McKinley Armstrong, 81; D.C. high school basketball coach

"He was aggressive and a good ball handler," Mr. Armstrong told The Washington Post in 1969. "I didn't want to twist his arm too much, but he was in my gym class and he knew if he wanted a good grade, he'd better come out."

Tatum said Thursday that when a sportswriter turned up at the team practice and asked who the stars were, the coach responded, "Sir, stars only come out at night!" Tatum recalled. "We all just broke out hysterical. He had a lot of corny sayings, but they were good sayings."

Tim Bassett, who, after graduating from McKinley and the University of Georgia played for the New Jersey Nets and San Antonio Spurs, told the DC Basketball Blog: "Demanding. Discipline. Work ethic. That's Coach Armstrong. He made a young man with no confidence in his ability believe in himself and that he could compete with the best players D.C. had to offer. I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his faith in me."

Mr. Armstrong, who received a master's degree in education from George Washington University in 1971, became athletic director at McKinley Tech and in 1985 urged his colleagues to quit recruiting across school borders.

"The development of players' raw talent is the greatest thing a coach can do," he told The Post. "Raise your own. Don't try to take other developed ballplayers from other schools. That's like cattle rustling."

He retired in 1991. A longtime resident of Brookland in Northeast Washington, he was a member of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Annie C. Armstrong of Washington; five children, Chip Armstrong and Carolyn Armstrong of Washington, Jenice Armstrong Turner of Burlington, N.J., Cheryl A. Capers of Dublin, Ohio, and Marilyn Armstrong of Silver Spring; a brother, Charles Armstrong of Oxon Hill; two sisters, Louis Powell of Durham, N.C., and Georgia Bass of Temple Hills; and five grandchildren.