Langston, Okla._ Langston University hopes to continue its winning tradition in women’s basketball with the hiring of David Johnson as the new head coach on Friday.

Johnson was hired after having spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for Pepperdine University, which is located in Malibu, California. Johnson had previously served as an assistant at Pepperdine in 2004-05 before taking a head coaching position for six years at Aquinas High School in San Bernardino.Johnson

Johnson replaces Jerome Willis who resigned earlier this week.  Willis, a former player at Langston, had led the Lady Lions to three straight NAIA tournament appearances and an 84-18 overall record.

“We hired David Johnson because of his experience as an outstanding coach in women’s basketball, and for his ability to coach and motivate young people,” LU Athletic Director Mike Garrett said. “He should do a great job as the head coach and we expect to continue down a path of excellence with our tradition-rich women’s basketball program. We fully expect David Johnson to follow LU’s goals of promoting the student-athlete by winning on the court and in the classroom.”