By Matt Florjancic
D3hoops.com
BEREA, Ohio -- Getting immediate playing time, developing as a leader and continuing an education are some of the opportunities presented from college coaches to high school athletes and their parents. When Baldwin-Wallace men's basketball coach Steve Bankson recruited future Yellow Jackets, he, like most coaches at the Division III level, made sure they grew academically.
The current players will wake up tomorrow and go to class, but now Bankson will be an interested spectator. After 28 years at B-W, Bankson announced his retirement from coaching Wednesday afternoon.
“One of the things that I always tell the players, I think it's a privilege to play at Baldwin-Wallace, but I also tell them I think it's a privilege to coach at Baldwin-Wallace,” Bankson said. “I have felt that way from the day that I was hired. We have a program that we think is second to none.”
Alfred Bryan Bonds was serving as the college's president when Bankson joined the staff at Baldwin-Wallace. At the time of his selection, Bonds was completing a Presidential appointment in Egypt.
“There on the wall was a picture of (Bonds) with Harry Truman, a picture with (former Secretary of State) John Foster Dulles, a picture with (Secretary-General of the United Nations) Dag Hammarskj�ld and he said, �Do you know my proudest moment?' and I said, �No,'” Bankson stated. “�It's when I walked to the 50-yard line at Phenix City, Ala., in 1978 and accepted that national championship football trophy.' I said, �God bless you, Dr. Bonds. You're the kind of guy I want to work for.'”
Bankson, the winningest coach in Baldwin-Wallace men's basketball history, amassed 420 victories while leading the Yellow Jackets and finished with a record of 701-442 during his head coaching career, which included junior college and high school head coaching jobs. However, the most revealing number about Bankson is the 97.5 percent graduation rate of his four-year players. Seventy-eight of his 80 seniors received their degrees.
“People ask about the 700 wins,” Bankson said. “I'm more proud of the fact in terms of the number of kids that we have had who have graduated. When they come to Baldwin-Wallace, they come here first of all for their academics.”
On the court, Bankson led the 1994-95 Yellow Jackets to the “Sweet 16”. They won two road games and advanced farther than any other B-W team under his direction.
“Coach always had a way of breeding confidence in you,” said former B-W center Kevin Braaten. “When you looked him in the eye, you knew he thought we could win the game.”
“He is a man that constantly worried about the little things,” said Don Hershey, Bankson's assistant for 20 seasons. “That's probably what made him so successful.”
B-W advanced to its fourth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Final Four this year with a road win against Wilmington on February 27th. The last time Bankson led the Yellow Jackets onto the floor was in the OAC semifinals against former B-W player Duane Sheldon and Heidelberg.
“It was kind of the suspicion that he was going to go,” said current senior point guard Brendan Schuler. “I had a great four years under him. It was something special to play for him for his last year. We tried to go out on a high note with a win in the OAC.”
“From the fifth grade on, I knew that I wanted to coach basketball,” Bankson said. “This is my 44th year as a head coach. I just finished and I lived my dream.”