NSU Coach Don Meyer Congratulated (Sen. John Thune)

For many people, Don Meyer’s life can be summed up in terms of wins and losses.  That’s not too much of a surprise for a guy who surpassed legendary coach Bob Knight last week atop the NCAA men’s all-time wins list, but for most who know Coach Meyer the win list is even longer off the court than it is on the court.

Going into this basketball season there was an expectation that Meyer would break the record, but that expectation was revisited by some in September when he was involved in a near fatal automobile accident on his way to an annual team retreat. Northern State University players and assistant coaches rushed to his aid, trying to help any way they could until help arrived. Although a car accident resulting in the loss of the lower half of his left leg would seem like a tragedy to many, Meyer was at practice at 5 AM the day after he got out of the hospital.

This alone is a measure of the strength of character of a man who not only is a world-class basketball clinician, but a world-class teacher and mentor on the fundamentals of everyday life. The number of lives that Coach Meyer has positively impacted far surpasses the 903 wins he has accumulated throughout his coaching career.

If you asked Coach Meyer about the wins in his life he would list his wife, Carmen, his family, friends, colleagues, past and present players, and supporters, long before you would hear about the win record. To Meyer, winning is about improving the lives of those around him and doing better tomorrow than you did today.”

Don Meyer is the head men’s basketball coach at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.