Dave was born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington. He attended Port Angeles High School where he played basketball for Bob Klock and also participated in track. After playing for the Roughriders, Dave went to Peninsula College before transferring to Western Washington University where he earned a BA in education in 1969.
In 1969, Dave started his teaching and coaching career at Montesano
High school. During-his seven years at Montesano, Dave coached basketball, track and cross country. His 1974 cross-country team won Montesano High School’s first state title in any sport. He was N basketball coach before taking the head job for one year. Recently, Coach Denny was inducted into the Montesano High School Hall of Fame.
By 1976, the Denny family had grown to four. After being offered the basketball job at Mark Morris, Dave, Sherry, Jeff and Chris moved to Longview for the next 16 years. Dave took over the basketball program from Lee Sinnes who moved back to Port Angeles to coach the Roughrider basketball team. The Monarchs, under Coach Sinnes, played Cleveland High School for the state title in 1975. Mark Morris placed second to one of the legendary teams in state history.
Starting in 1976, Mark Morris qualified for the State AA tournament 13 times over 16 seasons. The overall record during that period was 266 – 125. Dave led Mark Morris to four state title games winning three; 1978, 1985 and 1987. In the 80’s, the Monarchs took 5th in 1984, 1st in 1985 and 2nd in 1986, 1st in 1987, qualified for state but earned no trophy in 1988 but came back and took 4th in 1989. Dave was fortunate during this time to coach both his sons, Jeff and Chris, who now live in the Seattle area. Coach Denny was named by his colleagues as the Washington State Coach of the Year three separate seasons.
Dave finished his teaching and high school coaching career at Auburn High School. The Trojans qualified for the state tournament three times during his seven years at Auburn. His 1997 team finished 16 – 0 in the tough SPSL league. The last three years he has assisted Che Dawson at Highline College. Highline won the NWAACC Championship in 2006.
Dave lives in Auburn with his wife Sherry. They have been married 40 years this month.
