Mike
Ace Dawg! RQQ!!!!
PSL coaching great Goston dies at 47
DETROIT -- Johnny Goston, the longtime boys basketball coach at Detroit Pershing and Detroit Cooley, died
Wednesday evening of an apparent heart attack. He was 48.
Goston coached Pershing from 1984-99. He did not coach for two years, then came back to coach at Cooley this
past season.
Under Goston, Pershing reached the Class A final four consecutive seasons from 1992-95. The Doughboys won
the title in 1992 and '93. The '92 team was led by Willie Mitchell (who was named Mr. Basketball in 1994), Todd
Burgan (Syracuse) and Carlos Williams (Alabama-Birmingham). Mitchell played at Michigan and
Alabama-Birmingham. The '92 team defeated Benton Harbor, 74-42, in the state final.
Goston also was a counselor at both high schools. His longtime friend, Thomas Woodhouse, is the principal at
Cooley. He was an assistant principal at Pershing during the Doughboys' state-final appearances.
Woodhouse said he is devastated by Goston's death.
"He came in Wednesday about 8:30 (a.m.) and he said he didn't feel good," Woodhouse said. "He was sweating. I
told him to go home. I called his wife, Pearl, that's what everyone calls her, about lunchtime and she said Johnny
was sleeping and that he was all right. Around 9:30 at night, I called back and she said Johnny has passed.
"We had grief counselors in school all during the day today (Thursday). Kids are crying all through the halls."
Goston is survived by his wife, Rosa, and two children. A daughter, Shemika, is a senior at Alabama A&M,
Goston's alma mater, and a son, DuJuan, is a junior and plays basketball at Southern University in Baton
Rouge, La.
Goston is a graduate of Detroit Northeastern.
"His primary job was as a counselor," Woodhouse said. "His second job was as a coach."
Longtime Pershing coach dies
March 22, 2002
BY GEORGE SIPPLE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Johnny Goston, who coached Detroit Pershing to two straight Class A boys basketball state titles in the mid-'90s,
died Wednesday night after suffering a heart attack.
Goston, 48, had just completed his first season as the boys basketball coach at Detroit Cooley. He coached
Pershing from 1984-99. His Doughboys won state titles in 1992 and '93 and finished as runners-up in 1994 and
'95.
Cooley principal Thomas Woodhouse said Goston had a history of high blood pressure. Woodhouse and assistant
coach Roger Ussery both said Goston told them he had an anxiety attack last Friday.
"He came in about 8:30 a.m. (Wednesday) and told me he wasn't feeling well, and I suggested he go home,"
Woodhouse said.
Goston's wife came home to fix him lunch, Woodhouse said. He told her he was OK and wanted to rest. He
passed away in the evening.
Grief counselors were brought in for staff and students Thursday at Cooley.
James Pearsall, who worked with Goston at Cooley and had known him since he was a teen-ager, said Goston
was excited about coming back to coach in the PSL this year.
"The children were all over him, excited that he was over here coaching," Pearsall said. "As long as I've known
him, he had that kind of impact."
Goston made a big impact in the Detroit PSL with his Pershing teams, which included Steve Smith, Todd Burgan,
1994 Mr. Basketball Willie Mitchell and 1996 Mr. Basketball Winfred Walton.
"He's going to truly be missed. He had sat out a year (in 2000) and he was missed then," said Denby athletic
director Reuben Washington, head of the PSL coaches association. "It was good to have him come back and try
and rebuild Cooley High.
"No doubt Cooley was going to be the powerhouse it once was when Ben (Kelso) was there."
Wayne State guard Kendall LeSure, who graduated from Pershing in 1999, said Goston was more than a coach to
his players.
"He was a father figure to most of us," LeSure said. "He taught us a lot more about life than basketball.
"When we were at practice, he'd have Steve Smith, Willie Mitchell, all the great ones, come back and play with
us. Everywhere you'd go, he'd say you gotta represent the P."
