Like the perfect bounce pass at the end of a fast break, Mike Dunlap was on target when he passed off the Metro State men’s basketball program to his coaching protégé, Brannon Hays.
Despite the late timing of the transition – Dunlap moved across Auraria Parkway to be a Nuggets assistant coach Aug. 20 – the Roadrunners are poised for another winning season.
They are off to a 3-0 start, despite falling behind 19-6 against Seattle University.
The persistence shown after struggling early against Seattle and pressure free throws in the 84-76 overtime victory are signs of Dunlap-coached teams.
Hays falls right in line.
“I played for Coach Dunlap, I worked for him a long time, so there’s not going to be a lot of change,” said Hays, who played for Dunlap at California Lutheran, became a California Lutheran assistant, then assisted Dunlap in the Australian pro league and at Metro State.
In 2000, Hays left Dunlap and the Roadrunners to become the head coach at fellow Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference member Colorado Christian.
Despite a lack of tradition and funding issues, Hays posted a 38-18 record his last two seasons at the Lakewood school, the best run in program history.
Last fall, the 36-year-old Hays returned to Metro State to assist Dunlap, a move that became critical for the Roadrunners when Dunlap replaced Scott Brooks on George Karl’s Nuggets staff.
“We are so fortunate that he came back on our staff a year ago,” Metro State athletic director Joan McDermott said of Hays. “It makes it so much easier with the transition with the team and with everything on campus.”
Since most coaching changes occur in spring or early summer, Hays’ familiarity with the Roadrunners’ returning players and recruits eased the changeover.
Dunlap also calmed the waters, initially by keeping Metro State players informed over a three-week period when talks with Karl proceeded from informal to formal, and later when he announced his departure.
Hays inherited 10 returning players, a unit that made tremendous strides last season, primarily as newcomers replacing a veteran 2004-05 team that reached the Division II Final Four.
“The program was left in great shape when Coach left and the returners did a great job with their work ethic and their leadership,” Hays said.
Michael Bahl, the only senior who has played at Metro State four seasons, is a consummate team captain, according to Hays.
“He has a great voice on the court, in the locker room, and off the court,” Hays said. “We rely on him quite a bit.”
Bahl, a 6-foot-6 forward from Broomfield High School, embraces program cornerstones cherished by Dunlap and now Hays, a willingness to: train toward peak physical fitness, play a full-court, unrelenting press defense, and pass the ball with precision and unselfishness.
Boosted by 68.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line, Bahl leads the Roadrunners with 19.7 points per game.
“The trademark of the program is that it is built on very good players,” Hays said. “And players win games.”
Footnotes
RMAC football runner-up Fort Lewis (6-4) plays Saturday in the Dixie Rotary Bowl against Dixie State College (1-9) of Utah in St. George, Utah. … RMAC football champion Chadron (Neb.) State takes a 12-0 record into the NCAA quarterfinals of the Division II tournament Saturday against Northwest Missouri State (12-0) in Maryville, Mo. Longmont’s Paul Schweger blocked a punt for Chadron State in its 43-17 victory over West Texas A&M last week.
