Inductees

Back home, he sometimes played basketball in the old barn on a friend’s family farm in the Bootheel and, in college, his coach brought him along to help scout opponents.

Sure enough, the so-called basketball gods made sure to find a spot for Mike Wilson as a high school coach. But they made him earn it. You see, resumes sent to hundreds of schools in southwest and southeast Missouri went unanswered, until Hartville suddenly needed an assistant.

Wilson called it the most important job in what became a 31-year head coaching career, and his success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Wilson with the Class of 2025.

In building 588-262 record, Wilson led Sparta (1991 & 1992 seasons), Forsyth (1993 to 1999), Hartville (2000 to 2003, 2005 to 2006), Strafford (2007 to 2018) and Willow Springs (2019 to 2022) high school boys teams.

Four reached the Final Four – 1993 Forsyth placed fourth, and Strafford’s 2011 and 2015 teams were state runner-up finishers, while Strafford’s 2014 team placed third. Overall, his teams won 10 district championships and produced more than 120 all-conference players and 14 All-State selections.

“My best friend to this day (Mitch Wood) has been my best friend since we were in grade school,” Wilson said. “I didn’t grow up on a farm but worked on them. We chopped cotton and pitched watermelons and cantaloupes. Most of the time it was with teammates doing that. Mitch’s dad farmed, and he put a basketball goal in his tractor shed. We both had older brothers and, in the fall and winter, we played a lot of games in the barn. I had a key to the high school gym. I spent a lot of time in there.”

Wilson understood the importance of high school basketball, with his mom – a player herself – fueling his love for the game. So, too, did coaches Joe Scott and Randy Winston.

A 1983 graduate of Holcomb High School, he earned All-State honors in basketball (1982 and 1983) and baseball in 1983. He helped both teams win conference championships those seasons, with the 1982 baseball team placing third in Class 1.

He then played for – and mentored under – Waller at C of O. Waller helped him land at Hartville under then-coach Darren Taylor in the 1988 and 1989 seasons.

“I learned so much from Darren – coaching high school players, defenses, different offenses,” Wilson said. “That job helped me start figuring out what my coaching philosophy was going to be.”

Wilson’s teams played hard-core, man-to-man defense and ran motion offenses until his final six seasons at Strafford when he turned to the dribble-drive.

His 1993 Forsyth team reached the Final Four two months after a couple of players were dismissed, with post players Ben Ashford and Grant Turner leading the way.

He was happy in Hartville. Then Brett Soden, a former C of O teammate and Strafford principal, recruited him to Strafford.

There, it took big-city private schools to deny Strafford of Class 3 state titles.

His 2010 team was ranked No. 2 at one point. The 2011 team beat Mount Vernon in sectionals by three points, Blair Oaks in overtime in the quarterfinal, and Elsberry by 10 in the semifinals before running into Hogan Prep.

The 2014 team made another strong run in the postseason before falling to eventual state champion Cardinal Ritter in the semifinals.

In 2015, Strafford beat Mount Vernon in sectionals, Blair Oaks in the quarterfinals and topped New Madrid County by two in the semifinals before running into another private school Barstow.

“I got to watch those kids grow up,” Wilson said. “They were in third and fourth grade when I got to Strafford. They were talented and athletic then and continued to get better. They had a lot of talent and found a great work ethic.”

Even better, Wilson has long had the support of his wife, Lori, and sons, Derek and Conner.

“Coaching high school basketball is the most rewarding thing I have ever done besides raising my family,” said Wilson, a 2018 inductee of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. “I enjoyed every single minute of it. I am still in contact with many of my former players and I have enjoyed watching them become men and raising families of their own. Also the relationships I’ve made at every school I’ve coached at and with all the coaches I have coached with and against have made me the man I am today.”