500: Lincoln head basketball coach Andy Colville claims landmark victory in win over Chiles

Andy Colville was just a kid from Twentynine Palms, California.

Wide-eyed and full of infectious confidence that so many young coaches posses, Colville embarked on a basketball head coaching journey that took him over 2000 miles away from his hometown just outside of San Diego, landing him in Florida's state capital of Tallahassee.

What followed for the now Lincoln Trojans head coach is nothing short of a legendary career.

"Who would have thought a kid from Twentynine Palms, California would have won 500 games," Colville said.

Securing the landmark 500th victory with a 61-47 win over Chiles (9-8) on Tuesday night, Colville's Trojans (13-3) battled with the Timberwolves. Leading by two points at halftime, Lincoln pulled away late in the second half to secure the win.

Mobbed and doused with water by his players following the game, Colville was just relieved to finally get the victory.

"I'm glad it's over," Colville said. "I thought it might take a month to get this last one, but there's only one game."

Crossing a landmark that not many coaches do, Colville shared the credit with those who have helped him achieve a career record of 500-172 so far.

"It's never been about 500 wins, but there are a lot of emotions that go with it," Colville said. "In all those games, all these great young people I've been blessed to coach, great assistants, great managers, great statisticians. It's just, it's amazing."

A wonderful opportunity

Stepping away from the game in 2020 to watch his two daughters play sports at Florida High and mourn the loss of his mother, Colville's return to the court had to be the right situation.

Colville spent seven seasons at Rickards before being hired at Godby. During his time with the Cougars, he won a state championship in 2015, going undefeated with a perfect 31-0 record.

Taking over the Trojans program in 2022, Colville knew it was time to return to the sidelines.

"Lincoln gave me a wonderful opportunity. I'm very happy there as I was at Rickards and Godby," Colville said. "But these guys are great. I get on them hard, they frustrate me and I'm sure I frustrate them, that's why they didn't have any problems just now dousing me with all the liquid."

Know for wearing his iconic sweatpants and sweatshirt combo and energetic personality during games, Colville leaves everything on the court in hopes his players will follow suit, which they often do. As the Trojans begin final preparation for the upcoming district tournament, Colville allowed himself to celebrate his momentous achievement for a moment before shifting his focus to Lincoln's next game against the Cougars.

"I'm hard on them obviously, but about a million times harder on me. I'm not even fair to me," Colville said. "I really should enjoy it, but we've got to play Thursday night at Godby and that's it. I got about 10 minutes to enjoy it and then we gotta get ready."

A matchup between generations

Facing the Timberwolves on Tuesday night, Colville matched up against the youngest coach in the Big Bend, Eli Phillips.

For Phillips, the opportunity to lead the Timberwolves came after years of instability in the head coaching role. An assistant coach while studying at Florida State University, Phillips was promoted to the head role and is now one of the Big Bend's most promising coaches.

Leading a young Chiles team in his second season as head coach, Phillips has seen a growth in his players that has the Timberwolves in a position to be competitive come the postseason.

"I told them after the game 'I know you guys want to hear right now but I still believe that we can accomplish a lot of things with this group," Phillips said. "I know we don't have much time left, but we still have room to grow. Stick with me and keep growing and we'll keep getting better every day, so when it's time for our district playoffs, anything can happen."

Following the game Colville and the 25-year-old Phillips shared a strong embrace, where the veteran coach took a moment to share some words with the Chiles coach.

"He's a young guy, he works hard and I just told him 'You're gonna go through some ups and downs," Colville said. "You want to be good in this business, you just got to fight every time and go the next day, and I think Eli will do a great job. He's doing one already."

Being able to share the moment after the game with Colville was something special for Phillips, who like the Lincoln head coach, has started his career at a young age. Phillips said he looks up to Colville, noting how important he's been to basketball in the Big Bend, and said the postgame conversation will be something that sticks with him.

"It's a blessing to be coaching at such a young age and to get that kind of approval because he doesn't have to do that, " Phillips said about the moment postgame. "I have a lot of respect for him and I do look up to him as a young coach. He is a guy that's been around for a while and him saying that prides me with even more motivation to work even harder and work hard with my guys at Chiles."

The moment with Phillips sums up Colville's approach to the game, prioritizing relationships with whoever is involved in the sport and building a connection.

No longer just a kid from Twentynine Palms, Colville he has turned into a legend in Tallahassee, and his emphasis on making an impact in the basketball community was something his mother told him was his destiny.

"I told my mom a little bit before she passed "Mom I don't know how much longer I can do this' and she said "That's what you're called to do," Colville said. "The relationships I have with the kids and the coaches and everything else, it's second to none."

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lincoln basketball coach reaches landmark victory in against Chiles