The Greensboro Day School Boys Basketball team has capped off another season with a state championship, the second consecutive title and 7th in the last 12 years and 14th state title in program history.
With a record of 36-2, the won more games than any team in program history.
The team played 10 games versus teams that appeared in a national ranking, going 8-2 in those games with signature wins over Tennessee Collegiate and IMG Academy. The Bengals won their last 10 games by 16 points or more including a 28-point win in the state championship game. vs. nationally ranked, Concord Academy.
Coach Freddy Johnson, in his 49th season as Head Coach of the Bengals, now has 1,257 wins and ranks 5th all-time nationally.
The Bengals, who appeared in the Dick’s Nationals in 2015 and 2017 (and the only team from NC to win a game at the event), have their fingers crossed for an invitation to the 2026 Chipotle Nationals.
Greensboro Day School Bengal Basketball – A Rich Tradition
2025-26 NCISAA State Champions
14 NCISAA State Championships
23 State Championship Game Appearances
32 Conference Championships (25-PACIS, 7-PTAC)
21 AAR Invitational Championships (Formerly HAECO, Little 4)
26 HAECO Invitational Championship Game Appearances
2 Chipotle (formerly Dick’s & GEICO) National Tournament Invitations (’15, ’17)
90+ NCAA Basketball Players
Average of 25.65 wins a year over last 49 years
Winningest High School Coach in North Carolina History (1,257 wins and counting)
20th HS Boys Basketball Coach to reach 1,000 wins
3rd Winningest Active HS Boys Basketball Coach
1977-78: First Team coached by Freddy Johnson
1971-72: First Varsity Team at Greensboro Day School
NBA Draft Pick: Wayne Robinson (1980 draft)
NBA G-League: KJ Garland, Johnny Thomas, Jaleel Roberts
Former Harlem Globetrotter: Johnny ‘Hawk’ Thomas
18 alumni on college rosters (for the 25-26 season)
4 alumni on pro rosters (Europe)
Greensboro Day School Basketball: 2025-26 Wrap-Up
Greensboro Day School’s 2025-26 basketball season has concluded. They finished the season with a 36-2
record that propelled the team to its record extending 14th NCISAA State Championship. The Bengals lost
their second game of the season on November 6th and since then, has only lost to nationally ranked #1 Spire
Academy. Ultimately, the team won their final 17 games of the season and defeated Concord Academy in
the 3A State Championship game. They won the last 10 games of the season by at least 16 points each.
The Bengals played in multiple Phenom Hoops events, most notably the George Lynch Invitational where
they took down then nationally ranked Tennessee Collegiate, who beat Prolific Prep a week later. The
Bengals once again competed in the prestigious AAR Invitational (formerly HAECO or Little 4), looking to
defend their title. They did just that by defeating Southeast Guilford, Northern Guilford and Wesleyan
Christian. Sophomore Micah Gunter was named MVP of the tournament and Marty Giant and Grant
Duggins made the All-tournament team. The Bengals then played in the John Wall Holiday Invitational,
beating Millbrook, then losing to Spire Academy, before “upsetting” nationally ranked IMG. Spire
Academy won the tournament and was ranked #1 in the nation following the tournament. Micah Gunter
was named to the John Wall All-Tournament team. Following that, the Bengals moved into conference play
winning the PTAC championship for the 7th time in 8 years with an undefeated record. Micah Gunter was
named Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference (PTAC) Player of the Year. Marty Giant, Grant Duggins,
Andrew Juergens, Julian Adigun and Mason Robinson joined Micah on the PTAC All-Conference Team.
The Bengals ended the season with a phenomenal performance in the NCISAA State Tournament.
Maxpreps rated the NCISAA 3A state tournament as the 9th toughest state tournament in the nation. The
Bengals had a double-bye and then opened their play with a 68-45 win over Grace Christian of Sanford. The
Bengals advanced to the semi-finals for the 33rd time in the last 38 years. They defeated Davidson Day 61-45
to set up a return to the state championship-game for the 23rd time. This was the 3rd time in 4 years that the
Bengals faced Concord Academy for the NCISAA 3A State Championship. Micah Gunter led the way with
17 points to propel the Bengals to the back-to-back state championships and the 14th in program history.
