North Carolina High School Basketball Coach Reaches 1,200-Win Milestone

A North Carolina high school basketball coach joined an elite group of mentors after registering his 1,200 career victory.

Freddy Johnson became the sixth coach in high school basketball history to reach that mark after his Greensboro Day School Bengals defeated Caldwell Academy, 66-65, on Dec. 6. Four days later, Greensboro Day defeated Calvary Day School for victory number 1,201.

Those victories made Johnson the third active high school basketball coach with at least 1,200 victories. As of this writing, Mater Dei’s Gary McKnight has a record of 1,277-142. Meanwhile, Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s Richard Duease has a 1,247-442 record.

Meanwhile, only three other coaches reached the 1,200-win milestone. Dunbar’s Robert Hughes holds the record with 1,333 wins, while DeMatha’s Morgan Wooten had 1,274. Oak Hill Academy’s Steve Smith compiled 1,228 wins, making him fifth on the all-time tally.

Ace Flagg and Marty Giant led the Bengals with 15 points in their historic victory over the Calvary Day Eagles. They led Greensboro’s charge from ten points down to earn their tenth victory of the season.

Johnson started coaching for Greensboro Day in 1977. Since then, he has guided the Bengals to one NCISAA Class 3A and 11 Class 4A state championships. He has also led the Bengals to 30 conference titles and 18 seasons with at least 30 victories. Meanwhile, he is nine wins away from extending his streak of 20-win seasons to 33.

Johnson’s achievements in North Carolina high school basketball earned him recognition. He was a North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 2016. Four years later, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame gave him the Morgan Wooten Lifetime Achievement Award.

Beyond himself, Johnson’s basketball system helped over 85 of his players earn college basketball scholarships, 15 of whom became professional basketball athletes. In addition to coaching, Johnson also served as Greensboro Day’s athletic director before becoming director of basketball operations.

Despite these achievements, there’s no indication that Johnson will retire from coaching. He will continue to guide the team ranked 11th in the North Carolina On3 Composite Team Rankings.