Reid & Lombard Honored as Top High School Coaches in the Nation
Springfield, Mass. — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the winners of the 2015 Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement in Coaching High School Basketball. This prestigious award is named after Morgan Wootten, who is one of two high school coaches enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The annual award recognizes two high school coaches, one for boys’ basketball and one for girls’ basketball.
The 2015 winner of the Morgan Wootten Award for boys’ basketball is Harvey Reid from Ralph L. Fike High School (Wilson, NC). Reid coached for over 40 years at Frederick Douglas and Elm City High School as well as Wilson Fike, where he served as a math teacher and athletic director since 1978. He is the all-time winningest coach in North Carolina history with an overall coaching record of 816-208, including a 69-game winning streak. Reid led his teams to the state championship game on 12 occasions and earned seven state titles, in addition to over 20 conference championships. Reid passed away after suffering a heart attack while coaching a playoff game in 1991. He was inducted into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1990.
The 2015 winner of the Morgan Wootten Award for girls’ basketball is Joe Lombard from Canyon High School (Canyon, TX). At the conclusion of the 2014 season, Lombard had compiled an overall coaching record of 1,160-113, winning 91-percent of his games over the past 36 years. His total number of wins in Texas girls’ basketball is second only to Leta Andrews, the nation’s all-time winningest coach who is a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2015. He has guided his teams to 16 state tiles over the course of five decades. A true basketball family, Joe’s wife and son have each coached Texas high school girl’s basketball teams to state titles as well – in different divisions.
“Coach Reid and Coach Lombard are two of the finest coaches in high school basketball history,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “While their win-loss records are undoubtedly impressive, these men committed to teaching their players more than X’s and O’s for several decades. They serve as fantastic examples of true leadership.”
“These two coaches have dedicated their lives to the game and are extremely deserving of the award,” said Hall of Fame Class of 2000 member Morgan Wootten and 46-year coach of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsvile, Maryland.
The Morgan Wootten Award winners were selected by a nationally based committee comprised of Hall of Famers, national high school media members, tournament directors and others who have significantly impacted the game. Morgan Wootten will present the awards at the 2015 McDonald’s All American ® Games banquet on March 31 in Chicago, IL.
Previous boys’ basketball award winners have included Gary McKnight (Mater Dei, CA), Vito Montelli (St. Joseph High School, CT), Jack Curran (Archbishop Molloy, NY), Joe Gallagher (St. John’s College, DC), Ralph Tasker (Hobbs High School, NM), Robert Hughes (Fort Worth Dunbar, TX) and Bob Hurley, Sr. (St. Anthony’s, NJ).
Previous winners of the girls’ basketball award have included Thednall Hill (Hardy Highland, AR), Sandra Meadows (Duncanville High School, TX), Leta Andrews (Granbury High School, TX), Jim Smiddy (Bradley Central, TN), Dorothy Gaters (Chicago Marshall, IL), Rick Insell (Shelbyville, TN) and Gene Klinge (West Central of Maynard, IA).
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.
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