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Gene Johnson was a three-year letterman and all-conference performer in basketball from 1923-25 after transferring from the College of Emporia. Following his playing career, he began a distinguished coaching career that spanned some 30 years. He is credited with inventing the full-court zone press and the fast-paced full-court game when coaching the McPherson Globe Refiners to two straight AAU national titles in 1935 and ’36. Johnson served as a coach on the United States’ first Olympic basketball team in the 1936 Games in Berlin. The team, which included six McPherson players, won the gold medal. In 1972, he and the Globe Refiners were inducted into the National Hall of Fame. In 1976, he was honored with the "Iron Duke" Award. Johnson and the McPherson team were honored the following year with the same award.
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