TEXAS — Terrence Johnson’s first chance at leading a college basketball team wasn’t exactly an ideal situation, but the Bobcats interim head coach was the steadying force needed in a fractured program.

He’s now officially head coach after the interim tag was removed on March 11.

“I was a little bit all over the place to be honest with you,” Johnson said. “Just because now, it becomes all on you. You don't want to let these guys down.”

The passion in Terrence Johnson’s voice will tell you a lot. But his actions during a time of adversity in the Texas State men’s basketball program will tell you even more.

“I just leaned on my upbringing. I don't treat these guys any different than I treated my brothers,” Johnson said. “I encourage them. I build them up, but I hold them accountable. I show them love, and I'm consistent with it.”

Johnson took over the program when the pandemic was still raging, and former coach Danny Kaspar had just resigned due to allegations that he directed racist language at players.

“I told those guys in the first meeting. This program is going to be centered around three things: physical health, emotional health, and mental health,” Johnson said. “If you're not right in all three of those areas, you won't be able to perform on the court.”

The Bobcats weren’t right in any of those areas in late September. Expectations were low for the upcoming season.  

“You're dealing with 18-to-23-year-olds. Most of them are tough and they don't want to express themselves emotionally, but I knew that whenever there's some level of separation, there's a part of you that leaves,” Johnson said. “I wanted to see if we could get to that point and address that, because I didn't want it to show its face later on in the season.”

Johnson brought in a psychologist to dig deeper into the split. The team didn’t practice for the first three days of the season. It was a sacrifice that showed just how far the new coach was willing to go for his players’ well-being. 

“Before we come into practice, he knows who has the right mindset, or who might be going through something,” said Texas State senior guard, Shelby Adams. “He'll pull you over to the side and he actually cares. He'll talk to you about it.”

Changes came to the locker room culture, too, in the form of motivational notes.

“If ever you have anything that's been said to you, or that you're willing to pass on to encourage somebody, put it in that fuel station because sometimes everybody's going to need to gas up,” said Johnson.

He also added that he reads material on African-American history and discusses issues like racial injustice and police brutality with his team.

“That means a lot, especially with everything going on in today's world,” said Texas State junior guard, Mason Harrell. “He really cares about it. He really has an interest in it. He educates us all the time about things we should know, things going on in the news. It’s bigger than basketball with him.”

Six months after Johnson took over, the Bobcats won their first conference title since 1999. Sidelined from the team because of COVID, the coach still found a way to celebrate with his team.

It was a moment of unfiltered joy.

“I said I won't jeopardize anything, the windows will be up, but I need to see ‘em,” said Johnson, who stayed in his car at Strahan Arena, while his players celebrated around it.

This is the payoff for a coach who believed in his players and invested in them away from the court. His leadership in a challenging year helped to build the trust necessary to be successful.

“It means that they're being treated right. It means that they appreciate everything that I'm doing. It means that they believe in me,” Johnson said. “That's really all you can ask for out of a group of young men.”