Eduardo Miranda

The Daily Independent

For the Winter 2024-2025 season, Cerro Coso Athletics is welcoming the return of the Coyotes women basketball team. It has been almost a decade since the Coyotes women basketball team played in Coyotes Gym in front of their fans. Leading the team in its return is new Head Coach Keshawn Johnson who is very excited in bringing the program back to Cerro Coso.

"I'm very excited. Truthfully, with all the buzz around town from a Ridgecrest standpoint, all the buzz surrounding basketball in general whether it be youth basketball, the fifth-grade league, the high school basketball teams, Ridgecrest just seems like a community that really values the sport," he said. "To have the opportunity to add to the atmosphere that Coach Dugan and the men's basketball team have presented here for the past few years and continue to add every year, is exciting. It's an amazing feeling just to be a part of a community that values basketball and an environment where there is a ton of successful basketball constantly flowing in and out of the area. I'm excited."

Johnson isn't joining Cerro Coso as a first-year head coach, in fact he knows well the California Community College Athletic Association having been a coach, a former player, but most importantly a fan of the sport since he was young boy growing up.

"From a youth standpoint, I have been playing basketball my whole life. I can't picture a moment I didn't have a ball in my hands. I can find old photos of me and my grandpa dating all the way to being nine or 10 years old, where I'm shooting on some country outdoor hoop," he said. "From there playing youth basketball and going to basketball camps to get a taste of it and playing club basketball in the Sacramento Area. Moving up to Quincy and playing high school basketball. Finishing up there and playing at Feather River for Randy Rick. Basketball has always been around from just a playing experience. I can't think of a time in my journey throughout life that I haven't had the sport or been around it.

"From a coaching standpoint, I didn't know what I wanted to do after I graduated college or even when I was in college for that matter. I was one of those kids who bounced from major to major. I think my first major was a bio major, I switched to business, then I switched to music, and then I finally switched to English Education. I was sold on becoming an English teacher and just trying to be a P.E. coach on the side too. Inside of that atmosphere when I was at Chico State, I ended up meeting some people during basketball runs that is how you get involved in most of this stuff. I ended up meeting the right people and some of them asked me if consider helping them out with middle school basketball team. In my brain I was 21 or 22, and I was like sure why not. I ended up helping my buddy Jeff out with a middle school boys' basketball team and that was the first time I was exposed to coaching. I remember being a shelled-up kid, 21-years old watching Jeff just bubble with every parent, treat the kids the right way, provide a positive basketball atmosphere for the youth, and we just continued that train. It kept happening year after year with a different youth team, a different middle school team which branched into some AAU stuff, which branched into some high school stuff, which eventually turned into a full circle moment and allowed me the chance to go back and coach at Feather River. There being able to do some assistant work on both the men's and women's side. Being able to fall into the opportunity to be the women's coach. As a head coach there I was one of the youngest head coaches in California when it happened. From there I continued to ride the wave from that and again from a basketball experience standpoint my whole life has been centered around basketball. I can't think of another time when I haven't had it and I can't think of another thing I would be doing without it."

Johnson spent four seasons at Feather River as the head coach and reached the second round of the playoffs. The Coyotes coach was successful leading the Golden Eagles women program but he was intrigued with helping to restore the Coyotes women basketball program.

"I was at Feather River and Feather River was phenomenal. Again, pretty much raised in Quincy, my grandma still lives there, had the opportunity to play there obviously, had the opportunity to assist there, had the opportunity to coach the men's team, had the opportunity to coach the women's team, so for me being in that smaller environment it is super comfortable," Johnson said. "One of the greatest challenges that some of us can face as individuals is finding a way to break that comfort shell. I just wanted to get uncomfortable and I saw this opportunity and I talked with John (McHenry). Again, I came out and checked out the town, did my research on the men's side, and did my research on all those things. Again, just figuring out what kind of welcoming community this was, figuring out what kind of basketball community this was, all of those things intrigued me and if I had to add one small thing is I was getting tired of the snow in Quincey. That was the only downside I experienced was the winter time. The thing that intrigued me the most was the chance to get uncomfortable and branch off into something I don't know. Feather River was comfortable to me and I knew everything about Monday through Sunday night. I knew everything about what everybody was doing on any given day, and formulating great relationships with coaches and administration there. I just wanted to try something different and this opportunity came up and I couldn't turn it away."

