Leaving a legacy at every step of his basketball journey...
Coach Showalter left an impact along each step of his basketball journey. Here are a few reflections from those that shared and continue to share the journey with him:
Steve Forbes, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Wake Forest University
Forbes attended Coach Showalter’s basketball camps and clinics as a youth in Lone Tree, Iowa.
“I would not be where I am today without the teachings, guidance, and leadership Don Showalter has provided me since the summer of 1974 when he introduced me to the game of basketball. Coach Showalter possesses the rare quality of being able to lead people of all ages, young and old. Players and coaches gravitate to him due to his willingness to give back to the game that he loves and has dedicated his life to.”
Steve Brower, Head Football and Assistant Basketball Coach, Lone Tree High School (1974-77)
“Don always had a long-term perspective. He always had an idea about what he wanted to do and it wasn’t just a short-term idea, he was thinking well into the future. Even in his first year in coaching. He was out always working with basketball. He was always drawing up plays. I think he loved it. I know he did.”

Lonnie Meade, Central Elkader High (1977-79)
“He was one of the most influential people in my life in terms of how things turned out for me. He was constantly talking about the future after high school and college. At the time I was not sure I was going to make it to college. He cared about you and it was not always about basketball.”

Todd Bontrager, Mid-Prairie High 84’
“I was set on being a teacher and a coach,” recalls Bontrager. “Someday I wanted to be like Coach Showalter. That was my motivation.”

Gerry Beeler, Mid-Praire High Principal (1996-2013)
Beeler met Coach Show at the Bobby Knight Basketball Camp in 1986.
“He was dedicated to coaching all students regardless of the talent level,” said Beeler. “I will never forget this...but his team had a game that could of went either way and they lost. And I know he stayed up real late looking at tape or whatever trying to get beyond it. And then he gets up at 8:00 AM in the morning and has a very positive enthusiastic demeanor with the elementary kids on their Saturday morning clinic or camp.”
Tom Hill, Mid-Prairie High 92’
A two-year varsity non-starter for the Golden Hawks, Hill is currently an educator and coach in the Centerville Community School District (Iowa).
“My Dad was pretty hardcore. I would get off practice and have to go home and do chores and study,” recalls Hill. “My Dad and I weren’t really close going through high school. I can honestly say that Coach Show motivated me in so many ways to be better. I relied on him a ton growing up.”
James Gardiner, Mid-Prairie High 04’
Gardiner, from England, was one of two international players to play for Coach Showalter in his 28 seasons at the Wellman-Kalona school.
“I came to more structure. I could not skip school like I used to. I could not play the sick note,” recalls Gardiner. “There was a curfew. I grew up in pretty rough areas and I was always fighting. I come over here and I have a curfew. I never had a curfew in my life.”

Mark Schneider, Superintendent, Mid-Prairie School District (2001-2022)
“Don always expected the best of himself and he did not expect more from other people than he did from himself,” said Schneider. “When he made mistakes as a teacher and a coach, he never tried to cover them up. It was full transparency. He was always willing to improve; his team, himself, or individual players.”
Travis Kern, Mid-Prairie High 05’
Kern is Mid-Prairie’s all-time leading scorer with 1,503 career points.
“As a kid, I was fortunate growing up so close to him. He dragged me to Snow Valley Camps. He had taken me there since I was in 3rd grade. I was the youngest kid at camp just getting my tailed kicked day in and day out,” remembers Travis. “He was trying to make me better and I really appreciated that about him – taking an interest in me at such a young age.”

Ryan Schlabaugh, Mid-Prairie High 89’
Currently a City Administrator for the City of Kalona, Schlabaugh received a message from his former coach about a fundraising project for a new athletic facility at Mid-Prairie a few years after Showalter had retired from the school district.
“I remember getting a text from Coach Show. ‘What do you guys need?’ I said you can make a donation or whatever and within a couple of days we had a commitment and a check. He called some other friends and they sent checks.”
Quinn Cook, Two-Time NBA Champion
“I was always a top player and I was a star player at DeMatha (High School) my sophomore year and he gave me a lot of confidence because he named me captain and he gave me the ball,” said Quinn Cook, co-captain for the U16-U17 teams in 09’ and 10.’ “I had to earn it but he appreciated my leadership skills. I know I was not the most talented on the team but he always made me feel as talented and important as anybody. He took my game to another level.”

Terry Coleman, Athletic Director, Iowa City High School (2013-2019)
“…his ability to cultivate an atmosphere, a culture, where the kids just wanted to be there – even if they never saw the playing court. I think there was one year he kept 24 guys on his roster. And you know at the most you play eight or so. And those guys knew they were not going to play. But, those guys wanted to be there and be a part of it…”
Fran McCaffery, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, University of Iowa
“There’s a perception that elite athletes need to be treated differently. I don’t think that’s true and Don has proven that. He connects with them. He recognizes that each person is different and he will connect with that individual.”
Eric Flannery, Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at St. Edward HS (Ohio)
Flannery served as a U16-U17 Assistant Coach with USA Basketball in 2013 and 2014.
“He uses his presence – almost being an ambassador to our game in different places around the world. Every time we travel, Don tries to make an opportunity where he can teach – whether it is other coaches or meeting with young players and running a clinic.”
Kevin Sutton, Director of Basketball Strategies at Kansas State University
Sutton served as a U16-U17 Assistant Coach with USA Basketball in 2009 and 2010.
“He takes a teacher’s approach in his position as a coach and uses it as a platform to impact as many lives as he possibly can through basketball,” said Sutton. “At the same time, Showalter molded the elite athletes into a team in a short period of time, getting them to buy into the team concept.”

Jay Bilas, ESPN
“I think he feels a responsibility to share what he knows and to mentor young coaches to better the game. Don feels an important responsibility to leave the game better than he found it and he has done that. He has grown the game. Don has done it most of the time out of the spotlight. He’s carried an enormous load in this game and he’s every bit a Hall of Famer in my view as Coach K, Popovich, and as all these other great coaches are.”
Tony Dorado, National Manager of High School Basketball, NIKE
“He garners a lot of respect from player evaluations. You have NBA people out there who trust Don’s opinion. He’s looked at as somebody that is not only just a teacher of the game, not only just a good “X and O” guy, not only good at handling players, but he is also a good evaluator of talent.”