Regis Men's Basketball Coach Gets Ready To Hang Up The Whistle

DENVER (CBS4) - Lonnie Porter has run out of space on the walls of his office at Regis University in Denver. Dozens of pictures, articles and memorabilia tell the story of a nearly four decade career.

"Sometimes I am in here and I look back and I reflect and think about my guys," Porter said recently, sitting at his desk.

Those guys have helped make Porter the winningest college coach in Colorado men's basketball history (538 wins). He's also a member of four different halls of fame and a five-time conference coach of the year.

It's quite the resume for a coach who only planned on making a quick pit-stop at Regis.

"I was the typical young guy that was ambitious," said Porter. "I thought I'd be here 2 to 3 years and then go to a Division I school and have my beautiful time there."

Instead, he found beauty in what he could accomplish at Regis.

"I can't tell you right now how many games I have won and lost," Porter told CBS4. "But I can tell you how many I have graduated, and it is 145."

Porter admits it would have been nice to win a national championship, but in his mind he claims a national championship for every time a young man came into his program and left with a degree.

"When I saw some of my friends that played basketball and at the end of 4 years they had nothing to go home to and had not graduated, I said I do not want to be like that," said Porter.

When he became a coach, Porter made it a priority to make sure his players earned their degrees.

So for almost 40 years he has coached with tough love, teaching lessons his players don't always understand at first.

"For most guys it sets in when they are done," said assistant coach and former player Steve Ledesma. "That's when what he was talking about would make sense in the real world with my job and life."

"Why is he always on me, why is it always me?" assistant coach Jarrett Green remembers asking as a player. "It is because he wants me to be a leader and grow as a person and take it to my job and career."

When Porter talks about the pictures in his office, it isn't about what they accomplished as players, but what they have gone on to do after they graduated. And why he says he is finally ready to step aside.

"You hear people say they are blessed? I am truly am," said Porter. "How many guys in my field get to make the call when they are going to retire?"

Porter is not completely retiring though, he will still be an ambassador at Regis and focus more of his attention on the Billups-Porter Leadership Academy he runs with his daughter and former NBA star and Denver native Chauncey Billups.

LINK: Porter-Billups Leadership Academy

Porter will be honored during a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 6 and his 1,041st and final game will be on Feb. 28.

Mark Haas is CBS4's weekend sports anchor and sports reporter. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook MarkHaasSports.