North Carolina coaching legend has won 12 state championships since taking over program in 1977.
Freddy Johnson became the sixth high school basketball coach to notch his 1,200th win — and the first from North Carolina — as his
Greensboro Day (Greensboro) squad knocked off Caldwell Academy (Greensboro) 66-65 on Friday night.
Maine commit
Ace Flagg and junior guard
Marty Giant each scored a team-high 15 points in the milestone victory for Johnson as the Bengals were able to erase a 10-point, third-quarter deficit to pick up their 10th win of the season.
Retired head coaches Robert Hughes of
Dunbar (Fort Worth, Texas) with 1,333 wins, Morgan Wootten of
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) with 1,274 and Steve Smith of
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) with 1,228 have also eclipsed the milestone.
North Carolina's Freddy Johnson is the sixth coach in high school basketball history to reach 1,200 wins. (File photo: Randy Kemp)
Johnson became the head coach at Greensboro Day in 1977 and has guided the Bengals to 12 state championships and 30 conference titles. He has won 20 or more games in 32 consecutive seasons and has 18 30-win campaigns.
In 2020, Johnson was recognized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement in coaching and he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
The longtime coach has sent over 85 players to play at the collegiate level and has
seen 15 players go on to play at the professional level. He also served as the school's athletic director from 1978-2022 before moving into a position as the director of basketball operations in 2022.
Greensboro Day (10-2) returns to the court Tuesday at Calvary Day School (Winston-Salem). The Bengals appear to be strong contenders to capture Johnson's 13th state championship this season and are already halfway to their 33rd consecutive 20-win campaign in his 48th season.
