Johnson returns to coach varsity girls basketball
Tommy Johnson has been named the new coach of Robbinsville Lady Knights varsity basketball. He previously coached the Robbinsville Black Knights from 2012-15.
Robbinsville – It’s rare that a coach comes out of retirement on a fourth occasion – and with an undefeated streak on the line, no less.
Granted, Tommy Johnson’s claim to the highest winning percentage in state history for coaching high school girls basketball might be followed by an asterisk in the record books – he’s 2-0, thanks to a pair of fill-in duties over the course of his lengthy career – but his logic is flawless.
As is his mentality about being named the new girls basketball coach for Robbinsville High School, a decision first publicly confirmed following May 6’s Graham County Board of Education meeting.
“It’s always good when you’re wanted,” Johnson said, during an exclusive interview with The Graham Star on Friday. “I don’t treat girls any differently. The ball don’t know if you’re female or male, so you respect it. Don’t be late. I’m not going to be late. If you are, let me know. If I am, I’ll let you know. Just be respectful. Do what we ask you to do and if you’re good enough to go somewhere, we’ll get you into a school somewhere.”
“I like to win and we win wherever we go – and we’re going to win, I’ll tell you that.”
Admittedly, his first initiative was to walk in with a clean slate. Not one to dwell on past successes and failures, Johnson made the trek from his current home in North Wilkesboro to meet with the upcoming Lady Knights just two days after being hired. He was greeted by an estimated group of 25, enthusiastic young ladies who were eager to learn the new ways of the old-school coach.
Within two years of joining a program, Johnson has led every school on his resume to a conference title.
“It’s a fresh start,” said Johnson. “I’ll tell them the three things that I expect: you have to have white socks, or you won’t be in the gym, period. You have to take your jewelry off for practice, because you can’t play in it. They also have to know what ‘baseline’ means, which is getting ready to run.
“The girls really got after it. We were supposed to be done in two hours, but it lasted almost 2 ½.”
A 1975 graduate of North Wilkes High School, Johnson will carry an overall record of 557-276 (.669 winning percentage) into his debut season as a girls basketball coach.
Three of the years spent in his legendary career were in Robbinsville. From 2012-15, Johnson held the Black Knights to the same standards he plans to hold the Lady Knights to – and the mentality worked: Robbinsville was 55-22 with Johnson at the helm, including an 18-6 mark in his final year.
“Things were great. I could see myself still being here, but life moves you around,” Johnson said.
Johnson coached the Wilkes Central Eagles from 1984-2003, before switching to his alma mater for a stint in 2005-06. He departed for his first coaching run in Western North Carolina, where Johnson led Pisgah to a two-year record of 37-16 and an appearance in the 2A state championship game.
Following the 2007-08 season, Johnson returned to North Wilkes and later earned his 400th career victory over the school where he plied his coaching craft – Wilkes Central – in February 2009. He stepped down as coach in June 2010 and remained inactive until accepting the job at Robbinsville in 2012.
After leaving the Knights program, Johnson traversed across the state to Perquimans, where he collected his 500th career win. Following his second retirement, Johnson helped cultivate the Southeastern Christian Academy boys program from the ground up in Shallotte.
“They didn’t even have a gym – they had an old church,” Johnson recalled. “I told them, ‘You can make this a gym.’ Now, they have a 2,000-seat gym and a practice gym.”
He also coached in the West vs. Midwest All-Star Game in 2015, as well as the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game in 2018.
Johnson, 69, played college basketball at Montclaire (N.J.) State University.