Freddy Johnson, a Greensboro NC native, has spent the better part of 45 years coaching basketball at Greensboro Day School. With a winning percentage of 77%, Coach Johnson has the highest winning percentage in North Carolina high school basketball history and has cemented himself in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He is over the 1,100 win mark and secured over 24 championships for his team in the Piedmont Athletic Conference of Independent Schools. Below, we discussed how to find a school with a great education program and a winning culture.

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Did you grow up playing basketball? How long have you been coaching? Have you coached anywhere else? 

I have been coaching basketball for 45 years, at Greensboro Day school and [a long time] I think that is what I am most proud of; I have stayed at one school. Number 1, we may have people coaching 45 years, number two, they are not gonna stay at the same school. I started coaching when I was 15 years old at the [YMCA]. That's when I fell in love with coaching. I was not much of a player; I played one year in highschool and two years in college at the DIII level at Greensboro College. I was very fortunate that I got to play at all, I actually grew up as a baseball player, but I knew coaching baseball was boring so I [choose] basketball. Basically, I have been here 45 years and we are playing in the state tournament. This is our 20th time in the last 34 years where we are in the final two of [the state tournament]. I am fortunate I have great players and great assistant coaches who make my job so much easier. 

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Who are some athletes that you have coached that went on to be successful college players? 

One of the greatest players of my earlier years in the 80s was a kid named Thomas Roberts, who went to William and Mary and he is the leading scorer in history at William and Mary. He put us on the map in the late 80s and we won our first state championship, he was a key. He was a five year starter for us, 8th grade through 12th. Then Justin Gainey came along, who started at NC State in the 90s, here is where we started winning a lot. I think that those two players right there are the key to how our program developed the way it is. Right now I have four seniors on the team; all four are going to college to play next year. One is going to the Navy, ones going to Princeton, Mercer, and UNC Charlotte. I have been able to get some really good kids who are good players, but I do not have any Mcdonald All-Americans. I have good college level players who can be successful at the next-level.

How have you been able to lead such successful teams all these years? Do you have any coaching strategies that have led to this dynasty you have created?

As a coach, the kind of kids you get into your program are the most important and we have a great culture. I think that is the real key to our program and we have been able to build on that. When you come and talk to our players, every one of them transferred from a school where they had better individual success. We have five guys that are averaging between 8 and 15 points that were averaging between 15 and 25 points. They have all sacrificed to be able to win. This year, we had an exceptionally good year, we are 32-3 and we have [beaten] 4 nationally ranked teams. We have been fortunate that our kids buy into the culture, and our culture is defense. 

We told a team [recently] that there is not one team that has played against us this year that has scored their scoring average, and only one team was within four points of what their average has been for the year, the rest has been within 20 points. So we preach defense. 

Some high school athletes transfer to different highschools to be a part of better programs with higher chances of recruiting into college. What do you suggest these players look for in a coach when transferring highschools. 

You have to make sure that you fit into the school academically, number one, because basketball is gonna stop sooner or later and you have got to be able to do the academic work. We are lucky we have a great academic school so if you wanna come, you are gonna have to be able to do the work academically. Number two, you talk with the players and you visit with them to make sure you fit in with them. [These athletes] are who you are gonna spend most of your time with, then you can look at the student body. Your teammates, from October through March, are who you are going to be with almost 24/7. 

Another aspect is… can you accept your role? I think a mistake a lot of college athletes make is [that they] think they are better than they are, so they transfer somewhere, they go in and it is not what they thought it was gonna be. Or they choose to go to a school and they are the tenth guy on the bench, and they are not willing to accept that. I think, unfortunately, in today's game, especially with AAU, kids are jumping around and playing with 10 AAU programs during the summer. That hurts us as high school coaches, and it hurts college coaches.]

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What are certain characteristics you notice in the athletes who have gone to the next level?

I think when they are willing to sacrifice for the good of the team, how they build towards their teams, and how they treat people. When a kid visits your school, you get to spend whatever time you get to spend with them. I make it very clear what we expect and more importantly, at the high school level, we make it clear what the parents should expect. Colleges do this too because of the new transfer rules. Again, I make it extremely clear what we care looking for. Because you are not just having a player joining the program, you are having a family join the program. You have to make sure that family is on board with what you are trying to do. 

Are there any ways you believe to go above and beyond as a coach, that maybe other highschool coaches do not do?

I spend time with them, keep up with them. Whether it's Cam Hayes, who plays at NC State or other players who play at Virginia for us, I keep in touch with them and I talk with them all the time. I think you have got to build a relationship and be interested in other things, not just basketball. You have to be interested in them as a student, in their personal life, make sure everything is going alright. They know that, they know whether you care about them, and that is important.  

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* Originally published on June 20, 2022, by Mary Archibald