https://www.mrt.com/sports/article/Remembering-a-JUCO-legend-7452633.php
Remembering a JUCO legend
Jonathan Hull
Published 1:17 pm CST, Saturday, November 19, 2011
In this Nov. 9, 2011, photo, Oklahoma State head coach Kurt Budke, left, sits on the bench next to associate head coach Jim Littell, right, during an exhibition college basketball game against Ft Hays State in Stillwater, Okla. Following the deaths of Budke and assistant Miranda Serna, Littell will assume head coaching responsibilities. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) less
In this Nov. 9, 2011, photo, Oklahoma State head coach Kurt Budke, left, sits on the bench next to associate head coach Jim Littell, right, during an exhibition college basketball game against Ft Hays State in ... more
Photo: Sue Ogrocki
There are people who I admire that I have no chance of ever meeting as they have moved on from this life to the next. That list has a variety of people from all sorts of different walks of life.
On this list are authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien whose imaginative brains I would love to pick. There are some of my more famous ancestors such as John Neely Bryan, who founded the first settlement of Dallas, or even Davy Crockett, who is a distant cousin.
Then there are obviously some sports figures like Tom Landry or John Wooden. On Friday, I added a new coach to this list.
Like anyone else who heard the news, I was saddened by the plane crash that claimed the lives of Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and his assistant Miranda Serna on Thursday. It's a tragedy that serves as the worst kind of irony for an institution that is no stranger to fatal plane crashes.
But after spending Friday night at Chaparral Center, the loss of Budke and Serna in the women's basketball world took on a whole new meaning for me. That's because I got the privelege of speaking with several people who were directly affected by the deaths of the Oklahoma State coaches. These people revealed not just a great coach to me, but a great man who loved his job as well as the players who had the great fortune of competing for him.
The first person I spoke with about Budke was Midland College women's basketball coach Ron Jones, who referred to Budke as nothing less than a legend at the JUCO ranks. Budke won four national championships as the coach at Trinity Valley Community College, establishing that program as the most decorated women's basketball JUCO team in the country.
Trinity Valley was already established as a national powerhouse when the Midland College women's basketball program was just getting started. Chap Center director Mike Stevens said Budke was more than happy to play Midland College every season and help Jones get the program off the ground in any way he could. Stevens said it was because Budke could see Jones wanted to build the Lady Chaps program the right way and he admired that commitment.
The first time Midland College ever advanced to the national tournament was in 1999 where the Lady Chaps were eliminated in the semifinals by an extremely talented Trinity Valley team. I don't think it's a reach to say Budke's success at Trinity Valley is something Jones wants to emanate at Midland College.
There was a certain sadness in Jones' typically stern face as he spoke about a man he obviously admired. Budke's death seemed "not real" to Jones. He wasn't alone in thinking that way.
Trinity Valley co-head coach Kenya Landers remarked that she kept hoping this was the worst dream ever she would soon wake up from. Landers saw Budke as a father figure, which makes sense considering she both played for and coached with Budke. She was actually the starting point guard on the 1999 Trinity Valley team that ousted Midland College from its first appearance in the national tournament. The Lady Cardinals had a perfect season that year.
Landers went on to star at the University of Texas before playing professionally in Europe for two seasons. She returned to coach under Budke at Oklahoma State before moving to an assistant job at LSU and finally landing the head job at Trinity Valley with her husband Michael Landers. In her first season at the helm of the program, Landers led Trinity Valley to the national championship game where the Lady Cards fell to Northern Idaho.
Every where she goes on the Trinity Valley campus, there are built in reminders of Budke's success. In her office there are the national championship trophies that bear his name. All around the facility in which the Lady Cards play are photos of the national championship teams Budke coached. There isn't a more recognizable name or face to attribute with the Trinity Valley program, and there's no doubt it will always be that way.
It doesn't take long to realize Landers will be coaching with memories of Budke fresh in her mind for the rest of this season. She said the team will don a patch of some sort in Budke's memory for the remainder of the season.
Serna also had plenty of ties to the WNIT. She was an assistant at Trinity Valley under Budke and also played at both Trinity Valley and Central Arizona. Landers called Serna the most genuine, uplifting person she's ever encountered. Midland College athletic director Forrest Allen had similar thoughts on Serna, recalling her sweet demeanor in her many recruiting trips to Chaparral Center over the past several years.
Landers said Budke's priorities were in this order: God, family, school, basketball. After hearing first-hand accounts of his impact on those who had the pleasure of knowing the man and seeing the life he led, I have no doubt Landers' words about her coach/mentor/father figure are completely true.