Gary McKnight became the fourth high school basketball coach to notch his 1,200th win — and the first from California — as his
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) squad beat Porterville 89-53 Wednesday in the Xavier Winter Classic at Rancho Mirage.
He joins
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) coach Steve Smith as the only active coaches with 1,200 wins as the Warriors head man reached that milestone Oct. 29 with a 103-64 season-opening win over Steward Academy (Ariz.). Smith sits at 1,212 wins after beating IMG Academy on Dec. 21.
McKnight came to Mater Dei in 1982 and has set a standard of excellence that includes 33 consecutive league title and 38 in his 39-year tenure. Additionally, the Monarchs have won 23 CIF Southern Section titles, 16 Southern California Regional titles and 11 California state titles.
He also led Mater Dei to a MaxPreps National Championship in 2014 behind Player of the Year Stanley Johnson. The 35-0 Monarchs that season beat five eventual state champions and went 9-0 against teams that played for state titles as McKnight also earned Coach of the Year honors.
McKnight has sent nine players to the NBA, more than 100 to Division I programs and has had 24 Monarchs named CIF Player of the Year.
