinois, a town of 26,000 people located 40 minutes outside of Chicago. He moved around as a kid to places like Spokane, Washington, and Boise, Idaho.

Johnson’s love of the game originated in Batavia. Growing up, he attended high school basketball games. The success of the small-town team and the hero-like aspect of the players would grow his love.

“Every Friday night, my dad would take me to the high school basketball games as a little kid,” Johnson said. "I'll never forget going to high school games with him. We had a good high school team for a small town and just seeing our team that those guys were like our heroes growing up.”

On top of Batavia’s successful high school team, Johnson’s love of basketball came from the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. Johnson grew up when Jordan and the Bulls were winning championships, and being from Illinois gave him an all-time favorite player. Johnson says Jordan is the greatest of all time.

Johnson attended UNLV, where he had an opportunity to become part of the basketball program as a student manager.

Johnson has had many experiences with basketball. Johnson has coached high-level high school, Division I and Olympic.

Johnson started coaching at Findlay Prep, a prep high school in Las Vegas. There, as an assistant and head coach, he would win two national championships and would work his way into another assistant coaching position with Southern Utah University.

Johnson was at Southern Utah for several years. Then, he returned to high-level high school basketball. He coached at The Village School, a high school in the Houston area.

Once Hall of Fame Toros coach Gary Ernst retired in 2022, Johnson took the position and hasn’t looked back. Johnson led the Toros to a 6A Final Four appearance in his first year, the sixth of his coaching career.

Johnson attributes his success at Mountain View to the coaches he has worked alongside and was mentored by on top of his past experiences.

“All those different levels of different experiences help mold your coaching philosophy,” Johnson said. “Everywhere you’re going, you learn from all people and every stop, and I have been fortunate to work for some great coaches.”

Johnson has also had the opportunity to coach 20 NBA players, including Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Johnson has also coached 10 McDonald’s All-Americans and 61 high schoolers who would go on to play Division I basketball. The high-level players also helped Johnson develop his coaching philosophy.

Winning has always followed Johnson. He has a coaching record of 173-57 in seven years as a high school head coach, including the 16-3 2022-23 Toros season that ended with a Final Four appearance.

Johnson encourages hard work and effort above anything and will instill that in any future player attending Mountain View for basketball.