Coach Profile
Camp Director
Freddy Johnson
Coach Freddy Johnson is entering his 47th season as Head Coach of the Varsity Boys' Basketball team at Greensboro Day School. Coach Johnson has amassed 1,166 wins in his career at GDS and has won a record 12 NCISAA state championships. Coach Johnson is currently 7th all-time in wins as a high school boys’ basketball coach and is currently 3rd all-time for active coaches, trailing only Gary McKnight (Mater Dei) and Richard Duease (MS). In May 2016, Coach Johnson was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Johnson was named the 2017 National Coach of the Year by BallisLife. In February of 2020, Coach Johnson was recognized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement in Coaching High School Basketball. In April 2020, Coach Johnson was recognized by MaxPreps as one of the Top 100 High School Coaches in the country across all sports.
Freddy Johnson, a Greensboro native, has spent his entire coaching career at Greensboro Day School. Graduating from Grimsley High School in 1972 and Greensboro College in 1977, he furthered his education with a Master’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University in 1984. Johnson played basketball on the collegiate level for two years at Greensboro College, where he realized he wanted to coach basketball, gaining valuable experience for his life’s work coaching YMCA basketball teams.
Just out of Greensboro College, Johnson began volunteering with the Greensboro Day School basketball squad, and he was soon appointed Head Boys’ Varsity Basketball Coach at the relatively young independent school. One year later, he also became the Athletic Director. During his 45 years at Athletic Director at GDS, the athletic program has grown to include over forty teams and 85% middle and upper school student participation. There have also been over 150 conference and 45 state championship teams during his tenure in addition to over 250 alumni going on to participate in college athletics.
At GDS, Johnson has compiled an overall record of 1,166-315 (at the conclusion of the 22-23 year), a winning percentage of 78.73%, and is the winningest coach in North Carolina high school basketball history. He has coached teams to a record 12 state championships in the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association (NCISAA) and was a finalist 9 other times. His teams have won 30 conference championships and Johnson has been the Conference Coach of the Year 25 times. He has led the Bengals to a record 19 tournament championships at the HAECO Invitational, a premier tournament showcasing local high school teams in Guilford County, NC. He was the USA Today North Carolina Coach of the Year in 2015. He was named the 2017 National Coach of the Year by BallisLife. He has led 2 Bengal teams to the GEICO (formerly known as the Dick’s Sporting Goods) National High School Tournament (’15, ’17).
In February of 2020, Coach Johnson was recognized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement in Coaching High School Basketball. In April 2020, Coach Johnson was recognized by MaxPreps as one of the Top 100 High School Coaches in the country across all sports. On February 1, 2021, he won his 1,100th career game becoming only the 8th high school boys’ basketball coach to reach this milestone victory.
Johnson’s success at GDS has led to his selection as coach in seven all-star games, including the 1997 Capital Classic All-Star Game in Washington, DC, the 2013 McDonald’s All-American Game in Chicago, and the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic.
He has been enshrined into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2016), the Greensboro College Alumni Excellence Award (2008), as well as being awarded the Charles N. Carter NCISAA Athletic Director Cup (2015), the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame (2011), the Greensboro College Athletic Hall of Fame (2009), the NC Gaters Hall of Fame (2006).
Freddy Johnson and his wife, Mary Marr Dillard Johnson, have two children: Robert Johnson (McKinley) and Katherine Johnson Willingham (Davis); and two grandsons, Cross and Worth Johnson and one granddaughter, Nell Willingham.