BOULDER — When the shot goes in, and the final buzzer sounds, and the winners shout and sing and dance, there is always another, somber side.
Saturday night, the Pueblo South boys basketball team lived it.
The last-second shot that gave Sierra a Class 4A state championship sent Pueblo South players into, in some cases, uncontrollable sorrow. And it sent Pueblo South’s Dave Lockett, one of the state’s best coaches and greatest personalities, out on a sour career-ending note. The irony of it all is that on the day Lockett was to retire on top with nothing left to do but smile, he instead had more words to find for one last lesson to teach.
How to overcome blind-siding adversity.
“These kids will be successful in life because they are great competitors, they are great human beings,” Lockett said. “It was just a hurdle we didn’t get over, but these kids will bounce back. They are real resilient. I expect great things from them in the future.
“They’re great human beings. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Still, his 20th season looked to be his best. Lockett’s team won 27 games without a loss, was favored to beat upstart Sierra and led by 20 points in the second quarter, by 18 points at halftime. All the Colts needed to do was hold on.
They couldn’t.
The lead melted as quickly as it was built. Pueblo South steadied the ship enough to carve out a one-point lead late in the game, but it turned out to be a prelude to heartbreak.
“Nothing was going our way,” junior forward Tyrell Williams said. “I guess they just wanted it more in the second half. There’s no words to describe this feeling. None.”
Lockett won 376 games in his career. There was no lucky 377.
“We said all year we wanted Coach to go out on top,” senior forward Josh Dome said. “To lose, especially like that, on the last play of the game, it’s pretty heartbreaking.”
Lockett’s main concern wasn’t himself, he said. It was for his players.
“I just feel for the kids,” Lockett said. “It’s been a great run. I’ve been blessed with great kids. I love these kids to death. These six seniors are like my own kids. They’ve been in my house, I’ve fed ’em and cared about them the same as my own. It’s tough. I feel like I let them down, and I’m sure they feel like they let me down.”
When he looks back on his career, which finishes with a record of 376-176, Lockett said he will cherish the bonds he built the most. His e-mail inbox filled this past week with messages from former players wishing him luck in the tournament and well in his retirement.
“That’s something you can’t buy or can’t win over; it’s something you’re blessed with,” Lockett said. “I’ve made relationships that are lifelong friendships. Not only with players, but with coaches, parents, the whole spectrum.”
So what’s next?
“I’m leaving some good juniors behind that I have a place in my heart for,” Lockett said. “I’ll probably do some scouting for (assistant coach) D.J. (Johnson); hopefully he gets the job.
“And put a dent in the fish population.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
