MarQus Johnson is in his seventh season as Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Saint Augustine’s University (SAU).
Under Johnson's direction, the Falcons have been one of the CIAA's most prolific three-point shooting team. They led the conference in three-point shooting percentage the last two seasons (2018-19 and 2017-18). In the 2019-20 season, the Falcons ranked fifth out of 12 teams in the category.
Coach Johnson has a reputation of recruiting marvelous talent to the men's basketball program. Quincy January is believed to be the first student-athlete in history to win three straight CIAA Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Tyre Gathright was named to the All-CIAA team for the second straight year in 2019. He also collected the CIAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in addition to the Lowe's CIAA Sr. CLASS Award for men's basketball this past season.
The Falcons have produced four All-CIAA student-athletes in Johnson's tenure - Tyre Gathright, Quincy January, Anthony Gaskins and Raheem Jolliffe. The trio of Gathright, January and Gaskins ended their collegiate careers with over 1,000 points each.
In 2016, Johnson guided the Falcons to a second-place finish in the CIAA Southern Division and the quarterfinal round of the CIAA Tournament. The Falcons reached the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2010.
The Saint Augustine’s University athletic department officially named Johnson as head men’s basketball coach on July 1, 2014. Johnson was elevated to head coach after two seasons as assistant men’s basketball coach at Saint Augustine’s University from 2012 to 2014. Prior to returning to SAU, Johnson was head coach of the Cary Invasion, a semi-professional basketball team based in Cary, N.C.
Under his guidance, the Invasion was 22-5 in two seasons and won the Continental Basketball League (CBL) regular season and tournament championship. The Invasion was also runner-up in the Tobacco Road Basketball League (TRBL). Before heading to the Cary Invasion, Johnson was previously an assistant coach at Saint Augustine’s University from 2008 to 2010.
Johnson is well-known in the Triangle area. A Knightdale, N.C., native, he was an assistant coach at North Carolina Central University and Shaw University in addition to Saint Augustine’s University.
Johnson has a stellar reputation for developing positive relationships with student-athletes. He was an assistant coach on the SAU men’s basketball team which captured its second CIAA championship in school history during the 2009-2010 season.
That squad advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament and earned a national top 25 ranking.
Before coming to SAU the first time, Johnson was an assistant coach at North Carolina Central and Shaw. At NCCU, seven of Johnson's recruits earned All-CIAA honors including David Young, who was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2004 NBA Draft. At Shaw, Johnson coached one All-CIAA player.
Johnson was a standout basketball player at NCCU from 1996 to 2000 where he was team captain for three consecutive years. A prolific three-point shooter, Johnson helped lead the Eagles to three CIAA division titles. Johnson graduated from NCCU with a B.S. degree in recreational administration in 2000. As a prep player, Johnson starred at East Wake High School in Wendell, N.C., where he was an all-state basketball performer. He is the school's all-time scoring leader with 1,577 points.
Johnson is the proud parent of three sons - Jaylen, Jordan and Donovan.
