‘In the DNA’: First-year Sac High coach continues Dragons’ CIF section championship legacy
When it was over, Matt Johnson couldn’t stop moving, couldn’t stop smiling.
The first-year coach for Sacramento High School raced over to shake hands amid a championship vibe as his players celebrated nearby, then he waved at others, and then he spotted his mentor in the back tunnel of Golden 1 Center. It was Derek Swafford, his coach when they won championships at the Oak Park campus in the mid 2000s.
“First one, coach! It’s in the DNA!” is what Swafford told his former pupil and forever friend.
Swafford won six section championships as the Dragons’ coach and now leads small-school power Fortune High. Now, it’s Johnson’s program, where students wear purple, the school color, and their emotions on their sleeves. Seeded second, the Dragons outlasted top-seeded Vanden 66-61 in a thrilling CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III contest that included pressure-cooker 3-pointers, the extra inside pass and the occasional thunder dunk.
The young Dragons had enough juice left to bound into the media room, where they pointed to their coach for their success while he insisted it was all them. In truth, it was all of them, a new coach leading a young team that has played beyond its years in winning the program’s first section banner since 2016.
“I bleed Sac High purple, and this is what coach Swafford started here,” Johnson said excitedly. “We’re carrying the torch and legacy. It’s just so surreal. It hasn’t settled in. So proud of these boys and what they’ve done, and we haven’t played our best basketball yet. That’s still to come.”
The Dragons are a balanced and skilled lot, big on entertainment and effort. They do not bore or disappoint. They are 25-7 and will head into the CIF Northern California regional tournament as a team to behold.
Senior captain Mike Wilson led the way at guard, his value going much deeper than his nine points.
“I do what I do,” sounding more blunt than boastful. “It was Sac High vs. the world.”
Junior guard Kendahl Hearne had 17 points and sophomore forward Sir Marius Jones had 17 points and seven assists, and he joked that a tender knee prevented him from tearing the rim down on a dunk.
“I was going to windmill 360 it, but didn’t,” he said with a slight grin as his teammates howled in laughter.
Johnson instructed his team to be patient early in the game, but to also play loose. They played loose alright, launching and making 3’s.
“They did the exact opposite of what I told them regarding shooting,” Johnson said with a laugh. “OK, we’ll keep shooting then!”
Sacramento made 8 of 15 3-pointers in a venue that is not easy to shoot in, given the depth perception.
Johnson knew how to play this sport, including playing professionally overseas, but he didn’t know how to run a program. He’s still learning on the fly, backed by coaches who were once his Sac High teammates and an administration that understands how athletics can merge nicely with academics.
And tradition? It greets the Dragons every day in practice. They can’t avoid it. This is the oldest school in Sacramento, and the championships for various sports date back to the 1920s.
“I point to the banners every day,” Johnson said. “We have one now to hang up. My first year, I had to learn, and I’m still learning. I had to make schedules, order uniforms.”
He added a moment later, “It’s all about the boys here, not me. I just stand and yell out there.”
And lead, and inspire, and win.
Vanden (22-10) was led by E’Jay Rogers and Sterling McClanahan, who scored 21 and 14 points, respectively. Both teams will advance to the CIF Northern California playoffs.
This story was originally published February 25, 2023 at 7:11 PM.