Frank Johnson Named an ACC Legend
3/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2009
Former Wake Forest basketball standout Frank Johnson has been named to this year's ACC Conference Tournament Legends. Johnson was a four-year starter under Coach Carl Tacy in the late 70s and early 80s. In 1978, he earned second team All-ACC honors. Although he missed the 1980 season due to injury, upon his return the next year he helped lead the Demon Deacons to the NCAA tournament in 1981. He also received first team All-ACC and second team All-America honors. Overall, Johnson led wake to two NCAA appearances and a record of 78-42 during his tenure. Johnson ranks third in steals, sixth in assists, and twelfth in points with 1,749 on Wake Forest's career record list.
After his career at Wake Forest, Johnson was a 1981 first round draft pick in the NBA and signed with the Washington Bullets. He played with the Bullets until 1988 when he moved on to the Houston Rockets for a year. Johnson ventured to play in Italy for several years before returning to the NBA and the Phoenix Suns in 1992. Although his playing days ended in 1994, Johnson served as an assistant coach to the Suns in 1996 and then became the head coach from 2002-2003.
Johnson and the other representatives will be honored at the Annual ACC Legend's Brunch on Sunday, March 14th during the ACC tournament in Atlanta, GA. They will be presented to the crowd during halftime of the first semifinal game later that afternoon.
Johnson was chosen alongside 11 other ACC Legends. The group includes Danya Abrams of Boston College, Clemson's Randy Mahaffey, Jim Spanarkel of Duke, Georgia Tech's Brian Oliver, Florida State's Ron King, Maryland's Al Bunge, North Carolina's Charlie Scott, NC State's Monte Towe, Virginia's Richard Morgan, and John Wetzel of Virginia Tech. The coach being honored for 2009 is Miami's Bill Foster.
