Inductees

It’s an iconic image that brings a smile to many in Springfield: The coach of the Drury University men’s basketball team, standing on a ladder, holding up a cut-down basketball net and showing it off.

The photo is of Steve Hesser celebrating Drury winning the 2013 NCAA Division II national championship after the Panthers rallied from 17 points down in the first half, and 13 at intermission, to win 74-73 against Metro State.

“At halftime, I didn’t yell at them,” Hesser recalled. “I said, ‘That’s not who we are. If we go down, let’s go down showing who we are.’”

In essence, the photo underscored his career as a hard-nosed, devoted coach who climbed from the bottom of the ladder and made it to the top, as a winner every step of the way. It’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Hesser with the Class of 2022.

Having been influenced by coach Hank Iba (MSHOF 1961) at Oklahoma State and having spent a season working for Oklahoma Sooners coach Billy Tubbs, Hesser’s Missouri success centered in Springfield, first at Glendale High School and then at Drury.

In 17 seasons at Drury (Fall 2004 to March 2021), his Panthers were 354-145. That made Hesser Drury’s all-time wins leader and, upon his final game, ranked him in the top 10 in wins and winning percentage (.709) among active D-II coaches.

His Panthers advanced to 10 NCAA D-II Tournaments, reaching two Elite Eights, and won nine conference regular-season championships and three conference tournaments.

Overall, Hesser’s coaching record was 713-326. That figure includes a 262-142 mark in Oklahoma high schools and a 97-39 record in six seasons at Glendale, which won the 2001 Ozark Conference and reached a Class 5 sectional in 2003.

The national championship concluded a remarkable season. With guards Alex Hall (MSHOF 2020) and Brandon Lockhart and Company, Drury (31-4) won its final 23 games after a 1-4 start in conference play. Hesser was named the D-II Coach of the Year hours later.

The strong finish defined Hesser’s teams, whose motion offenses mirrored Iba’s at Oklahoma State. Drury was 131-48 (.731) combined in February and March, with his 2008 team winning the first conference tournament on Jamel Grant’s tip-in and his 2014 team reaching the Elite Eight.

This from a coach hired twice by Edsel Matthews (MSHOF 2005), the athletic director of Springfield Public Schools and then at Drury.

“You have to give (Edsel) a lot of credit,” Hesser said. “Typically, college athletic directors want to make a splash on press conference day. And high school coaches usually don’t get an opportunity to make that jump.”

His first recruit was his former Glendale standout, Brandon Kimbrough (MSHOF Filbert Five 2020), who transferred from Missouri State-West Plains to join Hesser’s first Drury team, a 21-game winner.

“If you’ve got good players and they’re willing to listen and work hard, you’ve got a chance to be good,” Hesser said.

A 1975 graduate of Stillwater High School and then Oklahoma State, Hesser coached Bartlesville High School to a 1988 state runner-up and three Class 6 state titles (1989, 1991, 1992). He later led Stillwater to two state appearances.

Iba was a big influence. Thanks to a Stillwater friend, Hesser attended Cowboys practices as a kid and later sat with Iba and picked his brain.

Eventually, after four years (two as head coach) in Pauls Valley, Hesser became Tubbs’ graduate assistant coach for the Wayman Tisdale-led 1985 Sooners, an Elite Eight team.

At Bartlesville, Hesser proved he could run a program. Among admirers were Matthews and Glendale coach Mike Keltner, who in 1999 phoned Hesser about taking the Falcons’ job upon Keltner’s retirement from coaching. Glendale had played Hesser’s Bartlesville teams in early season tournaments.

By then, Hesser was coaching Stillwater, having returned from an assistant’s role at Western Illinois after his parents were diagnosed with cancer.

Soon, Springfield became home.

Overall, Hesser cannot thank players, assistants and fans enough for their support. His dad and coaches Jim Kerwin, Jerry Havens, Mike Delagarza and Clester Harrington were among mentors.

“We maybe put some new tires on and changed the oil,” Hesser said, “but we did the same thing for 40 years.”

The support of his wife, Patti, and their son, Tyler, made all the difference.

“I spent a lot of time in the basement watching film and then coaching, and they were all for it,” Hesser said. “I’m not a rich man, but I’ve got a lot of rich friendships and a lot of rich memories.”