Jackson, Doss Notch 700th Career Victories



   
Selma High School defeated Demopolis 55-42 Tuesday night as the Saints handed Coach Woodie Jackson his 700th career high school basketball victory. A week earlier, J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville beat Madison Academy 68-58 that gave veteran coach Jack Doss his 700th win.

  
Jackson now has a 700-331 record in a high school career that has spanned 35 years and also included stops at Westside, East Perry and Francis Marion.. His career totals do not include the wins he registered while coaching at Dillard University.
    He guided Francis Marion to five state championships, including a state-record four in a row from 1988-91. The Rams won 2A crowns in 1988, 1989 and 1990 and the 3A title in 1991.  After his stint in college coaching, he returned to prep coaching and guided Francis Marion to the 2000 Class 3A state championship.  Jackson also coached Westside to the 1978 Class 1A state crown.
    “That’s a lot of games,” Jackson told the Selma Times-Journal. “I’m blessed. I’m excited. A lot of days away from home. First, I want to give thanks to God, because if not for him and having an opportunity to coach and having some good players to work with down through the years, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
    He has led teams to 11 state tournaments and six championships overall and served with Roosevelt Sanders of Central-Tuscaloosa as coaches in the inaugural Alabama-Mississippi Game in 1991 and again in 2000. He also coached in the prestigious McDonald’s All-America Game in 2008.
     Jackson said the day after the big win, “This is really not about me and me alone. This milestone belongs to all the players I have had the good fortune to coach. It is about a lot more than victories.  I have been blessed.”
    Jackson was inducted into the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
    Doss, who spent most of his coaching career at Butler High School, is now 703-313 with the Jaguars currently 13-3 in his first season as their head coach. He has guided seven teams to state championships--Hayes of Birmingham (1981 and 1982) and Butler (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2011). The Rebels also finished second in 2012, losing on a 3-point shot at the buzzer in the 4A finals to Midfield.
    Doss said winning his 700th game “means I have been coaching a long time,” emphasizing the focus should be on the teams and the kids.  “Coaching basketball has been and still is a great job,” he added. “I am looking forward to what we can accomplish at Johnson. I think we have a chance to be very good for the next several years.”

     

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