DENVER – There’s no denying Rudy Carey’s passion for basketball. Looking at him during a seemingly insignificant, regular season game against Palmer, it’s hard to make assumptions about his history.
He has nine state championships to his name, but he coaches with the fire he needs to just get the next one. He’s a legend in Colorado high school coaching circles, partially because longevity and certainly because of success.
That success is now undeniable. With a 93-60 win over Palmer, Carey notched his 877th win as a head coach. He looks up at nobody.
The passionate basketball man, a DPS legend who won titles at Manual and Denver East passed Denver Christian legend Dick Katte for the most wins in state history. Every win from here on out just separates him from the pack.
“I’m just taking it one year at a time,” Carey said of his future plans. “I’m trying to see how I feel, if I’m being effective and if I’m wasting (my players’) time.”
It’s fitting that Carey got his record-setting win on the floor a Denver East, the very school where he played in the 1960’s. The tricky part of the whole thing is that Tuesday was the home opener for the Angels (6-2 overall) and an extra win or loss in the build-up to win No. 877 would take the celebration away the East gymnasium.
Part of what made the victory so special was the celebration that took place at Carey’s basketball home.
“It meant the world to me (to do it) in front of our fans,” Carey said. “We were fortunate that we didn’t win some games and then we did win some. It was a blessing in disguise.”
He got to do it in front of wider-ranging group of people that he impacted and that also had an impact on him. Among some of the notable names in attendance were Carey’s basketball mentor Lonnie Porter, Grandview coach Michael Rodgers, Denver mayor Michael Hancock and several former players, Dominique Collier and Daylen Kountz among them.
Carey returned to East as its head coach in 1992. He won Class 5A state championships with the Angels in 1996, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2014. He won state titles at Manual in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
Those wins are surely among the memories when thinking back of the 876 that came before Tuesday. And while the 877th win will certainly hold a special place in his heart, it’s more representative of the years of work he has put into the program. And it hasn’t been just to build kids into better basketball players, but also better young men.
“With him, it’s on the floor and off the floor,” Kountz said. “He cares about you. He cares about you just as much off the floor as he does on the floor and he’s always making sure that you’re good and that you’re becoming a good man.”
The results generated by his years of coaching are undeniable. At the start of each basketball season, East is often regarded as a top-10 and is rarely a team that anyone in the state wants to face.
It’s only natural that with win No. 877, the question of Carey’s longevity at East will take focus. But that’s not anything he’s worried about at this juncture. The emotion of becoming the state’s all-time leader in boys basketball wins was certainly present when the final buzzer sounded.
But after taking the night to enjoy the outcome and the outpouring of support from the Colorado high school basketball community, he’ll turn his attention to the only thing that should be on his mind: win 878.
