Mike Dunlap is onto something. In his eighth year as the head coach of the Metro State men's basketball team and approaching his 300th career win, Dunlap says, "We've had a lot of success at Metro, which makes life easier wherever you are." And Dunlap would know: He's coached different teams around the world and had success with all of them.

Going into home games this weekend with a 21-3 season record and ranked number two nationally in the NCAA Division II, chances are good that Dunlap will see his 300th win right here at Metro. This Friday and Saturday the Roadrunners will play Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian, respectively, at 7 p.m. at the Auraria Events Center.

Since coming to Metro in 1997, Dunlap has transformed the program from one in turmoil (with a 6-21 record in 1995) into one of the powerhouses in all of Division II basketball. With seven straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two national championships and four Final-Four appearances, Dunlap has posted 219 wins and only 39 losses at Metro. He celebrated his 200th win at Metro last fall with a victory over Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 20. His career record is 299-93.

Dunlap credits his success to a host of factors, chief among them the recruiting of good players. "Recruiting is a challenge," he says, "but when I was hired there was a focus on it that our program needed."

Athletic Director Joan McDermott says, "There's no question, he's the best coach I've ever been around. And he's one of the best in the country, in any division. Of course, his record of wins and losses speaks for itself. But what he does with our student-athletes is amazing. They're students first, and that's not very common in a coach with his kind of record."

Dunlap believes in the integrity of the student-athlete, and focuses on cultivating his players' characters. His coaching staff monitors the players' attendance at classes and their work. Punishment for not keeping up in class occurs on the court. When he first came to Metro, he initiated 6 a.m. practices, saying, "It gets the hard work out of the way, so they can concentrate on academics the rest of the day."

Over the course of his career, Dunlap has racked up coaching accolades worldwide. Just before coming to Metro, he spent three years as head coach of a professional team in Adelaide, Australia, where he held a 59-33 record and twice led the team to the National Basketball League Final Four.

He was the head coach at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks for five years, where he led the team to three Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament. He coached for three seasons at the University of Southern California under the tutelage of George Raveling, one season at the University of Iowa and five years at Loyola Marymount University.

Dunlap gives much of the credit for this year's success to the players. "A lot of my current players have been around for four years, so they're a seasoned group." Seasoned by four years of Mike Dunlap's high expectations—both on and off the court.