Johnson understands there will be challenges this season as he works to getting the program running not only in its first year back but also in turning it into a respectable program five years from now. He said the challenges he will face come in the building up the program with recruitment always being the toughest. He continued recruitment is always difficult no matter if the program has been around for a while or if it is returning after not existing for some time. But he believes with the facilities being built at Cerro Coso that will help in recruiting players, building relationships with them, and show how beautiful the campus and area are to recruits. The other part of building a program is making sure the student athletes maintain a high G.P.A. and avoid any distractions that could lead to them missing out on the season. All of that will be part of the build as Johnson wants to set a culture that translates year after year to the student athletes who wear the Coyotes jersey in knowing what the program is all about. Johnson has goals set for his first season and goals for the program five years into his tenure.

"Whenever I talk to people, I think they expect to hear me say that my first goal is to win it all or go find a way to win a title, but it's not. The first goal I have in place right now is taking on the sophomores I have in our group of 18 or so, and figuring out A) if I can get them to transfer from a basketball standpoint and then B) making sure I can get their grades high enough so they can be successful and formulate a life for themselves," the new coach said. "The academic side is the goal for me right now, can I move my players on if they want to continue to play the game and can I make sure they can graduate from Cerro Coso with a degree and find their next opportunity and don't give up on their educational journey after coming here. That would be year one goal and in year three it would be to keep that going. Continue to build momentum, continue to make a name for the program whether we make Academic All State. Anything of that nature would be a huge win for us. Retention over and over again and graduation are the primary goals for me over the span of my journey here."

There are two things that Johnson wants to bring in his first season as the Coyotes head coach and that is creating an excitement over the women's basketball program to the community and giving local players a chance to play at home.

"It will be good. There is a lot of good momentum going really throughout the state when it comes to women's basketball as a whole. I can't even say California, high school, I can't say anything like that, there is a lot of momentum around women's basketball. For us, we are going to put out a product that goes fast. We play extremely fast and we love to score, we love to run the floor, and we play deep since we are a big roster. Our goal is to tire people out, which to your point is exciting basketball," Johnson said. "Truthfully, I'm excited because of the brand of basketball we play, because we play so fast it makes people want to watch us play. It's exciting and basketball is an intimate sport, you can see everybody emotions at any given second. You can see high and lows, the pros and cons, and etcetera. I think the product we put out there is one we can be proud of. We talk a ton about the relationship side but being able to build relationships among our players and also branch that to the community, so the community has a desire to support them. And also, when it comes back down to that just the personal aspect of, I remember seeing this player at Walmart or this player at Chipotle, and I sat down and she was a great person or held the door for me. Being able to build that as well in the program. It will be exciting when we take the floor and put a good product out there and make the program proud essentially.

"Coming from a small town and even graduating high school from a small town, I know what it's like when you love your sport. A lot of the times in these small towns you have the skill level but you don't necessarily have the platform or recognition to get out. For me, I see that as a great opportunity. I know of the talent level of Burroughs is and the local surrounding communities. I'm excited and I look forward to that kind of stuff. I've always been fortunate to grab some local student athletes who are excited to play and also really competitive. When I look at the few on our roster this year, I'm stoked for them and I love for all of them to do great. I love to see them come into their full potential, I love to see them grow and develop in this program, and if they desire to continue to play in this game, I would love to create that opportunity for them. I'm excited for them and I've already reached out to a couple of juniors who are headed into their senior year. I reached out to a couple of them and started working on that contact point. I will definitely be circling the local community for more student athletes down the line and hopefully they decide we are the right fit for them due to some of the things are program has to offer."

As Johnson prepares for his first year with Cerro Coso and the return of the Coyotes women's basketball program, he can't hide his excitement to get the season started.

"I'm excited truthfully, we could be a really, really exciting scare fun and somewhat obnoxious basketball team," the Coyotes coach said. "I've had a ton a lot of success in the past with my experience at Feather River. We were fortunate to make the playoff, we were fortunate to compete at a high level, we were fortunate enough to do those things so for us put together this roster and bring basketball back to the community that loves it, is really exciting. I think about it and I get chills. When the players get here, I will be more excited but for right now it is more about the behind the scene work for me. Making sure I have everything ready and organized but once they are here and we hit the ground running, it will be something special."

The Cerro Coso women's basketball team begins the 2024-2025 season on Friday, November 1st, at the San Joaquin Delta Tournament.