Johnson spent the last four seasons on head coach Chris Holtmann’s staff in Columbus.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter announced on Thursday morning the hiring of Ohio State assistant coach Terry Johnson to his staff.
Johnson spent 10 seasons at Butler before coming to Columbus with head coach Chris Holtmann in 2017. His duties with the Buckeyes included working with the big men and overseeing the team’s defense.
“He is a guy who is an excellent basketball coach,” Holtmann said after the Feb. 4 win at Iowa. “Anybody who’s played for Terry Johnson or coached with him feels the same way.”
Johnson becomes the second Ohio State assistant to leave for another job since Holtmann’s arrival, as Mike Schrage became the head coach at Elon after two seasons with the Buckeyes.
That leaves Ryan Pedon as the last remaining assistant from Holtmann’s original staff, as he also made the move from Butler, while Jake Diebler just wrapped up his second season as Schrage’s replacement.
Johnson now joins a Boilermakers staff that lost two assistant coaches to head coaching jobs this offseason, including Micah Shrewsberry to Penn State and Steve Lutz to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Those opportunities likely played a role in Johnson’s intraconference move, especially after Holtmann advocated for him to get a head coaching job earlier this year.
“He’s been a part of every team that we’ve had that’s gone on to the NCAA Tournament,” Holtmann said of Johnson. “He’s got an unbelievable relationship with guys. Part of the reason that I feel compelled to work so hard in this job is to help guys have opportunities. I really believe that he deserves an opportunity (to be a head coach).”
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