This is the 5th team in program history to win the AAR, Conference and State Championships all in the
same season.
The Bengals played 10 games against teams who appeared in a national ranking at some point in the year
and finished 8-2 in those games including: 2-0 vs. the NCISAA 4A State Champion, Forsyth Country Day
(GDS accounted for 2 of FCDS’ 3 losses); 2-0 vs. the NCISAA 2A Runner-Up, Caldwell Academy; 2-0 vs.
NCISAA 3A Runner-Up, Concord Academy (GDS accounted for 2 of Concord Academy’s 3 losses); big
wins over Tennessee Collegiate and IMG Academy.
Current National Rankings: (3.5.26)
• Maxpreps: 11
• USA Today: 17
• BallisLife FAB50: 18
• Sports Illustrated: 22
Four seniors from this year’s championship team will graduate from GDS in May, and 3 of them plan to
play basketball in college. 7’0 forward Julian Adigun has signed to play at Harvard University. 6’3 guard
Marty Giant and 6’4 wing Aydin Wynn both remain undecided. Over 90 players have gone on to play at the
collegiate level including 43 of 63 (68%) graduates since 2013. In total, there are 22 former players on
college or professional rosters for the 2025-26 season. When a powerhouse program loses multiple players
to graduation, it doesn’t rebuild, it reloads. Greensboro Day School is accustomed to graduating multiple
starters following highly successful seasons, yet the program’s strong culture has propelled its teams to 7
state championships, and 1 State runner-up finish in the last 12 years.
Key Players:
• 6’3 G, Micah Gunter ’28: offers from Boston College, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, High Point
University, and Coastal Carolina.
• 6’4 G, Marty Giant ’26: offers from Bryant, Monmouth and WSSU and is receiving interest from
High Point, App State, Coastal Carolina, Furman, Campbell, and Wofford among others.
• 6’8 W, Andrew Juergens ’28: recently offered by Texas A&M University.
• 6’10 F, Grant Duggins ’29: offers from High Point University and Stetson.
• 7’0 F, Julian Adigun ’26: Julian committed to Harvard over offers from Jacksonville University,
Georgia State, Elon, Campbell, Furman, Brown, Princeton and Yale.
• 6’10 F, Mason Robinson ’27: offers from High Point University and Western Carolina and is
receiving interest from UNCG, Elon, Georgetown, and UC-San Diego, University of WisconsinMilwaukee and more.
• 6’6 G, Jagger Emerson ’27: receiving interest from a number of schools
• 6’6 W, Thomas Bowes ’28 had a fantastic summer. He has grown a few inches and his game has
quickly evolved. He can do a little bit of everything. Look to see his minutes increase as the season
progresses. Thomas was a key member of the undefeated JV team last season.
Freddy Johnson, the winningest high school coach in North Carolina, has led the Bengal program since the
1977-78 season. His 1,257 career wins are more than any other coach in North Carolina high school
basketball history. He has a record 14 State Championships in North Carolina in a record 23 state
championship appearances. With a record of 36-2, this was the 20th time in the last 32 seasons that Coach
Johnson has led his team to a 30+ win season. 36 wins also marks the most wins in a single season
surpassing the 35 in the 94-95 season. Since winning his first state championship in 1989, Coach Johnson is
averaging 1 state championship every 3 seasons. Coach Johnson has won a state championship in each of
the last 5 decades including 7 of the last 12.
In a previous email, a former player said, “The impact that you (Freddy Johnson) have had on my life and
many other young men looms large. I wanted to let you know that your influence affected the direction of
my life — in a very positive fashion. I think what I value most about our time together was that I was able to
apply the principles that I learned from you in life itself, outside of athletics. I didn’t realize it at the time,
but the hard work and teamwork you instilled in me would be something I would be able to use later in
many life situations.”
Coach Johnson transcends basketball; he teaches not only the game but also life skills. His success in
building young men’s lives for some four decades is a major building block in the Greensboro Day School
basketball foundation.
Courtesy of Michael Sumner, from the Greensboro Day School