Smith secures landmark win Friday after taking opener of his 37th season.
Legendary
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) head coach Steve Smith became the third high school basketball coach in history to reach the 1,200 win milestone Friday with a 103-64 victory over Steward Academy (Ariz.).
The win improved Smith's all-time record to 1,200-91, which at just below 93 percent is the highest all-time. He joins Robert Hughes of Fort Worth Dunbar (Texas) (1,333 wins) and Morgan Wootten of DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (1,274 wins) as the only coaches to reach that milestone.
The Warriors have experienced consistent success under Smith over the years, finishing in MaxPreps final Top 25 rankings for 11 consecutive seasons, nine times during that stretch landing in the top 10.
Additional impressive achievements include winning eight mythical national championships, finishing second eight times, earning USA Today High School Coach of the Year four times, Naismith Coach of the Year three-times and leading the Warriors to a 65-game win streak in the early 2000s.
Smith has coached 33 McDonald's All-Americans, 35 future NBA draftees and sent more than 225 players to Division I programs in his career at Oak Hill Academy, including notable alumni Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Smith, Rajon Rondo, Rod Strickland and Stephen Jackson.
This season, Oak Hill Academy debuted at No. 4 in MaxPreps Preseason Independent Top 20 behind a formidable roster featuring five-star prospects
Caleb Foster and
Chris Livingston. See
team preview.
Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith becomes third all-time winningest coach in high school basketball history.
File Photo: Randy Kemp
