AURORA | As a math teacher, Shawn Palmer deals with numbers of all sorts.
When he became head coach of the Rangeview boys basketball team in 2003, a certain number — 400 to be exact — as far as wins he hoped to reach in his coaching career popped into his mind as a goal.
Twenty-three years later, Palmer reached that magical milestone mark with the Raiders’ gritty 56-51 road win at Denver South Tuesday night that was followed a celebration with the current team, some past players and an appearance from his wife, Collette.
“Four hundred wins means a lot of things,” said Palmer, whose team improved to 14-3. “It definitely caught me offguard a little bit on the emotions I had, but it’s definitely a significant thing because of the years and teams and everything that goes into something like that happening.
“It’s really cool to do it with this group and to have the support of my family, former players and coaches and administration. It’s very humbling and I appreciate the kind words, but I don’t like being the center of attention.”
Rangeview Principal Lisa Grosz gave Palmer his flowers in a note to school staff.
“This milestone represents years of dedication, countless practices, buzzer-beaters, hard-fought battles, and the building of a culture of excellence that defines Rangeview basketball,” she wrote. “Coach Palmer’s legacy is written all over our gym, our school, our community, and the generations of players who proudly wear Raider red and black.”
Denver South did its best to put off the milestone for another night.
Rangeview has had plenty of lopsided victories this season, but No. 400 didn’t come in that way by any means. The Ravens lost by just nine points on the Raiders’ home floor Jan. 15 and made things inhospitable for the visitors in the rematch.
Two clutch finishes in the closing minute-plus by senior Aidan Perez — capped by an uncontested dunk in the final seconds that sealed the result — helped Rangeview emerge despite the loss of sophomore standout Marceles Duncan to fouls in crunch time.
Perez finished with a game-high 22 points, Duncan added 16 and 10 rebounds and senior Anthony Andrew pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out six assists in the Raiders’ eighth consecutive victory.
When it was over, players mobbed Palmer once he got in the door of the room across the hall that served as the Rangeview’s lockerroom. Palmer invited his wife into his postseason speech, where he emotionally relayed a story about the year he got the job and how he told her he wanted to win 400 games.
While those 400 wins don’t put him in the top 25 in Colorado history according to the online records of the Colorado High School Activities Association, he does rank No. 12 in the subcategory of most coaching wins earned at one school.
Palmer came into the season tied with Jefferson Academy’s Mark Sharpley (who is still currently active) in 12th place, but now owns it by himself with five more wins this season. Next on the list is 421 earned by Andrew Hasz from 1999-2019 at Faith Christian.
At the top of the list is venerable Denver Christian coach Dick Katte, who earned 876 wins with the school between 1964 and 2012.
“It felt like a lifetime to be able to get here and so it was two lifetimes for what Dick Katte was able to do,” Palmer said. “I grew up going to the Dick Katte Basketball Camp. He’s such an iconic figure and he was a math teacher, too, so I’ve been able to have some cool conversations with him. He’s had a huge impact on me, even though I never technically played for him.”
A huge chunk of Palmer’s win total came in a four-season span from 2018-22 that included a massive 61-game winning streak that began in the 2018 calendar year and ended with a loss to George Washington in the then-Class 5A semifinals in 2021.
In between, the Raiders won the 2018-19 5A state title (the second in school history), went 26-0 and made it to the semifinals of the 2019-20 campaign — only to have it cut short when the final games were wiped out by the arrival of COVID-19 — and won the first 16 games of the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season before its semifinal defeat.
“That group really made a dent in it,” said Palmer, whose team went 87-8 in those four seasons with three semifinal appearances.
Making it more special for Palmer is that he has been able to do the winning with Rangeview as only the second coach since the school opened its doors in 1983.
Terry Taylor Sr. won 287 games at Rangeview (and surpassed 400 for his career when combined with his record elsewhere) and turned it over to Palmer, who made it through some lean seasons before he established a winning tradition.
“This is a special place,” he said. “I just feel like I’m the right coach for Rangeview. When you feel like you understand the community and the athletes that you are getting, it makes a difference. This really works well for me and I’m proud of the losing seasons — I know that sounds strange — when you have to dig your heels in and rebuild.
“Being around 23 years, you see the faces on all those different teams. It’s such a blessing to stay in these guys’ lives and watch them turn into fathers and husbands. It’s really cool.”
On a larger scale, Palmer got a victory earlier this season over Denver East and Rudy Carey, who sits atop Colorado’s all-time wins list with 918 victories and counting (achieved at two schools), while he also got to go against Regis Jesuit’s Ken Shaw (who has 858 wins and counting with four different schools) in a Foundation Game before the season.
Palmer is relieved the milestone happened before the stretch run of the season, so the Raiders can focus completely on a run towards what they hope to be a state title.
“This group fits well together and is very talented, but really it is a group of unselfish, disciplined guys,” he said. “They play for each other and really care about winning. It seems like every night a different guy steps up and delivers an important play and that’s what makes them special.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports