AURORA | In an upcoming basketball season that will already be full of change due to the coronavirus pandemic, a familiar face will be on the bench at Grandview.
Ryan Turk — a former star guard in his playing days at Smoky Hill and a longtime assistant for Michael Rogers at Grandview — will be the acting coach for the upcoming season, athletic director Wes Smock told the Sentinel Wednesday.
The 55-year-old Rogers announced in July that he had stepped down after six seasons with the Grandview program that included a 107-48 record and a Class 5A state championship, but Smock said that Rogers now plans to return after a year. Turk’s ascension to the head job for the year will allow the program to maintain some continuity, which is especially important with the pandemic forcing so much change.
“Ryan has been that right hand man to Michael and always had head coaching aspirations, so during this time we can keep the program stable for the kids,” Smock said. “I think this is the best possible situation for us.”
Smock said the information was communicated to players and families Wednesday, so they know what to expect for the upcoming season, which is scheduled to begin in January instead of December according to the Colorado High School Athletic Association’s reconfigured athletic calendar.
If it is safe to do so, official basketball practice is scheduled to start Jan. 4 with regular season’s cut to just 14 regular season games.
Grandview’s 2019-20 season ended early when the explosion of COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the final three basketball games of the season, including the Wolves’ Class 5A semifinal against undefeated Rangeview.
Rogers said he knew it was time to take a break from the coaching grind and now it seems that break will be just for a season.
“We continued to have conversations as far as where he was at with everything,” Smock said. “Sometimes people just need to step back.”
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
