HYATTSVILLE, Md. -- After winning more games than any high school basketball coach and sending a dozen players to the NBA, Morgan Wootten will put down his whistle and end a career that spanned 46 years.

Wootten, 71, announced his retirement Wednesday at a news conference at DeMatha High School, where he compiled a 1,274-192 record since taking the job in 1956.

"I just finally got that gut feeling that now is the time,'' Wootten said. "I thought about it all summer long. And then, in early September, there was no question in my mind. I wanted to do it the right way.''

Two years ago, Wootten became just the third prep coach to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. He never had a losing season, and last year's squad closed with an 18-game winning streak to finish at 32-3.

Soon after that, he began to ponder retirement.

"Being head basketball coach has been the fulfillment of all my boyish hopes and dreams. It has been a wonderful run,'' he said. "I realized at some point I would have to do it. I guess I'd rather do it on the way up than on the way down.''

He turned down several lucrative offers to leave DeMatha to coach at the college level. Given the chance to do it all over, he wouldn't change a thing.

"I have absolutely no regrets. I have been happy and fulfilled here as I imagine anyone could be at any level,'' he said. "As I look back, I am doubly happy that I never made the mistake of moving on.''

Most of all, he enjoyed working with high school kids. Several of those players turned into outstanding pros, including Adrian Dantley, Kenny Carr, Danny Ferry, Sidney Lowe and Adrian Branch.

"He's a legend,'' said Lowe, now head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. "What's most important and most impressive is not so much being a legend basketball-wise, but just a legend in life. He told me things and instilled things in me that stuck with me for the rest of my life. I know it's had an impact on the blessings I have received.''

After leaving DeMatha, Branch starred at the University of Maryland and won a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he remained in constant contact with Wootten, and made a point of attending the news conference.

"You've got to be happy for him. He's a wonderful guy, a wonderful coach,'' Branch said. "He had his own style; he knew his audience. He knew what buttons to push.''

Ferry, now a member of the San Antonio Spurs, credits Wootten with helping develop his basketball skills and preparing him for life.

"Your high school coach can have more influence than any other coach you ever play for. I give him a lot of credit for my career,'' Ferry said. "He wasn't a man who screamed and hollered. He talked to you. He could be tough, and he could be caring.''

During Wootten's tenure, the Stags won at least 20 games over 44 consecutive seasons, and his teams were voted national champion five times.

During the 1960s, DeMatha snapped the 71-game winning streak of Lew Alcindor's team, Power Memorial Academy of New York.

"There were so many wonderful memories, and that one is right near the top,'' Wootten said. "It's all been great. It's all been wonderful.''

In 1996, Wootten became deathly ill and needed a liver transplant. He fully recovered, and has since become a strong advocate for organ donation.

Wootten was also DeMatha's football coach from 1956-68, compiling a record of 79-40-2. He taught history at DeMatha for 32 years.

Wootten also has written five books on basketball, and since 1977, he's been chairman of the McDonald's All-America Game selection committee.

He plans to continue to run his summer basketball camp, speak at clinics and write books. But his reign on the sideline at DeMatha basketball games is over, and the impact of his decision was felt throughout the Washington-Maryland area.

"Morgan Wootten is a legendary coach. He is one of the most recognizable names in the history of basketball coaching,'' Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams said. "His players were always disciplined and understood the importance of the term 'student-athlete.' Morgan will certainly be missed by the coaching profession.''

DeMatha assistant coach Mike Jones, who played for Wootten in the early '90s, will coach this season on an interim basis.