Coach Don Hershey Continues to Teach Young Men
By: Matthew Florjancic, Correspondent
BEREA, OHIO— Every successful college basketball head coach will quickly tell you that his or her success is due in great part to both talent student-athletes and hard-working, dedicated and loyal assistant coaches. At Baldwin-Wallace College, longtime Head Coach Steve Bankson is fortunate to have North Royalton native and North Royalton High School health and physical education and science teacher and golf coach as one of his key assistants.
"We are fortunate to have Don Hershey as a member of our coaching staff," said Bankson, the winningest men’s basketball coach in school history with 369 wins entering last Saturday’s game at Ohio Athletic Conference rival Otterbein College. "Don is a great teacher and has both an outstanding knowledge of the game of basketball and rapport with our student-athletes.
"He has a low-key personality that is a real complement to my type of personality," added Bankson. "I have relied on him a great deal not only on the basketball court, but also off the court.
"Don handles our post players and does a great job," continued Bankson. "He helps with coaching in practices and spends a great deal of time seeing potential recruits who he feels have the ability to fit into and help our team. Don also is very loyal."
For the past 18 years, Hershey, a 1972 graduate of the College, has been an assistant coach for the Yellow Jackets. He has helped B-W to win four OAC regular season titles, three OAC Tournament crowns and advance to the NCAA Division III National Tournament four times.
A season ago, B-W was 20-9 overall, won three games away from home in the OAC Tournament en route to a tourney title and a berth in the NCAA Division III National Championships. His main focus during the season was working with the brother tandem of forwards Thad and Tori Davis.
Hershey’s efforts paid off as both Davis brothers earned first-team All-OAC accolades and also were named to the All-Great Lakes Region squad in Division III. Thad Davis also was tabbed as the OAC Mike Gregory Award winner, symbolic of the OAC’s Most Valuable Player. He averaged 20.0 points and 11.4 rebounds a game as a senior.
"Coach Hershey taught us how to use our body to gain an advantage with leverage," said Thad Davis, who ended his career second on the all-time scoring list with 1,921 career points. "He taught us how to position down low so you can either have your back to the basket or attack it and be successful with either option. He also is a good person.
"I have been blessed to have very good coaches in the past, but what differs Coach Hershey from others has been his ability to relate with the players," said Thad Davis.
"He stresses footwork a lot," said preseason All-American junior Tori Davis, currently a junior who just passed the 1,000-point plateau when he scored 19 markers in an 89-66 win at Allegheny (Pa.) College on Nov. 26. "All of our posts are undersized in the league and Coach Hershey helps us in our footwork and technique."
This season, the Yellow Jackets are 4-1 overall following an 88-79 upset win versus seventh-ranked St. John Fisher (NY) College in the season opener. Hershey and B-W would then go on to win the tournament championship at the Westminster (Pa.) College Buzz Ridl Classic.
Along with his main duties of working with the post players, Hershey helps Bankson with recruiting the next great Yellow Jackets and scouting their opponents. Hershey has a lot of memories during his time at B-W, but one season stands out in his mind.
"It has to be the 1994-95 postseason when we reached the NCAA Division III National Tournament Sweet 16 with local players like Kevin Braaten (current Head Coach at Berea High), Joe Mackey (current Head Coach at Brundwick High) and Duane Sheldon (current Head Coach at Heidelberg College)," said Hershey.
"We played up at Hope (Mich.) College and beat them on a last-second shot by Ryan Sooy (a former Medina High standout and B-W Hall-of-Fame," Hershey stated proudly. "There is no doubt that was one of the biggest wins in B-W history, beating the top-ranked team in the nation and in the tournament on their home court.
"I can still remember seeing Ryan Sooy’s shot go in," said Hershey. "They called a timeout and did not have any. Hope received a technical foul and Braaten went to the line to shoot two free throws. There have been a lot of big wins, but that has to be the highlight."
Despite his busy schedule, Hershey finds a way to balance family, teaching and coaching.
"It was easier balancing all of that early on because I was on my own," Hershey said. "I have a very supportive wife who is very much into sports. She loves basketball and that has been very helpful.
"B-W and Coach Bankson have been very supportive. I had the leave time to attend my kids games like I should and want to," said Hershey.
"In addition, the administration at North Royalton High School also has been very good to me in terms of allowing me to continue with my Baldwin-Wallace experience."
Hershey, who looks forward to the day-to-day contact with the players, has really enjoyed his coaching career, including the time he spent as the head coach of North Royalton’s Men’s basketball team. His success and friendship with Coach Bankson led to his returning to B-W.
"When I started, I was a head coach for 10 years at North Royalton," said Hershey, who puts an emphasis on organization and appreciation of his players. "I used to bring my team to Coach Bankson’s team camp in the summer. When he approached me with the idea of coaching with him, I thought that was a great idea because I respected Coach.
"Having a chance to go back to B-W, my alma mater, and coach at the college level was a good opportunity for me," Hershey added. "I love to coach the game, but a chance to go to the next level and coach that caliber of a student-athlete is really something I wanted to do. I am really glad I made that choice at that time to move away from the high school to the college level."
As the head coach of North Royalton, Hershey got the chance to coach in several playoff games and against local legend and former NBA head coach Eric Musselman.
"We played at Baldwin-Wallace in the Ohio High School Athletic Association District Tournament against St. Ignatius, who was the number one team in the city," Hershey said. "Nobody gave us a chance and it came down to a missed shot at the buzzer and we lost by one point. Even thoughwe lost, the crowd gave us a standing ovation. It was a special moment for our kids.
"At Brecksville, we played against Eric Musselman, with his legendary dad, Bill Musselman, in attendance," Hershey added. "Eric had 44 points and we could not stop him, but he could not stop our guys either. It was an emotional win for us."
While he was a student at B-W, Hershey played and coached with the legendary Dr. Lee Tressel. He also had the pleasure of coaching current Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel.
As a member of Bankson’s staff, Hershey has trained and worked with some excellent low-post players.
"I think Baldwin-Wallace has been blessed to have some very good post players," said Hershey. "We have been very blessed to have guys like Braaten, Amara Toure and the Davis brothers. All four are quality young men who all worked hard.
"I feel very fortunate and privileged to work with them," said Hershey. "As a coaching staff, we have always said that post players are worth their weight in gold in the OAC because if you have good post players, you will have some success."
Even though Hershey feels lucky to be coaching at B-W, the Yellow Jacket program is just as fortunate to have someone of his skill level on staff.
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