JCSU’s Steve Joyner wins his 600th basketball game

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith basketball coach Steve Joyner holds a banner marking his 600th career win after Saturday's 80-74 victory against Claflin at Brayboy Gym.

Steve Joyner’s 600th win removed a slice of drama from the CIAA basketball tournament.

The Johnson C. Smith coach reached the milestone Saturday in the Golden Bulls’ 80-74 win against Claflin in the regular season finale. The distraction was something Joyner preferred to avoid at the tournament, which starts Tuesday in Baltimore.

“It relieves a little pressure of wanting to get 600 and get it out of the way,” he said. “We tried to not focus on that but it’s one of the games on the schedule we must play and I’m happy we got it out of the way before we go to the CIAA tournament.”

JCSU (14-11, 9-9 CIAA) improved to 13-2 at Brayboy Gym on the strength of balanced contributions. Forward Avery Huggins, the Golden Bulls’ top scorer all season, led the way against Claflin with 24 points, seven rebounds while Jamauri Bryant added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. Cedric Patterson and Ashton Sherrell chipped in 14 and 13 points each.

“The CIAA tournament brings an enormous amount of pressure in itself, and they don’t have to worry about me and 600,” Joyner said. “They’ve gotten it done and we can focus now on the tournament.”

Joyner, who is 600-421 at Smith, is the CIAA’s active career wins leader, is part of an exclusive group in the conference’s history. Only Winston-Salem State’s Clarence “Big House” Gaines (828–447 in 47 seasons) and Virginia Union’s Dave Robbins (713-194 over 30 seasons) have more wins, and all three amassed their resumés at one school. Joyner, who is the winningest coach among active North Carolina collegiate coaches, is the 123rd man to earn 600 wins.

“I couldn’t fathom where I am in my life and my career here at Johnson C. Smith,” he said. “As I told the players, my career has not been filled with crystal stairs, but it has been filled with people who supported me – from players to coaches to administrators to presidents. I’ve been under five presidents, and they’ve all supported me and given me an opportunity to do the things I thought I could do.”

When Joyner took over the program from Bob Moore in 1987 – Joyner was the women’s coach previously – Ronald Reagan was president of the United States. In 36 seasons since (the CIAA cancelled the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic), he’s been the face of JCSU athletics, including two stints as athletics director.

“For a person that’s put so much into a place, given so much to a place, it’s good to see him get something for himself, to be recognized for accomplishment,” said Steve Joyner Jr., who played for his father and was the starting point guard on the 2021 team that won the school’s first CIAA title and advanced to the Division II Elite Eight. “He’s not a big guy on celebrating things; he’s not the one to be in the spotlight. He’d rather come to work, do his job and keep moving but to be able to praise him for a day, to praise him for a moment, words can’t express it. Happy for him.”

Joyner, who has three CIAA titles, eight division titles and three coach of the year awards, coached seven All-Americans and 26 all-conference players. It’s good enough for induction to the CIAA Hall of Fame. Getting to 600 is the latest in a long line of achievements in which he follows role models like Gaines, who lived in Joyner’s Winston-Salem neighborhood and Robbins, who was an assistant to Robbins at Virginia Union.

“I had so many conversations with Big House Gaines in the summertime you won’t believe it, about how to play, how to win, what it would take,” he said. “I’m grateful for the experiences and people who’ve been in my life. I’ve been able to sit with (CIAA tournament founder) John McClendon when he was living and have conversations with him. All those people, I’m thinking about them. I’m standing on their shoulders and hope they are as proud of me as I have been of them.

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