Given that former Ohio State basketball assistant coach Terry Johnson had worked under Chris Holtmann for the past seven years in Columbus and at Butler, his sudden intra-conference move to accept another assistant position on the Purdue coaching staff last week seemed a bit strange.
RELATED: Ohio State assistant Terry Johnson headed to Purdue
However, in an interview with CBS4Indy's JoJo Gentry on Tuesday, Johnson explained why the change made sense for him, and provided insight into a long-standing relationship with Purdue head coach Matt Painter.
“Painter’s pretty much kind of like family,” Johnson told Gentry in the interview. “When he was an assistant in Division III at Washington Jefferson, he coached my twin cousins. My cousins are still close with him.”
One thing that made plenty of sense about Johnson's move to Purdue was his connection with the state of Indiana, where he both grew up and began his basketball coaching career.
Johnson hails from Anderson, Indiana, and first started coaching basketball at Indiana – University Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) back in 1997. Before coming to Ohio State with Holtmann in 2017, Johnson spent 10 years as an assistant at Butler in Indianapolis.
The move is not just about returning to his home state though. Johnson told Gentry that his coaching responsibilities will also change despite continuing to carry the title of assistant coach on the Boilermaker staff.
MORE: Ohio State commits, signees react to departure of Terry Johnson
“With Coach Holtmann, I was a defensive coordinator. Now, Coach Painter wants me to jump to the other side," Johnson told Gentry. "That was really the most exciting part for me. I’m going to be able to be a well-rounded coach.”
However, the perception of a move from one Big Ten rival to another is not lost on Johnson, and especially after the Buckeyes and Boilermakers engaged in three games that were all determined by razor-thin margins this past season.
“I hate that’s in the league. I do hate that fact," Johnson told Gentry. "But, there’s nothing I can do about that.”
Ohio State 2021 signee Malaki Branham told BuckeyeGrove's Jake Spegal this week that Johnson was "my guy," and Kalen Eztler, another incoming freshman, said he's "sad to see him go" but understands that the switch is just part of the business.
