Coaching Legends Clash at Regis (1/8/09)

BY BRIAN ROTH

It is always fun when you get two of the better teams in 5A matching up on the hardwood like we did on January 8th when Regis hosted Doherty at Guy Gibbs Gymnasium. But, that enjoyment increases when you have coaches with the pedigree of Ken Shaw and Dan McKiernan. Simply put, they are two of the best high school coaches the state of Colorado has ever seen.

McKienan came into the 573 career wins, 2 state championships, five semi-final appearences, and 14 league titles. Meanwhile, after a stellar high school career as a player at Merino high school, Ken Shaw has been on the bench coaching prep basketball for 34 years. He won a state championship at Sterling HS in the early 1980's and has led Yuma, Rocky Mountain, Smoky Hill and Regis all to the state tournament.

And there are a few more parallels between these two coaches. McKiernan first took notice of Ken Shaw when he was coaching at Fort Morgan high school and Shaw was a star player for the Merino Rams (who were coached by another legendary head coach in Ron Vlasin). Then, in 2000, McKiernan led the Palmer Terrors to the state championship game, led by Bobby Purify and that vaunted 1-3-1 defense. They would meet a Ken Shaw coached Rocky Mountain team that had upset its way to the finals, led by all-state guard Collins Ferris. The Terrors would win and go undefeated for their first state championship since 1993, a team also coached by Dan McKiernan.

No doubt, it was a great night of high school basketball on January 8th, highlighted by two of the best coaching minds matching wits. In the end, it was Regis winning a close game 57-54. There is no question that both Doherty and Regis are in good hands with the leadership in place. And, as if that is not enough, watch out for both the Spartans and Raiders in the coming years. Doherty has one of its best Sophomore classes ever, most of whom play on the undefeated JV team. And Regis? Their JV, Sophomore, and Freshmen teams went 56-5 last season and only have 2 losses so far this season at the lower levels.