The King's High School old boy was back in Dunedin yesterday to be inducted into the school's wall of fame.
It is the first time in 15 years the former Otago Nugget and Tall Blacks captain has been to Dunedin, the most ''beautiful city in the world''.
Denham, the principal of Massey High School in Auckland, played more than 200 games for the Tall Blacks between 1984 and 1999, and was captain for a record 13 years.
He also racked up more than 4000 points and 2000 rebounds during an illustrious NBL career, which started with the Waikato Pistons in 1986.
Denham later won championships with the Canterbury Rams in 1989 and 1990, before returning ''home'' to play for the Nuggets the following year.
His 50-point haul against Harbour on June 11, 1993, is still the franchise record for most points scored in a game.
Denham played 10 seasons for the Nuggets over two stints, and rates his time with the team, and his days playing for King's, as the most memorable of his career.
''I bleed blue and gold,'' he said.
''It was more than playing for a team - this is where I'm from. The number of times I would sit there with Leonard King after all the other players had gone home and wonder how we can win.''
Denham, who attended King's between 1977 and 1982, said he could remember every player in the school's team in 1982, when it played Church College of New Zealand in the national schools final in Hamilton.
In contrast, he could ''probably'' only remember half of the Tall Blacks in his final game for the team, he said.
While the Nuggets had to pull out of the NBL this year due to financial difficulties, Denham is confident they will be back.
''I have got no doubts,'' he said.
''The facilities here are too good. We will have a resurgence. It's a shame when we have got young guys like Sam Timmins who have got to go somewhere else to play.''
While Denham's basketball past is rich, he is quick to point out that his biggest love is teaching.
The former King's head prefect graduated with a bachelor of teaching degree when he was 21, but only got a year's work under his belt before basketball took over.
When his playing days came to an end in 2000, he and wife Anne headed to London, where a one-year sabbatical turned into 15 years of living and working in the city.
Denham went from being a teacher to a deputy principal within a year, and eventually became an executive principal. In that role, he was in charge of three secondary schools and four primary schools.
He spent the past three years in the role, before being lured back to New Zealand to take up his job in Auckland at the start of the year.
''I would swap all of my days of basketball for one day of teaching,'' Denham said.
''When I retire, I hope someone gives me a nice farewell speech - people might clap - then the person that gave the speech will pop up and say, 'Oh, I think he played basketball'.''
Denham, who has three children - Bailey (27), Sam (25) and Mitchell (23) - said King's High made him the man that he was today, and he was using the visit to ''nick ideas left, right and centre''.
He coaches the year 9 basketball team at Massey High School, and plans to complete some courses to further his coaching and give back to the sport.
