DENVER – Time flies when you are having fun.
 
And winning games.
 
It's been 13 seasons now that Michael Bahl has been associated with the Metropolitan State University of Denver men's basketball program as a player, assistant coach or head coach.
 
And he's been here for 300 victories.
 
"A lot of good memories," Bahl said. "I don't really remember all the wins. I remember a lot of the losses. But mostly I just remember being around the guys."
 
Bahl, a hometown kid from Broomfield, was part of 110 wins as a Roadrunners player from 2003-04 through 2006-07, growing from a role player as a freshman to leading NCAA Division II in 3-point percentage as a senior, when he averaged a team-best 14.9 points per game while shooting 52.0 percent (105 of 202) from long distance.
 
He played on teams that reached the Final Four in 2004 and the Elite Eight in 2005 and won three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships while posting an overall record of 110-21.
 
After a couple of seasons away from the program, Bahl returned for 2010-11 and spent the next seven years on Derrick Clark's staff, with whom he was part of 173 wins. Those teams made two Final Four trips, another Elite Eight appearance, and won three regular-season RMAC titles and two more league tournament titles while losing only 50 times.
 
And, since taking over as head coach prior to last year, Bahl has been rebuilding the program while leading his teams to a 17-18 record – including last Saturday's win at Colorado Christian.
 
"He's been here four years as a player, so he knows about the program as a player, as an assistant coach, and as a head coach," senior guard Enrique Cortes Zotes said. "I feel like there's no one in the world who knows as much as him about (MSU Denver). And that's awesome. He tells us how much this program means to him, how much the program has done for him. He's a great person who loves this program."
 
It all started back in the mid-1990s, when DeMarcos Anzures, who had played for Bahl's father, Joe, a high school assistant coach at Skyview High, joined the Roadrunners program.
 
Bahl kept tabs. Mike Dunlap became head coach, and the Roadrunners started winning big. Bahl's teams started coming to play in camps more often at the Auraria Event Center.
 
By Anzures' junior season, the Roadrunners reached the national championship game. The following season, 1999-2000, they won it all. Anzures is still MSU Denver's all-time leading scorer, with 2,116 career points.
 
A few years later, Bahl had some options coming out of Broomfield High School. His brother, Stephen, had gone to play at Colorado School of Mines. His sister, Jenny, played at Regis.
 
Bahl looked at Mines, but he didn't think it was for him. MSU Denver was.
 
"Coach Dunlap took a chance on me, and I'm grateful that he did," Bahl said.
 
He played in 26 of 35 games as a freshman and averaged 2.6 points for the national semifinalist. The following year he played in 30 of 33 games for the Elite Eight team, averaging 3.9 points.
 
He averaged 11.5 points while starting 27 of 31 games as a junior.
 
When Dunlap moved on to take a job with the Denver Nuggets and Brannon Hays became coach, Bahl finished up with a senior campaign that landed him sixth on the MSU Denver career scoring chart with 1,020 points (he still ranks 18^th).
 
"Whatever success I had as a player was because of my coaches and my teammates around me," Bahl said. "And whatever success I've had in coaching has been because of the coaches and players around me."
 
Since coming to campus as a player, Bahl has been involved in 81.1 percent of the Roadrunners' 370 victories.
 
And Bahl's 300 wins represent 40.1 percent of all the program's 748 wins since it moved to Division II in 1984 – and keep in mind that MSU Denver has the highest winning percentage in the history of Division II men's basketball.
 
Only Clark, who had 390 wins as either an assistant under Dunlap (217-40) or as a head coach (173-50), has had more wins as part of the MSU Denver program. Currently Dunlap is the head coach at Division I Loyola Marymount, where his staff includes Clark and Hays.
 
Bahl came back to MSU Denver after spending time as a credit manager and an interesting year coaching at the high school level: his father was the girls varsity coach at Golden High School, while Bahl was the junior varsity coach and his brother was an assistant.
 
"Among the three of us, it was pretty crazy," Bahl said, laughing. "We're all pretty strong-willed and want to do things our way. It was fun though."
 
Clark took over at MSU Denver the following year, and Bahl was ready to come home.
 
"I had stayed in touch with Coach Clark and with (former athletic director) Joan McDermott," Bahl said. "And when a position became open I'm grateful that Coach Clark gave me a chance."
 
After a long apprenticeship, the job opened back up in 2017 and Bahl's passion for the program shone through. After a coaching search, it turned out the best person for the job was already on campus, and Bahl is thankful to Dr. Anthony Grant, the current athletic director, for the opportunity.
 
"I love it here," Bahl said. "I'm fortunate that I've been able to be here my whole career, haven't had to move my family around for coaching jobs like most coaches do. I live 25 minutes away. I'm 33 now, and I've been here for close to half my life."
 
Junior forward Cain van Heyningen (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Open schoolgemeenschap Bijlmer) said Bahl's experience at MSU Denver earns immediate respect from his players.
 
"It's so much more relatable," van Heyningen said. "A lot of coaches have playing experience, but when your head coach has playing experience from the same place, the same environment, it adds another level of knowledge and trust.
 
"When things are tough, the first thing he says is, 'Men, I've been in your shoes.' And he literally has, physically and mentally. He just relates to us."
 
Bahl's first team, a senior-heavy group, went 15-14, though it was a solid 14-8 in RMAC play. He quickly adapted to life sitting on the first seat on the bench, about looking ahead to the next play rather than worrying about the last one.
 
"As an assistant coach, you have all the answers," Bahl said. "As the head coach, you find out it isn't so easy. When you're an assistant, you can focus on specific things, but as a head coach you have to look at the whole picture. That's why I'm glad I have a head coach next to me in (first-year assistant) Coach (Jeremy) Johnston."
 
Cortes Zotes said he could see how excited Bahl was to get the head coaching job. van Heyningen said Bahl became more serious because of the added responsibility, yet he hasn't changed as a coach.
 
"He's always been the same person," Cortes Zotes said. "He's a person you can talk to, always there if you need him as a head coach or as a friend. He's going to be there for you."
 
This year's team, though young, has undeniable talent. The Roadrunners are just 2-4 overall and are only 1-2 in RMAC play heading into home games Saturday against Colorado Mesa (7-2, 2-1) and Sunday against Western Colorado (3-6, 0-3). Both games at the Auraria Event Center are scheduled for 6 p.m. starts.
 
"Mesa is doing great things right now," Cortes Zotes said. "They're coming here with a lot of energy. It's going to be a fun game, and a tough game, too. And Western has really good shooters."
Said van Heyningen: "They've both beaten us before. There isn't one team that we don't respect. We're taking them seriously, and why wouldn't we? We're looking to win and sweep the weekend, but Mesa is right in front of us and that's a big enough challenge before we even start thinking about Western."
 
Time will tell if the young Roadrunners will be able to mature in time to make a run at the RMAC regular season or post-season championships, or if a 22^ndtrip to the NCAA tournament is a possibility.
 
Bahl has plenty of experience in seeing what that looks like.
 
"He's been a part of great teams," said van Heyningen, who then pointed to the banners above the Auraria Event Center court and said, "but he wants to hang a few more of those. He knows this program has the potential. And he's very passionate about bringing that potential to reality. Having those hanging above you every day definitely does something to you. It sets the standard for what this program is and what it is supposed to be."