Bailey helped elevate prep hoops to higher level
It started 37 years ago. Jimmy Carter was the president. Gasoline was about to take off in price. And Colorado prep basketball was vastly different.
“It was long before club (ball),” John Bailey recalled. “Colorado was a state that didn’t get a lot of exposure. What became obvious to me was that something had to happen to allow kids from Denver who were good players and weren’t getting regional and national exposure.”
So Bailey helped start the Joint Effort Hoops Festival. It began as all-star groups from the Denver Prep League at the Red Shield Community Center, then blossomed into allcomers locally against top national talent.
More than 1,000 Coloradans have gone on to play college ball since the program was born. The latest edition of Bailey’s Joint Effort will openMonday at Manual with youth and prep games. It will continue into Saturday and include salutes to assorted city figures.
The names of Barbara Batey, Sam Batey, Linda Transou, Fred Applewhite, MarcusWalker, Bill Peay, LeslieMoore, Jan Anderson, Virginia Lorbeer, Pia Smith and LynnWilliams have been said and heard over and over again, both in the background and at the front.
Bailey called it “saluting the old guard,” and has plans for a special presentation Thursday night to Denver East boys coach Rudy Carey, who led the Angels to another Class 5A championship last month. It was Carey’s ninth title. He won three at Manual and the past six at Denver East. The city schools now have 11 each, tops in the state. Carey is tied with Ron Vlasin for most career titles and has 725 victories, second in state history to former Denver Christian coach Dick Katte’s 876.
“It’s not about personal goals,” Carey said. “I thought I could help young men. They’ve helped me too. We’ve grown together.
Carey’s teams have won at least one championship in every decade since the 1980s. He has witnessed his share of change.
“The culture of kids has changed so much,” Carey said. “Athletics are secondary now. The commitment to basketball has evolved. This is the technology generation.”
Who knew back in the day that coaches would have to compete for play- ers’ time against a smartphone?
Prep basketball officially ended its season last month, but it lives yearround through the likes of Bailey, a Denver guy who loves prep hoops and did something to help it grow.