No. 10 2016-17 Top Moment - Judkins win #500

Top-10 Moments to be announced each Wednesday through August 16

Note: This story is the first of a 10-week series featuring the Top-10 Moments of the Dixie State Athletics 2016-17 season. A new top moment will be unveiled each Wednesday, until the final moment is announced on August 16.

500. It's a big number in just about any sport.

A quarterback passing for 500 yards in a game. A baseball player hitting 500 career home runs, or maintaining a .500 batting average for the better part of a season. A volleyball surpassing 500 kills in a season. A coach reaching the 500-win milestone. Let's repeat that last one.

A coach reaching the 500-win milestone. Dixie State Basketball head coach Jon Judkins accomplished just that, securing his 500th career win on January 28 with an 81-72 victory over Hawai'i Hilo inside the Burns Arena.

"[500 wins] is neat, but I could not do this without my players, all my former players and my players this year, it's everybody - all my coaches, the coaching staffs I've had. I've lucked out having great players and great coaches," Judkins said after the game. "When I'm retired I'll tell my kids and grandkids 'This is what I did,' but right now I'm just worried about winning games."

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If you ask Judkins about the feat, he'll likely try to play it off, underselling the accomplishment by telling you he'll think about it when he's retired. The truth is, many coaches will walk the sidelines for years, be it on the field or court, and won't reach the 500-win mark. Which is what makes Judkins reaching the 500-win milestone so impressive.

Let's take a closer look. The 2016-17 season marked Judkins' 24th season (12 at Snow College, 12 at Dixie State) as a head coach, finishing the season with 505 career wins against just 238 losses (.679). In 24 seasons, Judkins has averaged a little more than 21 wins per season in a sport where a team plays about 26 games per year, depending on postseason play. This places Coach Judkins, in terms of career winning percentage, with guys like Stew Morrill, Jay Wright, and Steve Fisher.

So congrats, coach. 505 career wins and counting, and our No. 10 Top Moment of the 2016-17 season.

Stay tuned to DixieStateAthletics.com, as well as all the Trailblazer Athletics social media accounts, as the No. 9 Top Moment is announced on Wednesday, June 21.

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