Coaching Basketball Successfully

Morgan Wootten compiled a remarkable 1,274-192 (.869) record in his 46-year career at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. Under Wootten’s helm, DeMatha won legendary national championships in 1962, 1965, 1968, and 1984. In 1984, USA Today named Wootten the National Coach of the Year. His teams recorded 44 consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins and won 33 Catholic League championships. Most impressive, DeMatha has finished the season ranked number 1 in the Washington, DC, area 20 times in the last 33 years.

Wootten first put DeMatha on the national map of high school basketball in 1965 when his team broke the 71-game winning streak of Lew Alcindor’s club at Power Memorial Academy (New York). More than 160 of Wootten's former players have played college basketball, and a dozen have played in the NBA. Wootten was inducted into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. He retired in November 2002.

Wootten is regarded as one of the best teachers in the history of the game. Coaches throughout the world have read his books, watched his videos and DVDs, and sat rapt through his clinics for many years. He and his wife, Kathy, reside in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Joe Wootten played for and was an assistant coach for his dad and is now an accomplished high school coach in his own right. Upon his arrival at Bishop O’Connell High School (Arlington, Virginia) in 1999, he turned the program around from a 6-game winner the year before his arrival to an average of 23 wins per season as head coach. He also serves as athletic director of the school. Joe has led O'Connell to 5 Virginia State Independent titles, 3 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) regular season titles, 3 Alhambra Catholic Invitational titles, and 1 WCAC tournament title. He was selected as the Arlington County Coach of the Year three times, WCAC Coach of the Year once, and Virginia State Independent Coach of the Year four times. Well known for developing his assistant coaches, he has had one college head coach, four Division I assistant coaches, and 6 head high school coaches work with him before advancing in their careers. 32 of his O’Connell players have earned college basketball scholarships. Joe resides in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife, Terri Lynn, and their three children, Alexa, Reese, and Jackson.