By Greg Gielczyk
A ceremony was conducted at midcourt to recognize Guy’s accomplishment.
Guy surpassed C. Leo “Tiny” Redmond, who was 179-93 from 1925-43. In the Big Reds’ previous game, a heart-stopping 56-55 victory over Kalamazoo Central, Guy earned his 181st victory against just 27 losses.
Since arriving at Muskegon in 2012 as basketball coach and athletic director, the 47-year-old Guy has led the Big Reds to seven straight conference titles, seven district crowns, three regional championships and a Class A state title in 2014.
Going into this season, the Big Reds were an eye-popping 94-4 in conference games and had compiled a 93-9 record at home.
Over the last 10 years, Muskegon has won more games than any other Division 1 team in the state.
Guy has a simple answer, or two, when asked about how he has had such success.
“First of all, God for giving us the opportunity to play this game,” Guy said. “And after that, I would say good players, good parents and good support from our administration and community.
“Then stability with coaches,” Guy said. “I’ve had the same varsity staff since I’ve been here. So, what we have is a good mix and a good ingredient for success.”
Prior to coming to Muskegon, the Big Reds’ coach was at his alma mater, Muskegon Heights, for 9 years. During that time, the Tigers never lost a district tournament game and reached the semifinals at the Breslin Center several times during his tenure.
It would seem he has the formula all figured out.
After graduating from Heights, Guy played basketball at Muskegon Community College for 2 years before transferring to Ferris State University and playing basketball for the Bulldogs.
“Those experiences helped me become the coach that I am,” Guy said. “Without those experiences, I don’t know if I would have had the success I have had, learning from great people, great coaches.
“First and foremost, when you play for us you have to play hard, no matter who’s in those jerseys” Guy said. “We pride ourselves on being blue collar, and outwork any other team. I’ll take will over skill. I’ll take skill, but we’ll take the will as well.”
Guy got into coaching because he wanted the kids to have someone they could relate to and because of his passion for the sport.
“At some point, you can’t play and the next best thing to playing is coaching,” Guy said. “I’ve always wanted to be around the game of basketball in some capacity, and I’ve been blessed and fortunate enough to do so.
“I want to be around this game as long as I can, as long as it’s fun to me. I love to compete, and this allows me to do that, to get my fix.”
While he likes an up-tempo game, Guy also wants the team to be disciplined and capable, at times, to slow down and get a quality possession for clock management.
Guy employs a man-to-man defense most of the time and the Big Reds stress pressure defense, hoping to force teams into making mistakes and then capitalizing for easy transition baskets.
“And we try to play the game the right way, share the basketball and trust each other,” said Guy. “It’s not about individuals, it’s about the team.
“I’ve been blessed the last 20 years to have unselfish kids who really don’t care about individual accolades and stats. They care about the stat that matters, which is winning.”