Hall of Fame

Louis "Nicky" Johnson

  • Class
    1983
  • Induction
    2017
  • Sport(s)
Louis “Nicky” Johnson, Jr.,
Men's Basketball
University of Minnesota Duluth
 

Louis “Nicky” Johnson Jr. concluded his collegiate basketball playing days in 1982-83 by becoming the University of Minnesota Duluth’s first NAIA All-American.  Johnson was a fixture in the UMD backcourt for four seasons, during which the Bulldogs rolled up an 83-29 overall record.  Johnson captained UMD to its second NIC title in as many years during the 1982-83 season and received All-NIC Team honors in both 1981-82 and 1982-83.  He was a two-time NAIA All-District 13 team pick and an NAIA All-American honorable mention honoree in 1981-82 and a third team member in 1982-83. Johnson finished first among Bulldogs in assists four years in a row and established a then-school career record in that department with 494.  Johnson now holds down the No. 18 spot on UMD’s all-time scoring charts with 1,332 points in 110 games. a 12.1 points per game average.

Johnson graduated from UMD in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology with a concentration in criminal justice.
Johnson coached youth basketball in the Milwaukee area for over 20 years and guided three of his teams to Wisconsin AAU championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Johnson was selected to UMD’s All-75th Anniversary Team in 2005 and joined the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Johnson has been married to his wife Barbara for 33 years and together they have two children, Matthew and Meghan, and two grandchildren, Trey (4 years old) and Jayden (5 months old).  Johnson is retired from the Milwaukee Police Department after working there for 25 years. He retired in  January of 2013 as a detective after 19 years and police officer for six.  He is currently employed with a private company, Syslogic, Inc., where he is a Community Affairs Liaison. This past high school basketball season in Wisconsin, Johnson returned to his alma mater, Whitefish Bay Dominican High School, where he was an assistant varsity basketball coach. He has also worked security at all Milwaukee Bucks games for the past 13 years.  He is an active member of Way of the Missionary Baptist Church for the past 35 years and is currently the Board and Deacon chairman.