Knights hoops mentor retires

PALMER — When the Colony Knights girls basketball team walked off the court for the final time last season, longtime head coach Don Witzel intended to be back on the sideline for the 2009-2010 campaign.

But during the offseason, Witzel continued to think about the right time to officially take a step away from the program. Now, after 15 years, eight region titles, four state championships and 308 victories, Witzel has retired as the head coach of the Colony girls basketball squad.

“At the end of the year, I was feeling like I could go another year or two,” Witzel said earlier this week.

Witzel said there’s probably no perfect time to break away from coaching, but thought this offseason may be the best opportunity to step away and allow Colony to usher in the next era of Colony girls basketball.

Colony graduated eight seniors from a team that finished as the 4A runner-up during the state tournament in March. The 2009-2010 squad will feature the bulk of a junior varsity squad that finished undefeated last year.

“There are a lot of good, young kids coming into the program,” Witzel said. “I guess the thinking was, if I started coaching them, I’m liable to be there three or four more years. I really didn’t want to make that kind of commitment. I really didn’t think it would be fair to make that kind of commitment and not follow through.”

Colony activities director Mike Boyd admitted he was surprised, and even a bit disappointed, when Witzel officially announced he was leaving the program after 15 years.

“He was a staple. You always knew Witzel was going to be there,” Boyd said. “I think he’s done a tremendous job with that basketball program. I understand there is life after basketball, and I hope he finds that. He’ll be missed.”

Lyle Busbey, a longtime head coach at Palmer High who served as one of Witzel’s assistants for the past two years, said on Thursday he wasn’t shocked that Witzel chose this offseason to retire.

“With the big senior group leaving, he felt like it was time to let somebody else take over,” Busbey said. “I can certainly see it that way, that it was the right time to do it.”

Busbey coached against Witzel in what became one of the state’s top girls basketball rivalries during the 1990s before joining the CHS staff, and said what stands out most about Witzel is his consistency as a coach and his overall demeanor.

“Look at the run he had. He coached 15 years and seven of those years he was in the state championship game,” Busbey said of Witzel, who led his teams to a 4-3 record in 4A state championship games. “He won eight conference championships in arguably the toughest conference in the state.

“Step back and look, those numbers are extremely impressive,” Busbey said.

Busbey said he was also impressed by Witzel’s calm demeanor on the sideline and in the locker room.

“You see a lot of yellers and screamers, but he barely raised his voice,” Busbey said.

On the court, Busbey said, Witzel’s teams were always guaranteed to excel on the defensive end of the floor.

“The (first thing that stands out) about him is how well his teams were prepared defensively,” Busbey said. “His teams often weren’t the most talented offensively, but there were always going to play good, tough defense.”

Witzel’s coaching career spans more than three decades. He coached track and field before making the move to the court.

Witzel played prep basketball for Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and started his coaching career while living in Colorado.

In 1982, Witzel moved to Alaska and spent two years as a girls basketball coach while teaching in the remote town of Hooper Bay.

When he and his wife, Phyllis, moved to the Valley, Witzel began coaching and teaching at Palmer Junior Middle School.

“I really enjoyed coaching and teaching at the middle school and junior high level,” Witzel said. “There, you’re really teaching.”

Witzel gradually found himself getting more involved at the high school level and began working at Colony High when the school opened in 1991.

At Colony, Witzel spent three seasons as a boys basketball assistant coach on the staff of former CHS head coach Chuck Martin.

In 1994, he was named the third coach in the history of the Knights girls program.

In 15 years, Witzel established himself as one of the most successful coaches in the state’s history. He posted a record of 308-115 while at Colony High — his overall girls basketball prep varsity record is 337-117. He led his teams to eight Northern Lights Conference titles in 10 trips to the conference championship game. Witzel was named the Alaska 4A coach of the year in 1998 and 2008, and the NLC Coach of the Year in 1997, 2000 and 2005.

Witzel coached eight first-team all-state players and four two-time, first-team all-state athletes. Two of those players, Jessica Moore and Megan Irvine, earned state player of the year awards. Moore was also the Gatorade Player of the Year and a Parade magazine All-American, and went on to become a three-time NCAA champion at the University Connecticut and a professional player in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

In 15 seasons, six of his former players advanced to the Division I level, 11 to the Division II level, two to the Division III level and four to junior college programs.

While many of his former players moved on to the collegiate level, Witzel was quick to note all who found success off the court.

“I’ve really had some terrific kids for sure,” Witzel said. “A lot of kids went to college and are successful. A lot of kids right here in the community doing what they’ve chosen to do.”

Witzel said he’ll miss the game, and miss the players. He didn’t rule out a return to the sport in some fashion, but knows this is the right time to take a break.

“I don’t see myself being out of basketball completely,” Witzel said. “So, we’ll see. I don’t have basketball out of my blood yet.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.