Unterreiner reflects on 9-year run at the helm of Notre Dame boys basketball

On Monday it was announced that Notre Dame Bulldogs boys basketball coach Paul Unterreiner would be stepping down after 9 seasons with the team.

On top of serving as the boys' basketball coach at Notre Dame, Unterreiner also is the assistant principal and the Dean of Academics at Notre Dame.

“I had nine really awesome years as a head coach,” Unterreiner said. “This is year three of being an assistant principal and I knew I wanted to keep (coaching) but I only wanted to keep doing it as long as I felt like I’d be good at both.”

Unterreiner said making the decision to step down also had to do with the fact his own children were starting sports as well.

“I want to have time to watch my kids grow up,” Unterreiner said. “My kids are five and seven and they’re just now starting their whole sports world and I don’t want to miss any of it.”

Since the news was announced on Monday, Unterreiner said he’s had countless people reach out to him to wish him well.

“I’ve gone through quite a bit of emotion,” Unterreiener said. “I’ve had people reach out, which I greatly appreciate, but it’s made me second guess a lot of things. But then I get home and hug my kids and realize that just because you’re sad it’s over doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great ride.”

Unterreiner took over in 2014-15 and in his 9 seasons he finished with a record of 159-94, two final four appearances, two SEMO Conference Championships and a Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Championship.

With all of the success on the court, Unterreiner said his favorite part was building relationships.

“It’s not basketball that I love, it’s relationships,” Unterreiner said. “I love building relationships with young people, talking to them about their struggles, talking about the highs and lows of life and just trying to be a positive influence.”

When looking back on the last 9 seasons as head coach, Unterreiner said he will remember many of the people that he crossed paths with along the way.

“I’ve had really awesome young men come through our program who are outstanding husbands, fathers and now friends of mine,” Unterreiner said. “Not just them but the relationships with all the coaches out there and the referees. I’ve built great relationships with them and several of them have reached out to me which means a lot.”

As far as on the court, Unterreiner spoke highly of his senior classes along the way for never giving up.

“I’ve never had a senior class quit during the season,” Unterreiner said. “That’s really never more true than it was this year. We struggled to get wins but we were hanging around and hanging around and I thought that our seniors bought in and truthfully we were a couple of plays away from winning a district championship this year.”

As Unterreiner sits in his office, he is reminded of players from his last 15 years of coaching with photos on the wall.

“When I look at these pictures I don’t remember the year or the season or the wins and losses,” Unterreiner said. “I look at the faces and I remember the fun times we had together, the jokes, the hard times we went through and I picture them where they are now. I’ve had some special people in my life that sing my praises but I am who I am because of them.”