Southwest DeKalb’s Kathy Walton holds up her fourth state championship trophy.

DeKalb County School District is known for basketball state championships having put together a string of 12 consecutive seasons with at least one state title and a total of 29 since the 2004 season.

It takes good players and it also takes good coaches. Several of the top coaches in DeKalb County have proven the test of time and are reaching career milestones this season.

Southwest DeKalb’s Kathy Walton and Tucker’s James Hartry both won their 300th career victories in DeKalb County while Tucker’s Robin Potter went over 200 career victories during this 2016 basketball season.

Walton is in her 14th season at Southwest DeKalb leading the Lady Panthers program and picked up her 300th victory on November 24th as her squad knocked off defending Class 6A champion McEachern 74-69.

Walton who has four state titles and six state championship appearances in her 14 seasons at Southwest DeKalb now has an overall record of 308-98 with her team sitting at 11-5 on the season. Her program was the first (boys or girls) in DeKalb County to win three consecutive championships taking the Class 4A titles from 2008 to 2010.

Her pupils won the 2013 Class 5A title while playing for the Class 5A championship in 2012 and 2014 losing to a pair of DeKalb County rivals in Miller Grove (2012) and Tucker (2014).

Tucker’s James Hartry picked up his 300th career victory earlier this season.

Tucker’s Hartry clicked over his 300th career victory on November 21 as the Tigers defeated Decatur 65-49. With a victory over Lakeside earlier this week the Tigers are 12-4 on the season and Hartry’s career record stands at 309-146 as he coaches his 16th season at Tucker.

Hartry coached the Tigers to the 2007 Class 4A state championship with a win over defending champion Columbia and played in the 2005 (lost to Mays) and 2009 (lost to Miller Grove) state title games.

The Tigers reached the Class 6A semifinals in 2015 losing to eventual state champion Wheeler in a hard fought 64-54 loss and the Class 4A semifinals in 2006 (Douglas Co.) while dropping two consecutive road contests in the Class 5A state quarterfinals to Miller Grove during the Wolverines’ six-year title run.

Tucker Lady Tiger coach Robin Potter is in her 13th season leading the program and collected her 200th victory in the season opening 75-28 win over Fayette County on November 14th.

The Lady Tigers are currently ranked No. 5 in Class 6A with a 13-4 record after a victory over Lakeside earlier this week. Potter stands at 212-143 at Tucker.

The Lady Tigers won the 2014 Class 5A state title, the first ever for the Lady Tigers, as they defeated defending champion and No. 1 ranked Southwest DeKalb in an all DeKalb County final in Macon.

Stephenson’s Dennis Watkins is eyeing win 400 on Friday night (Jan. 8).

Stephenson Lady Jaguars’ Coach Dennis Watkins and his squad entertain Dunwoody tonight (Friday, Jan. 8) with Watkins one victory away from his 400th career win at Stephenson. He is currently 399-118 in his 18th season guiding the program.

Watkins has led Stephenson to three state titles, only the third DeKalb girls’ program to do so, joining Columbia and Southwest DeKalb with three or more state titles. The state titles came in 2004 (Collins Hill), 2008 (Redan) and 2015 (Mays).

Stephenson also reached the finals in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 and lost two consecutive seasons (2013, 2014) in the quarterfinals to Southwest DeKalb.

Druid Hills’ Jerome Lee is three victories short of 200 career wins in 17 seasons with stops at Shamrock (2), Cedar Grove (6), Avondale (3) and Druid Hills (6). His current record is 197-259 as the Red Devils stand at 7-7 on the season.

Columbia’s Kerry Sandifer is in his 20th season in DeKalb and needs 7 wins to hit 300 career victories. He stands at 293-220 as the Eagles are 7-6 in 2016. Sandifer has coached at Lakeside (6), Stephenson (8), Stone Mountain (2) and Columbia (4).