ST. LOUIS — It usually takes quite a while to become a legendary coach in St. Louis.
But at just 38 years old, Vashon's Tony Irons is already well on his way to "legend" status.
The Wolverines won another state hoops title over the weekend with a 57-49 victory over Tolton in the Class 4 finals. It was Irons' sixth state championship.
Although he knows what it's like to finish on top, Irons said this year's win had a special feeling to it.
"This one probably even more so. Just because we didn't have a lot of returning kids. We had a bunch of young guys, and so to get an opportunity for freshmen to go and experience that as a whole new nucleus, it's something special," Irons told 5 On Your Side's Frank Cusumano.
Vashon is no stranger to basketball glory as one of the premier basketball powerhouses in Missouri history. Irons has been able to build on that tradition while imprinting his own mark on the program.
"It's just culture. I know that's a buzzword a lot of times, but it's actually real. A lot of our guys that have gone off to play college, they stay in touch with the kids that are on our team now and they preach the same thing. They want them to be successful," Irons said.
Of course, Irons' dad is a big part of that history. Floyd Irons won 10 state titles at Vashon and set the groundwork for his son to learn how to be a championship coach.
The younger Irons said there are many things he took from watching his dad coach.
"Preparation, definitely. Being able to go and watch his practices as a kid and just being around it. Just seeing how he went about things on a daily basis. He was real organized. I try to be organized like that," Irons said. "We have somewhat differences in philosophy in certain things, but for the most part with both center everything around kids and wanting them to be successful and have opportunities when they get done with high school."
Since this year's team was filled with underclassmen, the Wolverines will have some high expectations next year as well, with just about the entire team returning.