The retirement of Steve Smith of Oak Hill Academy, one of the true icons in high school basketball, made us reminisce about the greatest coaches of all-time. It got us thinking: Who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of prep basketball coaches?
Plenty of debate can be had about who missed the cut, but these four coaching icons each built elite legacies and made significant impacts on the game's landscape.
Two notable omissions from our Mount Rushmore were Gary McKnight of Mater Dei and Freddy Johnson of
Greensboro Day. We decided not to include any coaches with plans of coaching beyond this season, but both are deserving candidates left off the
list, for now, as they continue to build their legacies on the
sidelines.
McKnight became the fourth coach in history to reach the 1,200 win plateau this season and sits at 1,213-124 (90.7 win percentage) for his career. He's won 11 state championships, one national championship and captured 38 league titles in 39 seasons. Don't be surprised if McKnight challenges the all-time wins mark in the near future.
Johnson has a put together a decorated career that includes a career record of 1,132-309 (78.6 win percentage) with 11 state championships. He's captured 28 conference championships and 24 conference coach of the year awards and earned the Morgan Wootten lifetime achievement award in 2020. With no plans to retire in the near future, Johnson could be another coach who challenges Hughes all-time wins mark.
Robert Hughes, I.M. Terrell, Dunbar (Fort Worth, Texas)The
all-time winningest boys high school basketball coach started his
coaching career at I.M. Terrell (an all-black high
school) during segregation. Hughes led Terrell to three PVIL state
championships and one runner-up in five years from 1963-1967.
Hughes began
coaching at Dunbar in Fort Worth after I.M. Terrell was shuttered in 1973 as school segregation ended. He won two more state
titles, finished as state runner-up three times and made a run to the
final four 12 times during his 32-year tenure. The all-time wins leader
had one assistant coach, Leondas Rambo, for his entire career with
Dunbar.
Hughes career record is 1,333-247
(84.4 win percentage), going 373-84 at I.M. Terrell from
1958-1973 and 960-163 at Dunbar. Hughes was inducted into the Basketball
Hall of Fame in 2017 with five total state championships and 35
district titles.
The coaches impact went beyond
the court, "From 1958-1973, Hughes was the head coach of I.M. Terrell
High School, an all-black school in Fort Worth, Texas where he refused
to let society dictate the future of his players, often placing
otherwise forgotten young men in junior colleges in the era of
segregation in the South," per his
Basketball Hall of Fame bio.
Bob Hurley, St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.)
In 39 seasons, Hurley amassed 28 state championships, 13 New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles and four national championships. He led five teams to unbeaten seasons and had a career record of 1,185-124 (90.5 win percentage), retiring after St. Anthony closed in 2017. Hurley authored three of high school basketball's longest win
streaks, winning 83 consecutive games from 2010-2013, reeling off 66
straight from 1994-1996 and going for 57 in a row from 1988-1990.
Hurley was named USA Today National Coach of the Year three times and produced over 150 Division I basketball players. He also coached six first-round NBA draft picks in Terry Dehere, Bobby Hurley, Rodrick Rhodes, David Rivers, Roshown McLeod and Kyle Anderson. He finished with one of the highest win percentages in high school basketball history and sits fifth on the all-time wins list.
Hurley was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, becoming the third high school basketball coach to receive the honor. "Hurley is a strict disciplinarian who demands total commitment, self-control and sacrifice both on and off the court. Hurley has become an icon and a legend across the nation. He has spent a lifetime on the hardwood, unwavering in his pursuit of elevating the mind, body and spirit of young men he coaches," stated his
Basketball Hall of Fame bio.
The active wins leader announced he will step down after the season after an incredible 37-year career that saw him compile an unmatched resume on a national scale. Smith has produced 34 McDonald's All-Americans and 35 NBA draft picks while sending nearly 250 players to Division I programs.
The coaching trailblazer put Oak Hill Academy on the map and paved the way for modern powers to succeed at the highest level. He led the program to eight national championships and eight second-place finishes, while finishing among the national top 25 in at least one media outlet in all but one season since taking over in 1985. Smith is third on the all-time wins list with a career record of 1,225-98 (92.6 percent), good for the highest win percentage in high school basketball history.
His personal resume includes four USA Today and three Naismith Coach of the Year honors and he has also coached a pair of Naismith Player the Year award winners, Ron Mercer (1995) and Brandon Jennings (2008). Among his other notable players: Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Rajon Rondo, Rod Strickland, Josh Smith and Stephen Jackson stand out.
Smith has yet to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, but has been nominated for the honor and is a shoe-in to eventually receive the nod. "I still love the game and enjoy coaching, but I just
feel like its time to step away," Smith told MaxPreps. "I have been fortunate enough to have a
great career here at Oak Hill Academy and coach a lot of great players
and teams over the years."
Wootten was hired as a history teacher, coach of the football team and coach of the basketball team at DeMatha in 1956. He led the Stags to their first national championship in 1962 and made national headlines by beating Lew Alcindor's Power Memorial Academy to end its 71-game winning streak in 1965. Wootten retired from coaching football in 1968 after winning three league titles to focus on basketball and teaching.
During his 46-year career as head basketball coach at DeMatha, the coaching legend compiled a record of 1,274-192 (86.9 win percentage) with 33 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles, 22 Washington D.C. titles and five national championships. Wootten never had a losing season during his career and had unbeaten seasons in 1978 and 1991.
Wootten sent more than 150 players to play at the collegiate level and coached 13 players who went on to play in the NBA. Additionally, he had more than 20 of his former coaches or players go on to coach at the high school, collegiate or professional level.
Wootten became the third high school coach to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the first high school only coach to be inducted. The coaching legend passed away last year at the age of 88, but his impact will be felt forever. During his storied career, he coached notable players like Adrian Dantley, Danny Ferry, Kenny Carr, Sidney Lowe, Mike Brey, Joe Forte, Keith Bogans and Adrian Branch.
