When Dana Johnson first considered coaching high school basketball, she never thought about coaching boys. When the opportunity arose, however, she never hesitated.

This afternoon, Johnson will become the first woman to coach a Baltimore metro-area boys varsity basketball team when she takes the floor for the first day of practice at Southside Academy in Cherry Hill.

An All-America center at Western in 1991, Johnson later helped Tennessee reach the national championship game before moving on to the pros. Now, after coaching two years at Western, Johnson is believed to be only the second woman in Maryland to coach a boys varsity basketball team. Pat Harris-Paxson coached the Oxon Hill boys from 1990 to 1992.

Johnson said yesterday that she was antsy to get started.

"It's going to be a challenge just to see what the big difference is between coaching guys and coaching girls and to see if there is that big a difference."

During the past two seasons, Johnson compiled a 35-12 record at her alma mater. She guided the Doves to city and regional titles in 2000-01 and was the The Sun's Baltimore City/County Coach of the Year.

Southside principal Peggy Jackson-Jobe, whose school opened just five years ago, watched Johnson coach the Doves and watched her interact with Southside students as a physical education teacher.

"Everything that I was looking for in terms of the vision we try to have at this school, I saw in her," Jackson-Jobe said. "I like the way she handles herself with her students. She's a really strong person. She has the skills and is a people person who puts academics first."

Although Johnson acknowledged it was tough leaving the Western girls, she readily accepted Jackson-Jobe's offer. What anyone else might think about her pioneering role doesn't concern Johnson.

"That really doesn't affect me," she said, "because I'm here to help develop these young men. I'm not trying to win any popularity contests. I'm here to help them and to challenge myself and grow as a coach."

Lake Clifton boys coach Herman Harried said he doesn't expect Johnson to have trouble fitting into the city boys basketball community.

"I truly don't think she's going to have a problem being accepted by the coaches," Harried said. "If she starts winning, it just means she's doing something we're not doing."

Bob Wade, coordinator of athletics for the Baltimore City public schools and former Dunbar boys coach, agrees.

"The male coaches know her and they respect her, so I don't think it'll be an issue," Wade said. "This shows that gender is not a barrier. If a person is qualified and can do the job, she should be given the opportunity. Dana knows the game, and she has great control of her student-athletes."

Johnson, also in her first year as Southside athletic director, inherits a team that went 2-17 last season in its first year as a varsity program.

Jaguars senior Michael Brown said the players are ready for a change, and they believe Johnson can deliver.

"I think it's going to be a big turnaround, because she's going to add a whole lot of stuff we haven't had in past years, such as discipline," said Brown, a 5-foot-9 point guard. "She's going to make sure we're committed. We need that, because last year we didn't have it and that's what she's doing to try to get some wins."

Johnson has been at Southside for two years, so the players have gotten to know her.

They know her reputation as a high school, college and professional player in Europe and with the New England Blizzard of the American Basketball League.

They've also seen the kind of player she is firsthand, taking on the 6-2 coach in class and in open gym sessions.

"She's more physical that most of us are," Brown said. "I think we're going to get a whole lot from her as coach. We're ready for that."

Though Johnson said she faces an adjustment to the rule differences between the girls and boys games, she doesn't plan to change anything about her coaching philosophy, which is founded on a heavy dose of discipline.

"I was blessed to be in a situation at Western where the young ladies were focused. They were committed to playing, not just to being there," Johnson said. "With the young men here, they have to realize that I need to see they are trying to be committed. I know that's going to be a big difference."

The Jaguars harbor no illusions that Johnson will be a pushover -- and they shouldn't, said Harried.

"Remember, she's not a short woman," Harried said with a laugh. "She's looking these young men in the eye, if not looking down on them. You better believe that's a factor."