Drury University’s Men’s Basketball head coach Steve Hesser announced his retirement from the team on March 10. After seventeen seasons of coaching the Panthers, Hesser leaves as the all-time leader in career wins at Drury, with a 354-145 record and .709 winning percentage. In addition to these achievements, Hesser earned the NCAA-II National Coach of the Year in 2013, NCAA-II Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2014, Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014 and Impactful Men’s Basketball Head Coaches List in 2020. One of Hesser’s most memorable moments while coaching at Drury was leading the Panthers to victory in the 2013 NCAA-II National Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Assistant coach and former Men’s Basketball player, Ben Fisher explains the impact Coach Hesser has left on him, either on the court or coaching alongside him, “Coach Hesser has taught me so much. As a player, it was all about accountability and being able to do daily self-evaluations. He taught me a ton about the game of basketball and when I became a coach under him, it was apparent I thought I knew more than I did as a player. As a coach, it was all about the daily mindset of getting up and doing your job no matter how you feel. That is something that I’ve carried over into my adult life and want to be able to pass on to others.”

Players, fans or anyone who knows Coach Hesser, knows that he has a wide variety of sayings, whether they be inspirational or entertaining. His comments such as “I’ve been to 9 oil drillings, 6 county fairs, 3 turtle races, and I ain’t never seen anything like that,” are unique and will be missed by the team and fans alike. His more inspirational sayings such as, “The ability to do what you don’t want to do when you don’t want to do it will define your success,” are what inspires the team to go into every practice and every game with the right mindset. 

The future of Drury Men’s Basketball is already beginning. Drury’s Vice President and Director of Athletics, Corey Bray, announced that Chris Foster will be Drury’s next head coach. As the team gears up for new recruits and a new coach, a lot still remains uncertain. Fisher explains the mindset that they have with creating next year’s team, “The key has been the relationships we have built with them already, so we feel pretty good about our future.” 

Although the Drury community is sad to see one of the most legendary coaches leave, Coach Hesser’s legacy will live on and his words will echo through the halls of O’Reilly forever.

Article by Emily Oliver