Morristown East girls basketball coach Michael Potts earns 400th career win

Michael Potts didn't tell anyone he was approaching 400 wins. He wasn't paying attention to that number and had lost track, but even once he realized it, the Morristown East girls basketball coach kept it to himself.

Potts spent 18 years coach at Jefferson County and then took nine years away from high school coaching before picking up at East last season. So it was easy to lose track of his overall coaching record.

He didn't tell his players after their 55-51 win over Fulton on Monday granted him entry into the 400 Club. He didn't even tell his daughter Jenna, one of his assistant coaches.

The thing is, he's seeing the big picture now. The 56-year-old said growing and getting older has given him some perspective on what's most important. He's in coaching for the players, not himself.

"As a young coach, it was more about me," he said. "I was more selfish then. Now, it's pretty little. It only means something in your small circle. With those 400 wins are 200 losses."

That's not to say he doesn't want to win. That competitive spirit and the adrenaline it brings haven't gone anywhere. But he's no longer looking at the team wins as his successes.

"It probably means more to me to see them be successful," he said. "They’ve had to go through trials and tribulations of playing a team sport ,and I hope all that helps in their academics and other things."

Potts spent his nine years away from high school basketball coaching the AAU Lady Trotters and as a part-time assistant at Carson-Newman, while still teaching wellness at Jefferson County. He may not have returned to the high school game, but when the opportunity came up, he had a few players from East on his travel team. That connection led him to make the move.

It's been 28 years of coaching all together, and 20 in high school, that got him to this point.

"It's longevity and good players," Potts summed it up.