Morgan Wootten

Morgan Bayard Wootten (born April 21, 1931, Durham, North Carolina) is an American former high school basketball coach. From 1956 to 2002, he coached at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He has the most wins as a head coach in the history of basketball on any level. A number of his players went on to play in the NBA, including Adrian Dantley and Danny Ferry. Wootten gained legendary status in 1965, when his DeMatha team beat Lew Alcindor's Power Memorial Academy and ended their 71-game winning streak. His career coaching record stands at 1,274-192.

Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden (1910–2010) described his admiration for Wootten when he said, "I know of no finer coach at any level - high school, college or pro. I stand in awe of him."^{[citation needed]} In October 2000, Coach Wootten was elected and inducted into the Hall of Fame, one of three high school basketball coaches ever so honored.

Wootten attended the University of Maryland. During his coaching career at DeMatha, located just two miles away from his alma mater, he received job offers from Georgetown and American and interest from Duke, Wake Forest, and Virginia. Wootten turned down the offers, according to Sports Illustrated, because the Maryland job, which was not forthcoming, was the only college job he wanted.^[1]

Head coaching record

Season-By-Season Records Under Wootten

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Dematha Stags (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) (1956–2002)
1956-1957	DeMatha	22-10
1957-1958	DeMatha	17-11
1958-1959	DeMatha	23–10
1959-1960	DeMatha	23-10
1960-1961	DeMatha	27-1		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1961-1962	DeMatha	29-3		1st	High School National Champions
1962-1963	DeMatha	36-4		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1963-1964	DeMatha	27-2		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1964-1965	DeMatha	28-1		1st	High School National Champions
1965-1966	DeMatha	28-1		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1966-1967	DeMatha	26-5		1st
1967-1968	DeMatha	27-1		1st	High School National Champions
1968-1969	DeMatha	27-3
1969-1970	DeMatha	28-3		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1970-1971	DeMatha	29-2		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1971-1972	DeMatha	30-1		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1972-1973	DeMatha	30-1		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1973-1974	DeMatha	27-5		1st
1974-1975	DeMatha	26-5		1st
1975-1976	DeMatha	28-5		1st
1976-1977	DeMatha	29-4
1977-1978	DeMatha	28-0		1st	High School National Champions
1978-1979	DeMatha	28-3		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1979-1980	DeMatha	27-4		1st
1980-1981	DeMatha	28-2		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1981-1982	DeMatha	28-3		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1982-1983	DeMatha	27-4		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1983-1984	DeMatha	29-2		1st	High School National Champions
1984-1985	DeMatha	31-3		1st
1985-1986	DeMatha	26-7
1986-1987	DeMatha	28-6		1st
1987-1988	DeMatha	30-3		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1988-1989	DeMatha	27-5
1989-1990	DeMatha	26-8		1st
1990-1991	DeMatha	30-0		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1991-1992	DeMatha	31-2		1st
1992-1993	DeMatha	20-10
1993-1994	DeMatha	28-4		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1994-1995	DeMatha	26-7
1995-1996	DeMatha	31-5		1st
1996-1997	DeMatha	27-7
1997-1998	DeMatha	34-1		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
1998-1999	DeMatha	28-4
1999-2000	DeMatha	28-5
2000-2001	DeMatha	29-6		1st
2001-2002	DeMatha	32-3		1st	Ranked 1st in D.C. Area
Total:		1,274-192(.869)
National Champion         Conference Regular Season Champion         Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Division Champion

Later life

In 1996, Wootten nearly died because of a malfunctioning liver and was quickly rushed to the hospital for a liver transplant. Several years later, aged 75, one of his kidneys failed, and he received a transplant; the donor was his son, Joe Wootten.^{[citation needed]}

Wootten authored five books (including A Coach for All Seasons, Coaching Basketball Successfully, and From Orphans to Champions). His youngest son, Joe Wootten, follows his lead and is a successful basketball coach at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. Both of them lead one of the largest camps in the US, Coach Wootten's Basketball Camp, held in Frostburg, Maryland at Frostburg State University and at Bishop O'Connell High School.^{[citation needed]}

Notable Players Coached by Wootten

• John Austin
• Keith Bogans
• Adrian Branch
• Mike Brey
• James Brown
• Kenny Carr
• Sid Catlett
• Perry Clark
• Adrian Dantley
• Ron Everhart
• Danny Ferry
• Joseph Forte
• John Jones
• Sidney Lowe
• Brendan McCarthy
• Jerrod Mustaf
• Heath Schroyer
• Pete Strickland
• Brian Westbrook
• Charles "Hawkeye" Whitney
• Dereck Whittenburg
• Bernie Williams

Notable Assistant Coaches to Wootten

• Mike Brey
• Perry Clark
• Eddie Fogler
• Joe Mihalich
• Pete Strickland

See also

• Basketball Hall of Fame
• List of members of the Basketball Hall of Fame

References

1. ^ The Wizard Of Washington; Morgan Wootten's name is similar to John Wooden's, and so is his record as a basketball coach. In his 23 seasons at DeMatha High School he has triumphed 88% of the time, Sports Illustrated, January 29, 1977.

• Hall of Fame profile
• USA Today: Winningest prep basketball coach Wootten retires.

Persondata
Name	Wootten, Morgan
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Date of birth	April 21, 1931
Place of birth
Date of death
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