Happy Hour with John Gaskins
FULL CHAT: Mike Begeman, SD Sports Hall of Fame basketball player and coach
Descripción
It is difficult to find a more beloved sports figure in South Dakota than Mike Begeman. But being a gregarious and gracious good guy is not what earned the Parker native an upcoming spot in the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. Begeman scored 1,477 points, was a three-time All-State shooting guard, and won 70 games (to just 10 losses) in three seasons for legendary coach Gayle Hoover in Parker in the early 1970's. At Augustana, Begeman was part of a 1978 squad that captured the North Central Conference title. Begeman was far from done winning. He immediately became a high school head coach in Colman, then secured a dream job at West Central in Hartford, close to his family farm. He did well enough there to achieve another dream: Coaching at the highest level in Class AA. O'Gorman may seem like a plum gig now, but in 1986, the Knights had gone almost 20 years without reaching the state tournament. So, how did Begeman jump start the small Sioux Falls private school back to a tourney team in just his second season? By the 1990's, the Knights were a fixture in the event, reaching the championship game four times from 1992-2005. This included each of Begeman's final two seasons at O'G, with son Mitch at point guard. And, then, poof, it was over. Begeman called it quits before age 50, choosing to accept a "private sector" job that allowed him to attend plenty of Mitch's games at USD—something being a prep bench boss would not allow. And Begeman never returned to the bench, spending over 15 years as a public relations manager, then vice president at Sanford Health. Did he miss leading young men on the hardwood? Did he have any regrets about switching gears? With a 329-212 record over 26 seasons as coach and 399-222 mark when factoring in his Parker playing days, the only coaching feat Begeman did not reach was hoisting the state title trophy. So, what did it mean to Begeman when Mitch led Sioux Falls Roosevelt to wins over O'Gorman and Begeman's replacement, Derek Robey in back-to-back seasons of 2021 and '22? Now over four years retired from Sanford, Begeman still spends time in leadership roles and recently won a landslide election to be a Minnehaha County precinct committeeman. Begeman sits down with the Happy Hour host for almost 80 minutes for a look back at a basketball life well lived... and one that's still going strong.
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