DENVER – Royalty will be in the house on Saturday.
 
MSU Denver will celebrate its 1999-2000 NCAA Division II men's basketball national championship team this weekend, as nearly all of the school's first-ever title-winning squad returns to the Auraria Event Center for a 20-year reunion.
 
"I think it'll be cool for those guys to see how things have changed on campus," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "And when you get guys to come back … I just want to hear some of the stories.
 
"I tell our players all the time, it's not the wins and losses that you remember. It's the time you spend with the guys. When we get together and I'm listening to them tell stories, I'll bet very few are basketball related. It'll be cool to see them back together, because I know they haven't done it in a while."
 
Though Bahl didn't come to MSU Denver until just after the national title teams of 2000 and 2002, he had a connection before and since because 2000 All-American DeMarcos Anzures – still the program's all-time leading scorer – had played at Skyview High School, where Bahl's father was an assistant coach.
 
Then Bahl played for the Roadrunners and coach Mike Dunlap and later served as an assistant coach.
 
Anzures, All-American Lee Barlow, guard John Bynum (now a first-year MSU Denver assistant) and most of the key members of the team are expected back to be recognized at halftime of Saturday's 7 p.m. game against Colorado School of Mines.
 
The guest list includes Dunlap, now the head coach at his alma mater, Division I Loyola Marymount.
 
"It'll be great to have him back around," Bahl said. "I wouldn't be here, and a lot of guys wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for him and what he did 20 years ago."
 
Both Friday's game against UCCS (also at 7 p.m) and Saturday's matchup will be televised locally on Channel 20.
 
MSU Denver will wear throwback uniforms on Saturday – with a modern take on the 2000 version of Roadrunners gear.
 
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners (10-11 overall, 6-9 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) are looking to make a late-season move up the RMAC ladder this weekend.
 
UCCS is 13-7 overall and 9-6 in the RMAC. Mines is 14-8 and 10-5.
 
MSU Denver played the same teams on the road just two weeks ago, falling 61-52 at Mines before knocking off UCCS 66-59 the following night.
 
But the Roadrunners were unable to sustain the momentum gained from the big win at UCCS, coming out flat in an 80-51 loss to South Dakota Mines before losing 83-69 the following night to Black Hills State to cap an 0-2 home weekend.
 
"Friday was disappointing, having a letdown after coming off a big win," Bahl said. "But it's all part of the process. You have to handle success, just like you handle failure.
 
"You've got to have a short memory, because everyone is still playing for something. You're playing for the name on your chest and the name on your back. Everyone has a last name and it's a pride thing. You just want to make sure you're ready to go."