A 1955 graduate of Antelope High School in Jack County, John Guice attended Decatur Baptist College for two years before transferring to Howard Payne. At Decatur Baptist, he led the basketball team to two regional tournaments and was named to the all-region team in 1957. Guice was a two-year letterman at Howard Payne. He graduated with a B.S. degree in history and secondary education in 1959. Following graduation, Guice began coaching at Midway High School in Clay County and spent 44 years in the same school district. He retired in 2005 with 1,392 coaching wins in boys and girls varsity basketball, the most of any coach in the history of the University Interscholastic League of Texas. He is one of four coaches with more than 1,000 wins in boys basketball in Texas and one of 12 in the nation. His teams won 34 district championships; made 24 regional appearances, winning three regional titles; and earned three state tournament nods, finishing second twice. Guice, who died in 2020, coached numerous all-star games and was named Class A Coach of the Year in 1982. He received the Texas High School Coaches Association Outstanding Achievement Award in 1987, and the UIL Southwestern Bell Excellence Award in 2002. He was inducted into the Texas High Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. He also was principal for 27 years and superintendent for two at Midway.