A greatly respected figure throughout all levels of basketball, Sydney joined HDI in 2022 with over 26 years of experience in college and professional basketball. After one year in his role as Senior Analyst he was promoted to Vice President of Client Success and joined HDI’s Leadership Team, and is now in his third season with the company.
In addition to his role with HDI, Johnson is a consistent contributor to USA Basketball 5x5 qualifying teams and 3x3 tournament teams, and served as as assistant coach for the WNBA's Chicago Sky during the summer of 2024. Johnson has served as Scout and Player Development Coach on the 2020 USA Basketball AmeriCup Qualifying Team, Scout and Bench Coach on the 2023 USA Basketball World Cup Qualifying Team, Assistant Coach on the 2022 3x3 USA AmeriCup Gold Medal Team, and Head Coach for the 2023 3x3 Under-23 Nations League and 2023 3x3 Under-23 World Cup Gold Medal Team.
Prior to joining HDI, he served as the men's basketball Associate Head Coach at the United States Air Force Academy. Additionally, Johnson spent eight successful seasons as the Head Coach at Fairfield University, where he achieved the most postseason appearances in school history, the most 19-plus win seasons of any coach in school history, and tied the school mark for most winning seasons. Johnson became Fairfield's first coach in 40 years to garner four winning seasons in conference play and holds the only win versus an ACC team in school history.
Johnson’s head coaching career began in 2007 at his alma mater, Princeton. In four seasons, Johnson led the Tigers to the second-highest win total in Princeton history, an Ivy League championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
As a student-athlete, Johnson was the first and only three-time captain in the history of Princeton University men's basketball and earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors in his senior season (1996-97). As a player, he won two Ivy League championships and appeared in two NCAA Tournaments. After a seven-year professional career in Europe, he returned to the United States in 2004 and began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Georgetown University. Johnson’s work in basketball has also included coaching on the professional 3x3 men's and women's pro circuits, serving as a college basketball TV analyst for ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and USA Network, and co-hosting a weekly podcast entitled THE Ivy League Hoops Hour.
