Maurer will be inducted into Hall

~ The former Notre Dame player and coach will enter the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.

Cape Girardeau native Don Maurer recently received a letter from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

Maurer, head boys basketball coach at MICDS in suburban St. Louis the past five years, figured he knew what the letter entailed.

"I thought it was about their all-star game, because the good player we had was picked for it," Maurer said.

But the letter was actually to inform Maurer that he would be inducted into the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. The 2006 class will be honored Friday during a ceremony in Springfield.

"It caught me off guard," Maurer said. "I was very surprised. I had no idea. I don't even know who nominated me.

"I'm quite honored and I'm humbled by it. It's a neat deal."

Maurer, who recently retired as the MICDS coach -- he will remain at the school as associate athletic director -- has been a coach for the past 28 years.

A 1974 graduate of Notre Dame High School, Maurer began his career in 1978 as head coach at St. Vincent High School. One year later he returned to his alma mater as head coach and led Notre Dame to consecutive district titles in 1984 and 1985.

Following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant under Lou Henson at the University of Illinois, Maurer returned to Missouri to become head coach at St. Louis University High School. His SLUH teams captured district titles in 1989, 1990 and 1993.

After leaving SLUH, Maurer went to MICDS and his first team there in 2001-02 won the Class 3 state championship with a 29-3 record.

"When you get a chance for your team to win a state championship ... it's really special," the 50-year-old Maurer said. "So many great coaches never got that opportunity.

"But I've said it before, the best thing about coaching has been being able to develop so many great relationships through this job."

Maurer will enter the Hall of Fame one year after current Notre Dame coach Paul Hale was inducted. Also being inducted this year will be current Portageville coach Jim Bidewell.

"There are so many good people in there," Maurer said. "I'm honored."

Maurer, always quick with a quip, couldn't resist taking a shot at himself.

"The coaches association has made so much progress over the years, really doing a lot of good things, but it's definitely taken a step backward with me going in," he said.

Added a laughing Maurer, "But I'm happy they're letting me go in."