Fairfield University Athletics

James Johns joined the Fairfield University men's basketball staff as an assistant coach in July of 2021 and will enter his second campaign on the sideines in 2022-23.

Johns brings over 10 years of coaching experience across various levels of basketball to the Stags bench. During his decade on the sidelines, Johns has spent time as an AAU and high school head coach, as well as a collegiate assistant coach.  He is the only AAU Head Coach to win a major championship with two different sneaker sponsored teams; Team Final (Nike) and WeR1 (Under Armour). 
 
Most recently, Johns served as head coach of the famed Team Final AAU program. Widely regarded as one of the top AAU programs in the country each year, Team Final captured the prestigious Nike Peach Jam Championship in 2021.  In addition to serving as the program's 17U Head Coach, Johns also held the responsibility of recruiting coordinator.  
 
Prior to joining Team Final in 2017, Johns was the head coach for the esteemed WeR1 Under Armour program based out of Delaware.  He led WeR1 to the 2016 and 2017 Under Armour Association Championships and was named 2017 IndiHoops Coach of the Year. 
 
Over the course of Johns' AAU career he's coached and trained numerous Division I players each year, implemented successful offensive and defensive schemes, organized schedules, coordinated team travel and assisted players of all levels with college recruitment. 
 
In addition to Johns' successful AAU coaching career, he's spent time as Head Varsity Basketball Coach at Concord High School (Wilmington, DE) from 2017-2020 as well as being an assistant coach at various high schools such as Advance Prep International (Dallas, TX) for the 2014-15 season, Life Center Academy (Burlington, N.J.) from 2012-14, and Wilmington Friends High School (Del.) from 2010-12.
 
Johns' collegiate coaching experience comes from serving as an assistant coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College during the 2016-17 campaign. His many responsibilities included recruiting, practice planning, film breakdown, scouting, and skill development. Johns also assisted with the team's academic support. Under his guidance, the team was named the NJCAA Men's Academic Team of the Year.