Goston was once a basketball player himself. He attended Detroit Northeastern and later played at Alabama A&M.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
DETROIT -- Johnny Goston, the longtime boys basketball coach at Detroit Pershing and Detroit Cooley, died
Wednesday evening of an apparent heart attack. He was 48.
Goston coached Pershing from 1984-99. He did not coach for two years, then came back to coach at Cooley this
past season.
Under Goston, Pershing reached the Class A final four consecutive seasons from 1992-95. The Doughboys won
the title in 1992 and '93. The '92 team was led by Willie Mitchell (who was named Mr. Basketball in 1994), Todd
Burgan (Syracuse) and Carlos Williams (Alabama-Birmingham). Mitchell played at Michigan and
Alabama-Birmingham. The '92 team defeated Benton Harbor, 74-42, in the state final.
Goston also was a counselor at both high schools. His longtime friend, Thomas Woodhouse, is the principal at
Cooley. He was an assistant principal at Pershing during the Doughboys' state-final appearances.
Woodhouse said he is devastated by Goston's death.
"He came in Wednesday about 8:30 (a.m.) and he said he didn't feel good," Woodhouse said. "He was sweating. I
told him to go home. I called his wife, Pearl, that's what everyone calls her, about lunchtime and she said Johnny
was sleeping and that he was all right. Around 9:30 at night, I called back and she said Johnny has passed.
"We had grief counselors in school all during the day today (Thursday). Kids are crying all through the halls."
Goston is survived by his wife, Rosa, and two children. A daughter, Shemika, is a senior at Alabama A&M,
Goston's alma mater, and a son, DuJuan, is a junior and plays basketball at Southern University in Baton
Rouge, La.
Goston is a graduate of Detroit Northeastern.
"His primary job was as a counselor," Woodhouse said. "His second job was as a coach."
Longtime Pershing coach dies
March 22, 2002
BY GEORGE SIPPLE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Johnny Goston, who coached Detroit Pershing to two straight Class A boys basketball state titles in the mid-'90s,
died Wednesday night after suffering a heart attack.
Goston, 48, had just completed his first season as the boys basketball coach at Detroit Cooley. He coached
Pershing from 1984-99. His Doughboys won state titles in 1992 and '93 and finished as runners-up in 1994 and
'95.
Cooley principal Thomas Woodhouse said Goston had a history of high blood pressure. Woodhouse and assistant
coach Roger Ussery both said Goston told them he had an anxiety attack last Friday.
"He came in about 8:30 a.m. (Wednesday) and told me he wasn't feeling well, and I suggested he go home,"
Woodhouse said.
Goston's wife came home to fix him lunch, Woodhouse said. He told her he was OK and wanted to rest. He
passed away in the evening.
Grief counselors were brought in for staff and students Thursday at Cooley.
James Pearsall, who worked with Goston at Cooley and had known him since he was a teen-ager, said Goston
was excited about coming back to coach in the PSL this year.
"The children were all over him, excited that he was over here coaching," Pearsall said. "As long as I've known
him, he had that kind of impact."
Goston made a big impact in the Detroit PSL with his Pershing teams, which included Steve Smith, Todd Burgan,
1994 Mr. Basketball Willie Mitchell and 1996 Mr. Basketball Winfred Walton.
"He's going to truly be missed. He had sat out a year (in 2000) and he was missed then," said Denby athletic
director Reuben Washington, head of the PSL coaches association. "It was good to have him come back and try
and rebuild Cooley High.
"No doubt Cooley was going to be the powerhouse it once was when Ben (Kelso) was there."
Wayne State guard Kendall LeSure, who graduated from Pershing in 1999, said Goston was more than a coach to
his players.
"He was a father figure to most of us," LeSure said. "He taught us a lot more about life than basketball.
"When we were at practice, he'd have Steve Smith, Willie Mitchell, all the great ones, come back and play with
us. Everywhere you'd go, he'd say you gotta represent the P."
Goston was once a basketball player himself. He attended Detroit Northeastern and later played at Alabama A&M.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
