When the basketball calendar turned to March, Bill Garnett matched special play with a special time.
In 1976, he helped lead Regis High School to a state tournament appearance as a junior. A broken leg erased his chances for a run at a state title as a senior on a team Regis coach Guy Gibbs thought was one of his best when Garnett was healthy.
Garnett went on to play basketball at Wyoming, where he made two NCAA Tournament appearances, losing in the second round each year.
“My Regis team didn’t go very far in the state tournament,” Garnett said as he reflected back some 40 years. “My career at Wyoming was beyond anything I could have imagined. There’s a very special feeling being part of a team in a tournament. It gets more and more exciting every round. Tournament time is special.”
The 6-foot-9 Garnett played on Wyoming tournament teams in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons. In the latter season, the Cowboys won the Western Athletic Conference championship and Garnett was named the conference’s player of the year as well as earning some All-America mentions.
His stellar college career led to him becoming a first-round NBA draft selection (fourth player taken overall) by Dallas.
“I remember Guy Gibbs telling me to do myself a real favor and get Bill on my team,” former Wyoming coach Jim Brandenburg said. “We gained a player who played mentally tough and was physically courageous. He banged with the best of them and he played team basketball. I’ve always looked at him as one of the best players ever to come out of Denver.”
While he enjoyed playing at Wyoming, Garnett was mystified why neither Colorado nor Colorado State recruited him.
“It seemed like we had a roster full of players at Wyoming from Colorado who felt like they were overlooked,” Garnett said. “I think we all had a chip on our shoulders feeling we were overlooked by CU and CSU.”
Mark Wrapp, also from Regis, followed Garnett to Wyoming and became a standout collegian.
Garnett’s NBA career was shortlived as he constantly battled for playing time on rosters stocked with frontcourt players. After two years with Dallas and two with Indiana, he left the NBA and played three more years in Italy.
“My NBA career was shorter than I thought it would be,” Garnett said. “I don’t know what happened. I think it became a matter of numbers. I was on a team that was full of forwards.”
When he retired from playing in Italy Garnett returned to Colorado and joined the coaching staff at Metro State and later at Northern Colorado. He subsequently went into private business.
He’s still loves basketball, but now as a spectator. He attends at least one game a year at Wyoming and closely follows the basketball careers of his children.
He’s at peace with his playing career that led to induction into the University of Wyoming’s Hall of Fame. He made it individually as well as a member of the 1982 team. He cherishes the team award.
“I was blessed to have played for coaches such as Guy Gibbs and Jim Brandenburg,” he said.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or @irvmoss
Garnett bio
Born: April 22, 1960, in Kansas City, Mo.
High school: Regis
College: Wyoming
Family: Wife Jenny, daughters Abby and Elli, son Shad.
Hobbies: Coaching youth sports
Residence: Golden
