Beaverton Legend Nearing Wins Record
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 18, 2017
Roy Johnston is three wins from tying and four from breaking the all-time wins record for boys basketball in Michigan.
But the longtime Beaverton coach isn’t interested in reflecting, at least not yet. That’s just not his style.
“During the season, you just concentrate on – at least I do – the games you’ve got coming up for the week,” Johnston said. “When you start reflecting on things, you’re not doing justice to what’s on hand.”
Johnston, who took over the Beaverton program in 1974 after short stints in Yale and Howell, has a career record of 725-301. Longtime River Rouge coach Lofton Greene holds the record for wins in the state at 728.
“There’s so much pride in our community,” said Shad Woodruff, Beaverton’s junior varsity boys coach and a former player of Johnston’s. “Beaverton basketball brings our community together. Beaverton basketball and Roy’s program brings our small-town community together. It’s a big feather in our cap, and we’re proud to have Roy and what he means – we understand that not every place has something like that.
“To really validate it with the all-time wins record, and be able to say our school has that – you can’t beat that.”
Building a program
Johnston graduated from Croswell-Lexington High School. He attended Adrian College for a semester, playing on the basketball team, before transferring to Eastern Michigan University. While there, he got his nose wet in coaching by helping in Ypsilanti.
He earned his first coaching win during the 1966-67 season at Yale. He was 13-24 with a District title in his two years at the St. Clair County school before he moved to Howell, going 5-28 in two seasons there.
After meeting with the Beaverton High School principal at a deer hunting cabin, he was on the move again – this time to the place he would make his home.
Johnston – who had been teaching high school classes – took a job as a fifth-grade teacher and JV coach in the fall of 1970. He took over the varsity program in 1974 and started winning immediately, going 16-8, 23-2, 18-3 and 22-2 in his first four seasons with three District titles, three conference titles and a Regional title during that stretch.
“Most of it was just discipline,” Johnston said. “I had to make sure the ballplayers got on the same page and that everybody had one common goal. So it was just a matter of making sure kids were disciplined, played with each other and did what you practiced.”
Eventually, players who entered the program knew what to expect and what was expected of them before they stepped foot on Johnston’s court.
“That takes a long time to create that environment,” Woodruff said. “He’s been there for 45 years, so it doesn’t happen overnight. But it does start to coach itself. When kids walk through the door knowing, ‘I have to bust my tail,’ part of that job is already accomplished for you. That’s what a program is. It’s no different than Alabama football.”
In his 42 seasons at Beaverton, the Beavers have won 20 conference titles, 15 District titles and five Regional titles. The team made a run to the Class C Semifinals in 1984.
More impressive, however, is the consistency. In his 42 seasons at Beaverton, Johnston has had just five losing seasons, and one of those still featured 10 wins.
“It has been stable,” longtime Beaverton public address announcer Scott Govitz said. “He is just a guy that is very disciplined in what he does and his coaching. It’s all about doing things right and repetitiveness. He doesn’t run dozens of offenses. He’s a stickler for defense. He just instills in every player that they’re going to have to work hard.”
Community gatherings
Don’t mistake discipline for not having fun, however. Beaverton basketball games are an event.
“(Games are) a community gathering, especially on Fridays,” Govitz said. “You can see as many as 10 kids clamoring to be water boy, hear the pep band with a director that’s been around 30 years and after each game, the floor fills with community members having conversations while dozens of kids race to one end to shoot baskets before the call comes to put the balls away. It’s just a real tradition.”
Beaverton’s student section, the Bleacher Creatures, won the MHSAA’s Battle of the Fans contest in 2014.
The team gets into it, as well, as pregame introductions include the Beaver Shuffle and the Beaver Slide (see video below). The final player introduced makes a run through the student section and slides from about halfcourt into his teammates waiting near the bench.
Even Johnston has his own very visible tradition, wearing a red blazer for every game.
The fun offers a bit of a window into who the coach really is.
“Roy is a disciplinarian, and he’s demanding,” Woodruff said. “But I’ve said this for years, if you think you know Roy Johnston by sitting across the gym and watching him coach, you might have a different perception. If that’s all you know Roy from, you don’t know Roy.
“He loves his kids. He expects a lot of us, but he loves his kids and he loves his community.”
Beaverton may not be Johnston’s hometown, but it certainly has become his home.
“I think that we have been very fortunate in Beaverton,” Johnston said. “We have had great teachers, we’ve had great administrators, and for the most part, we have had very good board members. I look at other places that go through a lot of turmoil, and we’ve been very fortunate.”
Johnston’s family has also been part of the tradition, including his wife Judy, who has served as his statistician. Two of his sons, and his three grandsons who grew up the district, have played for him. His daughter Jennifer (Northern Michigan) and son Jeff (Michigan Tech) each went on to play college basketball.
“I’ve had three grandsons live in the district, and I’ve had all three of them,” Johnston said. “Not too many guys have had that pleasure that I’ve had. It’s always been special, all along. I’m very lucky and very fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach those three.”
Spanning generations
The youngest of the grandsons, Carter, is at the center of this year’s squad which is 7-1 and sure to push Grandpa over the all-time wins mark.
It’s this latest group, which has included grandsons Carter, Spencer and Grant, that has accelerated Johnston’s chase for the record.
Since the 2012-13 season, Beaverton is 94-10, giving Johnston his winningest stretch near the end of his storied career.
“He has had multiple generations that he’s coached, and he does a lot of the same things with the kids,” Beaverton athletic director Ryan Roberts said. “He’s really good with the kids, getting them involved. I have an 8-year-old boy who sits at the end of the bench, along with about a half dozen others.
“All of the kids and most of the people in the town here have the utmost respect for him, know what he’s doing and how he is.”
For Johnston, reaching out to multiple generations of high school athletes isn’t as complicated as some make it seem.
“They are different, but high school kids and kids at that age are going through the same things we all went through at that age,” Johnston said. “Yeah, they’ve got cell phones that we never had, but they’re still going through the transition of being a little kid and becoming an adult. It’s something that we’ve all gone through.
“If you were out of coaching and came back, I think you would see a difference. Whereas I haven’t been, so you kind of grow with it. Kids are kids, always have been.”
Whenever the record is broken, several generations of Beaverton players and fans will be on hand to watch it. The Beavers play their next three games on the road before settling in for four straight home games Feb. 1 through Feb. 10.
Johnston is trying not to focus on it, but even he admits breaking the record will be special.
“You have to be concerned about your players and how to get them ready for the next game,” Johnston said. “My JV coach is the one who worries about most of this stuff, more than I do. It’s just another step.
“It’s more than that, let’s face it. But it’s another step.”
Others have no problem admitting that it’s much more than that. Woodruff became emotional thinking about the moment and all that Johnston has meant to him throughout the years.
Govitz said the community is already starting to fill with anticipation of the milestone victory.
“We’re a small community, and in small communities you have to rally around whatever successes you have,” Govitz said. “In this community, there’s a huge love for our school system, and this is something that really shines a positive light on our school system. It’s a point of pride.
“I’m already seeing more people in the stands. There’s a buzz in the community. There’s a buzz in the other communities that surround us. There’s a lot of communities that can point to state championships on their signs. This is one of those markers for us that will be around a long time.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Beaverton coach Roy Johnston, at right in 1984 and left more recently. The gymnasium at his schools bears his name. (Middle) Johnston, far left, celebrates an undefeated regular season with his 2014-15 team. (Photos courtesy of Stephanie Johnston.)
Gaffney Returns to Basketball Court for Opening Night, Continuing Incredible Recovery
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 5, 2025
Joe Gaffney was in a familiar spot Tuesday night when Charlevoix opened the basketball season at home against Ellsworth.
The all-state guard was in the starting line-up.
But as the game was wrapping up, the four-year starter was in an unfamiliar spot.
“He was the loudest one on the bench cheering,” said Charlevoix coach Anthony Troshak. “He was coaching, giving out reminders and that's awesome for a kid that normally, in the last three years, he's out there in crunch time. Instead, he's still like, ‘Hey, I can make an impact,’ and that was a really awesome thing to see.”
The fact Gaffney was in the game at all is arguably a miracle. Gaffney nearly lost his life this spring. He was in a car crash along with the entire Charlevoix boys golf team and coach Doug Drenth.
The team was on its way to spend the night at Crystal Mountain, returning from the first day of a two-day tournament at Arcadia Bluffs. Emergency personnel transported Gaffney, his coach and the entire golf team to Munson Medical Center. Gaffney sustained a ruptured diaphragm and shattered pelvis.
Gaffney had emergency surgery to repair his diaphragm April 27 and underwent a nine-hour surgery the next day. Munson Orthopedic Institute surgeons Michael McDonald and Matthew Schuch placed 76 screws in his pelvis and femur.
“The trauma team and the general surgeons are the ones who repaired his diaphragm, and they're the ones that saved his life – that wasn’t me,” Dr. McDonald pointed out. “Joe’s done a lot of hard work. All credit to him, because it's tough to go through what he went through and come to where he has.”
Gaffney spent nine days in Munson’s Intensive Care Unit and then stayed in Munson’s Mary Free Bed rehab facility until May 9. He was non-weight bearing until July 9.
Many wondered if Gaffney would ever get back on the basketball court. Few thought it would be as early as the opening night win over Ellsworth. Gaffney played just more than two quarters and hit two of three shots from 3-point land. He also contributed two rebounds before sitting out the Rayders’ all-out press in the fourth quarter – but instead led the bench’s support.
“That’s the type of person he is,” Troshak said. “He's one of the most, if not the most determined individuals I've ever come across.”
The crash and initial rehabilitation left Troshak thinking he’d likely have his star guard available only for something like a Senior Night appearance. But incredible community and medical support, and Gaffney’s hard work gradually changed Troshak’s hope.
