An interview with Coach Fred Johnson
GREENSBORO, N.C. — When it comes to North Carolina high school basketball programs, no team has been as consistent as Greensboro Day School. The Bengals have kept their program successful, even after taking on some of the top high school basketball teams in the nation. This is thanks to one man, their head coach Fred Johnson.
Since 2005, Johnson has had an overall regular season coaching record of 475 wins and 76 losses and has 99 wins and 17 losses against conference teams during that time. He has coached three Bengal basketball teams that reached the No. 1 state ranking in North Carolina. As the 2021-22 high school basketball season comes around this year, I was able to talk to Coach Johnson about his upcoming season and career with the Bengals.
How is your team preparing for this upcoming season this March after finishing off last season as one of the top teams in the state and going undefeated in your league?聽
鈥淲e have some goals and my players have been working very hard in their workouts this preseason with things such as lifting and drills to make sure we have the best season possible this March.鈥�
This season you guys have some very good matchups with schools such as Oak Hill Academy, a traditionally good basketball school. How does your team approach the pressure of these big non-conference games against talented programs like that?聽
鈥淲hen we get the opportunity we get to play teams like that, such as IMG who we upset when they were No. 2 in the country, so we get the chance to get to play on ESPN and do those kinds of things, but I think when you get to play any team that is so well-coached such as Steve Smith鈥檚 team (Oak Hill) it鈥檚 a great opportunity to find out what you need to be working on and we aren鈥檛 going to play teams that strong usually across the state, so it helps us prepare and learn our weaknesses and give us things to work on and goals we can set for the upcoming season.鈥�
You have been coaching some of the top recruits in the state such as Jayden Young who is one of the top players for the Class of 2023. What is it like getting the chance to coach talented players like him?
鈥淛ayden is a kid that came into our program as a freshman and he鈥檚 worked really hard. He鈥檚 been one of our best defensive players for the last two years. He鈥檚 actually guarded the best offensive player most of the time on the other team, and he鈥檚 done an exceptional job. Last year, when our point guard got hurt, he had to go against the 8th ranked player in the country who is going to Ohio State, and he also had to be our point guard to get up the court the whole game against the press. So he鈥檒l do anything asked of him, and he sacrifices what is the best for the team.鈥�
Fill in the blank. If your team doesn’t do “X,” it won’t reach its potential. What’s the answer?
鈥淩ebounding. We don鈥檛 rebound, that鈥檚 our biggest weakness we have to work out.鈥�
Out of all the accolades you have had in your long tenure as a coach at Greensboro Day School, what has been your most memorable moment?
鈥淢y most memorable moment coaching at Greensboro Day School was winning our first Little Four at the time in the city in 1987, that kind of put us on the map.鈥�
What is the biggest challenge you face daily being the coach of a successful team like this?
鈥淔or this team to be successful, I think as usual staying healthy is very important and keeping the desire to get better. It鈥檚 a long season and you have your bumps in the road and you are going to have your downs and ups. We have six national games this year. We play Oak Hill and then four in Florida and play at Oak Hollow, and Springfield, Massachusetts, in the Hall of Fame. So, we have six national games, but in our state, we are playing some of the best 3A schools in the state and then some of the best 4A schools in the state, so our schedule is packed. This is the second-toughest schedule we ever played.鈥�
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