The architect of one of the most surprising upsets in the young NCAA college basketball season is a familiar name to local sports fans.
Todd Johnston, a 2009 Crest High graduate, is an assistant coach at Fort Hays State University.
The traditional Division II college basketball power had fallen on hard times to start the 2020-21 campaign. The Tigers have been plagued by injury and COVID-19 protocols that left FHSU at 0-3 and headed to Manhattan for an exhibition with Kansas State University.
Even with the Wildcats’ struggles this year, an easy victory was assumed.
Fort Hays State had other plans.
The Tigers led from start to finish in an 81-68 victory, the first for FHSU over K-State since 1938.
The story is even more remarkable under closer examination.
Fort Hays State already was without a pair of key guards due to injury. Then Monday, the Tigers learned head coach Mark Johnson and associate head coach Jeremy Brown would miss the KSU game because Johnson had tested positive for the coronavirus. Brown has not tested positive, but was held out as well, quarantining as a close contact.
That left the 29-year-old Johnston calling the shots on Tuesday.
It didn’t take long for Fort Hays State to take control. The Tigers scored eight straight early on to take the lead, then turned on the jets after halftime.
Fort Hays State led by as many as 21 down the stretch.
“I’m just excited for the guys,” Johnston told reporters after the game. “I’m happy for them. We are 0-3, but we are talented. We are young and inexperienced….. I’m extremely excited for them. I hope this carries over and helps us win games in the future. I think for confidence and mentally for these guys, to see that, and pull it off is huge.”
“This was very, very disappointing and sad for our program,” Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said. “I knew the season was not going to be easy. Obviously, I didn’t think it would be this tough. We’ve had to go through COVID, injuries, all that, but there’s no way this should happen.”
Nevertheless, Weber was complimentary of Fort Hays State.
“Hat’s off to Fort Hays State,” Weber said. “They played unbelievable, made shots maybe they’ve never made in their career. It’s unbelievable. That’s the special thing about college basketball: Every game is different. You make some shots, get on a ‘magic level’ and you have amazing things. So credit to them.”
Johnston was a standout athlete at Crest in both football and basketball, leading the Lancers to extended playoff runs in both sports.
From there, he played college basketball at Cloud County Community College, then Baker University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees secondary education and history. Johnston averaged 10 points per game his senior year at Baker and helped the program to an appearance in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Tournament in his junior season.
After his playing career concluded, Johnston served as an assistant coach at Missouri Southern, Benedectine and Cloud County before moving to FHSU in 2019-20.
This is his second year at Fort Hays State.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the victory is the game counts as an official loss in K-State’s record books, but will not be considered an official victory for FHSU because Fort Hays State counted the game as an exhibition. That’s because Fort Hays State cannot exceed 22 regular season games, as set by NCAA Division II limits.
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