“In the summer, I thought it might be maybe in January or February, and maybe a couple of minutes here and there,” Troshak said. “I never dreamed it would be game one – that's just how hard he's worked.”
Gaffney never lost sight of getting back on the court. He started physical therapy and occupational therapy in Traverse City three days a week until July and then transitioned closer to home for therapy in Charlevoix.
Gaffney was walking with a cane when he left Aug. 1 with his parents, Aaron and Karrie, for the Barwis Sports Performance Center in Deerfield Beach, Fla. He underwent therapy five days a week in Florida before returning to Charlevoix on Sept. 22.
His parents took turns flying back and forth to Florida every two weeks. They carried with them tremendous community support and prayers. When he left Florida Gaffney was able to jog about 100 yards. Therapy continued in Charlevoix, along with a home exercise program from Barwis.
“I had full confidence I would play again, and I didn't know exactly when,” Gaffney said. “As the season got closer, that date when I thought I could play got earlier and earlier until it was the first game. I really had confidence that this was going to happen very early on.”
Gaffney was aware of the tremendous support the community was providing him and the entire golf team. But his awareness was heightened further when he realized starters would soon be introduced and the national anthem was playing Tuesday night.
“I've heard the hundreds if not thousands of prayers for the whole golf team and everything and all the letters,” Gaffney said. “I could really feel all the prayers and just everything people had done. And, I would say the moment, the game meant a lot more to everybody watching than it did to me.”
The Charlevoix gym was filled with supporters bearing signs for Gaffney. The team – except Gaffney – wore “Team Joe” warm-up T-shirts. Gaffney wore a “Team Doug” warm-up T-shirt in honor of his golf coach Doug Drenth, who spent months recovering in the hospital and also was in the crowd for the first basketball game.
At least one supporter was unable to attend the game. Logistic problems prevented Dr. McDonald from fulfilling his intent to make the trip from Traverse City. The surgeon is amazed, but not surprised Gaffney returned for opening night.
“I think most probably would not have been able to do that,” McDonald said. “I think he put in the work, and he really had good community support that allowed him to do that. I think it's very, very impressive.”
Aaron Gaffney – who serves as superintendent for Ellsworth Community School – had thoughts on his mind from early conversations with McDonald as he watched his son get emotional before the contest. Seven months ago, Gaffney acknowledged, he didn’t think he’d see his son play basketball again. He also noted he never saw his son cry during those same seven months – until the tip-off neared.
“It was just great to see him back out there,” Aaron Gaffney said. “My wife asked the surgeon if he was ever going to walk again. He said, ‘Yeah, he's going to walk again.’ I asked him if he would ever play golf again, and the surgeon said, ‘Maybe.’ And then I asked him if he would ever run again, and he said, ‘Maybe.’”
The Gaffneys got answers Tuesday night as the Rayders started the season on a winning note. Talan Jacobs led Charlevoix with 12 points. Carter Greenacre added 11. Jason McNamara scored nine, and Peter Yanchulis chipped in seven.
Moments before the game, Gaffney returned a good luck charm his basketball coach had given him at a breakfast meeting as he was headed for Florida. It was bracelet bearing the words “Never Give Up.”
It was a gift Troshak’s brother had given him as he battled to recover from an eye injury he suffered while playing college basketball.
“I told Joe, ‘I want you to give this back to me when you check into a game, because in high school basketball you can’t wear bracelets,’” Troshak recalled.
Gaffney played Tuesday with empathy for the fans in attendance. The accident taught him more about the hard things going on in people's lives.
“The people there I could tell were there to support me, but there were probably people in that gym tonight that knew somebody or know somebody going through something themselves that was just as hard or harder than what I went through,” Gaffney said. “If people in the world can give them half the love or a quarter of the support that I got, I think that would just make this world a better place.”
Now that he is back on the court, the 1,000-point career milestone lies just ahead for Gaffney – he scored 952 heading into this weekend’s Will Lynch Invitational at Benzie Central. He’s happy about that but is more focused on his newer role. He is the only starter back from last year’s 16-8 team.
“That (1,000-point club) would definitely be a nice bonus, but I'm really just focused, trying to do my best to leave all the sophomores we have on the team with a little taste of what Charlevoix basketball is and what it feels like to win and what it feels like to be on the basketball team. I'm not the same player I was a year ago, but I can help mentor and lead these younger guys to be very successful when they become seniors.”
McDonald did watch a live stream of Tuesday night’s game. He’s making plans to attend another game this season.
Perhaps it will be the game Gaffney enters the 1,000-point club.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Charlevoix’s Joe Gaffney elevates on a jumpshot Tuesday in his team’s season opener against Ellsworth. (Middle) Gaffney works to get past an Ellsworth defender. (Below) Gaffney is interviewed by a local TV station after his return to the court. (Photos by In Motion Images.)