If you attended a Mission Bay High boys basketball game over the last decade-plus, you saw a familiar face on the Bucs sideline game after game.
While that face won’t be there in a coaching capacity moving forward, the lessons that he taught many young men over time will in all likelihood remain for years to come on and off the court.
Dennis Kane, who recently retired from the coaching ranks with a remarkable 440 career wins (at several schools), has just about done and seen everything when it comes to high school basketball in San Diego, a coaching career that goes back to the early 1970s.
Ranked sixth all-time in wins in San Diego boys basketball history, Kane captured six league titles and one CIF title (2007 at Mission Bay) along the way. His stepping down allows Mission Bay High assistant coach Marshawn Cherry to lead the Bucs moving forward.
Kane, a counselor at MBHS, who also coached at San Diego High and Kearny High, recently spoke via email about not only his time spent at Mission Bay High, but his long tenure as a coach in general.
BBP: What led you to decide to retire?
DK: I need to exhale and smell the rose for a while. Since 1972, I have known where I was going to be every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have no regrets about the commitment and dedication I have shown to my chosen profession, but I want a better balance between my love and passion for kids and basketball and my desire to make some personal lifetime memories.
BBP: What are some memories you will take from having been Mission Bay High’s boys basketball coach?
DK: As always, the kids, the staff, the people, the trial and tribulations, the elation and joy of teaching and coaching. And as they used to say on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
BBP: What has Mission Bay High meant to you after all these years?
DK: That’s a hard one, like asking, “What have your children meant to you after all of these years?” I guess the answer would be the most joyous and most frustrating experience I ever had all happening at the same time.
BBP: For anyone who might think of getting into coaching today, what advice do you have for them?
DK: Get ready for the ride of your life, a totally rewarding yet demanding position that will test you in every way.
When it came to giving his all to the game of basketball and caring about countless kids along the way, Kane hit more than his share of successful shots.