In tune with how he has handled success throughout a run at Colorado now in its 13th season, Tad Boyle went to great lengths to share the credit for an all-time record.
Yet no one deserves their name next to Boyle’s newly-crowned wins record for the CU men’s basketball program more than Mike Rohn.
Boyle notched win No. 262 on Wednesday night against Southern Utah, breaking a tie with Sox Walseth, who spent 20 years as the CU men’s coach, for the program’s all-time record in the 13th game of his 13th season.
Boyle insisted on sharing the postgame news conference podium with the four staff members who have been with him at CU since the beginning — Rohn, director of operations Bill Cartun, office administrator Marge Marcy and academics administrator Mindy Sclaro. All have made a wealth of contributions to one of the most successful eras in program history.
Yet in Rohn, Boyle has a trusted confidant and co-conspirator in a relationship that dates back more than 20 years. Rohn also serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator, and in light of the Buffs’ recent coups on the recruiting trail, Rohn is as responsible for the intriguing future of the program as Boyle.
“Coach gives us a lot of ownership over the program,” said Rohn, who also spent six seasons on the same staff as Boyle at Wichita State. “(The record) is a little surreal. Itap a tribute to how consistent he’s been. I’ve just been fortunate he’s kept me around. (Boyle) is very selfless and thatap what our program’s all about, and thatap why we’ve been successful. I have been around a long time, and so all this is a good thing.”
Rohn is a unique figure in major college basketball, given his longstanding dedication to the CU program. In most scenarios in which an assistant was part of five NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 seasons — six, if the secured-but-canceled berth in 2020 is included — that assistant would have taken his shot at a head coach job. More often than not, it would have occurred after just a few of those tournament appearances.
Not Rohn. A combination of loyalty to Boyle and the program, plus the opportunity to raise his family in Colorado, has kept Rohn at CU, where he was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2017-18 season. Plus, Rohn has seen two former staff mates at CU — Rodney Billups (Denver) and Jean Prioleau (San Jose State) — learn the hard way the title of head coach doesn’t always equate to a more rewarding situation.
“He is as loyal and hard-working of a coach as I’ve ever been around,” Boyle said. “He deserves a head coaching opportunity. He’s our associate head coach and I lean on him. I depend on him.”
On several occasions so far this season, Boyle has expressed excitement over the immediate future of the program. Rohn has played a big part in that picture as well. Highlighted by top-25 prospect Cody Williams, the Buffs are less than a year away from welcoming a recruiting class ranked 17th in the nation by 247Sports. Thatap two years after this season’s sophomores, led by point guard KJ Simpson, gave CU the No. 13 class in the nation.
“Kids want to be part of something thatap successful,” Rohn said. “Thatap a big feather in our cap when we recruit. I said this to somebody the other day about coach, because they were asking me about the record. For him, itap not about the record. He’s the same coach today that he was when he first got the job. I’m at practice every day. I’m in the staff meetings. I know how invested he still is in recruiting, in trying to help us get further and do more. Thatap our motivation all the time.
“We have been very fortunate in the recruiting process here in the last couple years. Hopefully that means he can keep adding to that record.”
