Johnson pledges hard work

Mitchell Johnson has a message for his 2025-26 Archbishop Shaw basketball prospects: “Be ready to work ... hard and smart.”

The newly signed head basketball coach at Shaw knows a thing or two about winning because he’s done so at St. Augustine, as a player in 1995 and as an assistant coach in 2011, when the Purple Knights won Class 5A titles.

And he’s ready to maintain  the winning tradition that former coach Wesley Laurendine instilled in the Eagles before he moved on recently to coach at Brother Martin.

“My message (to the team) will be, ‘Come ready to work. I’m not going to be your buddy; I’m going to get you prepared for college. And if I don’t push and challenge you, I’m doing you a disservice.’”

During his stint at St. Augustine, where his teams won 210 of 264 games, he groomed 27 college players before leaving the school temporarily.

“I may seem harsh, but the results are there,” Mitchell said of his no-nonsense style.  “All I ask is to trust me and trust the process, because we are going to be disciplined, and we’re going to be structured. And I’m going to lead you in the right direction.”

Johnson’s hiring on April 8 was one of several head-coaching shuffles within local Catholic schools.

It began with Chris Biehl moving from Brother Martin, where he had served since 2012, to Holy Cross to replace Mister Kirkwood, who was elevated to assistant principal for student affairs.

Biehl is a former head basketball coach at Archbishop Hannan and a favorite of former Hannan principal John Serio, now an assistant to Holy Cross head of school Justin Fleetwood.

Brother Martin wasted little time by scooping up Laurendine from Shaw.

Like Biehl, Laurendine is a graduate of Archbishop Rummel who learned under coach Rusty Jones. The new Crusaders coach also served under veteran Jesuit mentor Chris Jennings, the “dean” of Catholic League coaches.

Laurendine’s coaching record of 182-132 reflects early growing pains, but that total also includes 106 wins in his last 128 games at Shaw, with a Division II runner-up in 2025.

Two more local Catholic schools changed head basketball coaches.

Nine-year veteran head man Stephen Dale hands his St. Paul’s position on the bench to 1984 grad Monte Fontenot.

Meanwhile, at Pope John Paul II, Zachary Pisciotta, a 2017 graduate and five-year assistant at the Slidell school, has been named to coach the 2025-26 Jaguars.

Pisciotta will replace longtime veteran coach and hall of fame mentor Jay Carlin, who has retired for the second time after compiling a record of 947-359.