Colorado University Athletics
COACH BARRY TO GO FOR WIN NO. 500 TUESDAY NIGHT
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Patience has become a mantra for Ceal Barry and it is about to be rewarded.
Barry, coaching her 21st season at Colorado, will go for victory No. 500 when her Buffaloes host Kansas in their final home game of the season Tuesday night.
"I don't want to minimize the significance of the number," Barry said. "If I did, it would minimize the accomplishments of many other coaches who have gotten there. It's so competitive and such a tough profession that to get to that number you have to get through the highs and the lows."
Over 25 years, Barry has built a resume that includes 20 seasons of at least a .500 record. And she's urged her players to be patient.
"I got that from my dad," she said. "He had the ability to instill in his kids that you're not always going to get what you want immediately. You're not always going to have instant gratification."
After a four-year stint as head coach at Cincinnati (1979-83), Barry left the Bearcats with an 83-42 record, the best ever at the school, and headed west to Colorado.
The fifth coach in CU women's basketball history, she has 416 victories - more than any other coach in school history, in any sport.
She has coached the Buffs to four conference titles, the first undefeated (14-0) Big 8 campaign, in 1988-89, and 13 seasons with 20 or more victories. Her No. 13 Buffs stand at 20-5.
Barry has led the Buffs to 11 NCAA tournament berths, six Sweet 16s and three Elite Eight appearances, the most recent in the 2001-02 season.
But more than a coach, Barry sees herself as a teacher to countless young women who have walked through her door. Her students include 10 players drafted into professional leagues and three conference players of the year in Bridget Turner (1989), Jamillah Lang (1994) and Shelley Sheetz (1995). Senior Tera Bjorklund is a candidate for this year's award.
"She really knows so much about basketball, more than I'll ever know," Bjorklund said. "She's a great teacher and that's one of the things I love. She's always pulling people aside and she's so good with interacting with people, and her ability to teach the sport is just awesome."
For all her accomplishments, Barry still yearns for an elusive trip to the Final Four.
"Five-hundred will become 600, and then 700 and then 800, but the big thing then becomes seriously going to the Final Four and winning a national championship," Barry said. "I think I've done a good job with the players I have, but to achieve those goals, I think I really need to get after it on the recruiting trail."
Only Barry knows just how many trails she's got the patience to tackle at this point in her career.
"I've always taken it in three-year increments," Barry said. "People who know me say I've been retiring for the last 20 years. Every year it's three more years. I can only think of the freshman class. Every year there's another one."