Legendary HS Basketball Coach Has Died At 88
SPRINGFIELD, : Morgan Wootten (R), who has been named Washington, DC, high school Basketball Coach of the Year ten times, is congratulated by former Boston Celtic's coach Red Auerbach (L) and Dave Gavit chairman of the board of the Basketball Hall of Fame (C) after Wootten was inducted into the 2000 Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, Civic Center 13, October, 2000. Wootten is the high school coach with the most wins 1,213. (FILM) AFP PHOTO JOHN MOTTERN (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images)
Legendary high school basketball coach Morgan Wootten, who led Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic to a 1,274-192 record during his 46 years at the helm, has passed away.
Wootten was 88. He had entered hospice care in recent days and passed away Tuesday night.
DeMatha Catholic announced the news of Wootten's death this morning.
Under Wootten's guidance, DeMatha won five national championships, 22 Washington D.C. Championships and 33 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles.
Wootten is one of only three high school basketball coaches enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2000.
Of his team's many victories, perhaps none is more famous than when Wootten and DeMatha beat Lew Alcindor and Power Memorial Academy of New York in 1965, snapping the program's 71-game winning streak.
Wootten sent dozens of players to the collegiate ranks over the years, with several going on to play in the NBA, including Adrian Dantley, Kenny Carr, Danny Ferry, Adrian Branch, Keith Bogans and Joseph Forte.
A full obituary for Wootten can be found here, courtesy of the Washington Post. Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wootten family and the entire DeMatha community. Rest in Peace, Coach.
