Mike Worrell had a successful 22-year-run as the head coach of the Illinois College Blueboys in Division III.
Twice Worrell was named Midwest Conference Coach of the Year while also earning a milestone 200th victory as head coach during the 2016-17 season.
He led the Blueboys to their first Midwest Conference Championship and NCAA tournament appearance back in 2002-2003.
So, a few years ago, when Worrell took the associate athletics director position at Bethany College, he did so with the eventual plan to get back into coaching somewhere. Just not right away.
After 20-plus years as head coach, physical education department instructor and often times game day manager at IC, he needed a bit of a breather.
Last season, Worrell broke out his whistle to assist then Bethany head men’s basketball coach Nick Hager coach the Bison.
When the position became available, then athletics director Steve Thompson phoned up Worrell to offer him the position.
“I was actually in Illinois on Memorial Day Weekend when Steve let me know the position had just opened up. He knew I still wanted to coach somewhere at some point.
“He asked if I wanted to take over and I said yes, I will. I know most of the guys and I assisted last season.”
It wasn’t long after that Thompson announced he was leaving Bethany to take a position at Baldwin Wallace.
So not only is Worrell the head men’s basketball coach, but he also succeeded the men who put him in that coaching role. Worrell is now also the athletics director, albeit on an interim basis.
“I told people that it was nice being No. 2 and not being in charge of everything,” Worrell said when asked about being in the assistant or associate roles.
“I hadn’t been an assistant for so long, I enjoyed doing that. I felt that I was ready to take over somewhere again, but wasn’t sure where, or when.”
No Time Like the Present
Worrell is getting somewhat of a late start but has hit the recruiting trail hard. Bethany has a number of guys committed from the 2021 class, but Worrell things there’s a few more to bring into the fold before he announces his recruiting class.
That being said, he wants to increase the overall numbers in the program, in addition to the talent.
In the past, Worrell’s programs have fielded rosters somewhere in the 20- 22-player range. That enabled him to field a sort of junior varsity or feeder program for the guys maybe not quite ready for the transition to college ball, or the ones talented enough but sitting behind a veteran at their position.
Playing a full or near full jayvee schedule allowed the younger players to compete, get acclimated to the program, the system, and the college game itself.
Bethany is coming off a 2-8 record while finishing last in the PAC, falling in the first round of the tournament to conference newcomer Franciscan.
The Bison were led by senior Dalton Hamrick’s 18.4 points per game average, good enough to earn him honorable-mention all-PAC. Sophomore Brendan Riggs (10.2), Asa Klimchock (9.3) and Wheeling Park rookie Travis Zimmerman (9.3 and 6.3 rebounds per game) also showed promise.
“We have 10 or 11 returnees,” Worrell said. “It’s been a tough last 3-4 years for the juniors and seniors, but the potential is there. If the guys are really hungry to win some games, we will compete.
“You can be competitive on the lower end of the talent scale, but it’s hard to win big, win championships, if that level isn’t where it needs to be.
“I want to bring in good players, who are also good students, and those that want to be here at Bethany.
“I’d like to beef up our numbers as far as the roster is concerned.”
Numbers, Numbers, Numbers
Recruiting at the Division III level poses its challenges.
While D3 schools can provide different types of aid, there’s no full ride athletic scholarships at that level.
People leave the program, the school, or the game altogether for a multitude or reasons.
“I’ve always contended that at Division III, you have to work hard at it and recruit a lot more numbers than in Division 1 or 2. You lose recruits for various reasons.
“I’ve seen it every way possible. Some want to concentrate on academics more, some want to enjoy their social life, and maybe they just don’t love to play as much as they used to.
“It’s a big time commitment.”
Worrell recalls one class during his coaching tenure that featured around 9-10 players that all stuck it out until they were seniors.
Those are special classes, but they are rare. That’s why you have to bring in the talent, and in large amounts, each season.
Winning is about a lot of hard work, but it also requires a little luck too sometimes. You not going to find major discrepancies in coaching ability these days.
“When I first got into coaching, sometimes you’d play a team, whether it was D2, NAIA, D3, where that team didn’t know what they were doing. But it’s not that way anymore. I don’t remember the last time I went into a game knowing that the other coach didn’t have a handle on things. Everybody today is well coached.”
Worrell lauded Hagar’s coaching ability. He got to see it firsthand and knew he was a knowledgeable, good coach.
“A lot of the teams are even,” Worrell said. “You stay healthy, win the close games, catch a break and fate may be on your side,” Worrell said. “The talent level is so even in D2, D3 anymore. It’s extremely competitive.”
