抖阴ap

BROOMFIELD — Mike Croell was doing just fine handling his season-long farewell tour. Then the Broomfield High School girls basketball coach was about to coach his final home game last week in the Class 5A Sweet 16 against Pine Creek, and emotions got the best of him.

“It was as scared as I’ve ever been as a coach,” said the 49-year old. “I didn’t say one word to the girls about it. I wanted them to, hopefully, think about senior night, their last game, and make it special.

“Me? I was on the bench welling up with former players coming up to me and I’m trying to get them to go in the bleachers. I was forcing myself not to look at anybody and during ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ it was everything I could do to keep it back.”

Croell’s Eagles beat Pine Creek 73-53, then routed Lakewood 65-39 in the Great 8 last Friday.

Which means one of the greatest coaches in Colorado girls basketball history will work the sideline for at least one more game, Thursday night, when Broomfield plays Cherry Creek in the Class 5A Final Four at the Coors Events Center in Boulder at 7 p.m.

The Eagles hope to make it two more games — and cap Croell’s career with a sixth state championship.

“Definitely, we want him to go out on a win,” said Eagles senior Callie Kaiser, a Colorado State signee. “We’re playing every game for him and each other.”

The give-and-take between Croell, a 1983 graduate of Broomfield, and his players has been going on for two decades.

Consider, with Croell in command:

• Broomfield won five consecutive state championships in 4A, from 2007-11.

• The Eagles have never failed to make at least the state quarterfinals. They have earned 14 final four showings, with three state runner-up finishes.

Croell is a coach, longtime Eagles football coach Gary Davies said, “who pays attention to every detail.”

Croell’s all-time record is 455-69, including 24-2 this season, the program’s first in 5A. In five championship seasons, Broomfield was an astounding 134-6.

“A lot of things go into that,” Croell said. “Obviously, it’s a great community and it’s only as good as the kids you get. I’ve been very, very lucky with a steady flow of good kids coming through here. It’s also a testament to the rec center’s youth programs. On any given Saturday, every gym in Broomfield has stuff going on.”

He also credits the stability of his staff and an administration that aims for stability and longevity. Croell began coaching as a wide-eyed youngster coming out of Northern Colorado, where he backed up Greeley legend Mike Higgins as a player.

“It’s funny,” he said. “Right out of college, I coached boys for two years at Hi-Plains, and out there you had to go on the road to wherever and coach three games a night — junior high, junior varsity and varsity. Every time.”

Croell also was an assistant at Boulder’s Fairview for two years under Mike Leahy, where seasons ended at the hands of Chauncey Billups and George Washington, and the Grable twins, Keith and Dean, who headed formidable Horizon,

Croell soon was asked to come back to Broomfield, he said, and was told “that if I don’t screw anything up, maybe I’ll get the head job. The rest is history.”

Junior center Brenna Fankell and the rest of the Eagles want to make further history.

“We want to take it all the way,” she said.

Junior guard Brenna Chase said: “Yeah, we’re going to try our hardest and, hopefully, make it happen. But Cherry Creek won’t be an easy matchup.”

Whatever happens at state, Croell said he’s ready to move on. No one can complain that he left the cupboard bare. And no one can say he’s leaving because the Eagles made a long-awaited jump to Class 5A, where it has thrived this season against the likes of Monarch and Legacy.

But he’ll have two sons as Broomfield, multisport participants like their father, beginning in the next school year, and he wants to spend more time following them.

As for this year’s team, Croell said: “The pressure’s off. We’re getting to the big arena. Once you get there, you’re playing with house money. Win or lose, we can say, ‘Hey, this is all gravy, so just go out and play.’ “

He added he perhaps should have quit two years ago, when he had a daughter graduate.

“But this has been a fun trip,” he said. “I’m just so happy with everything we’ve been able to accomplish. Hopefully, we can go out there and play our best.”

Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or

Be like Mike

Some numbers from Mike Croell’s impressive run coaching the Broomfield High School girls basketball team the last 20 years:

5

Class 4A state championships

14

State semifinal appearances

10

Consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins

.957

Winning percentage during five state championship seasons (134-6)

.868

Overall winning percentage at Broomfield (455-69)

Coaching record

Mike Croell, Broomfield’s girls basketball coach, is retiring after this season and has one of the best careers on state record: