'One heck of an honor': Dover's Bob Von Kaenel to enter Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame

It’s the greatest basketball honor a person can receive in the Buckeye State.

Dover High School’s legendary head boys’ basketball coach Bob Von Kaenel will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Columbus on Saturday, April 20.

Von Kaenel joins a star-filled class to be enshrined that evening at the Polaris Hilton, including Sylvia Crawley Spann, Don DeVoe, Craig Ehlo, Tyrone Hill, Jack Greynolds (posthumously), Dan Hughes, Thurman Leggs Jr., Kirk Martin, Mel Nowell, Bev Obringer, Lauren Prochaska and the 1976 Barberton state champion boys’ basketball team.

“I got word in late November that it was going to happen,” said Von Kaenel, who is ranked in the top five all-time in Ohio high school boys’ basketball history with 741 coaching wins, including 11 years as head coach at Tusky Valley and the past 33 seasons as head coach at Dover.

“It’s pretty exciting, and I feel like it’s one heck of an honor,” said the Crimson Tornadoes’ coach.

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Von Kaenel, who is a Strasburg native and former four-sport athlete in football, basketball, baseball and track for the Tigers, credits another Hall of Fame coach with his early love of basketball and coaching.

“I would say from my beginning as a head coach that (the late HOF coach Charlie Huggins (was instrumental),” said Von Kaenel. “We were real close with the Huggins family from his time at Strasburg (and Indian Valley South and Conotton Valley). Basketball was high profile at Strasburg, we had a very good team year in and year out. You had to wait your turn to get to play. We went to the regional finals when I was a senior.”

Along the way to his 741 coaching wins, Von Kaenel, who is also a member of the Ohio Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has guided countless Tusky Valley and Dover teams to league, sectional, district and regional crowns as well as three trips to the state tournament (one at Tusky Valley and two at Dover).

“I started at Tusky Valley as the head coach in ’81 and was there until ’91,” said Von Kaenel, a graduate of Alderson-Broaddus. “I had 11 years there and in ’88 we lost in the state championship game after we had advanced to the finals. Steve Franks, the athletic director, was a sophomore point guard for me and one of the key players on that team, along with the Vaughn brothers, of course. Then, I took the Dover job in the 1991-1992 school year.”

All three of those trips to the state tournament hold a very special place for Von Kaenel, but one stands out in particular.

“Undoubtedly, the 1998 (Dover) state semifinal (team) when we beat Akron Hoban (46-45) on a shot at the buzzer on a full-court pass from my son (Marc) to Ben Swartzwelder,” said Von Kaenel of his personal all-time favorite coaching memory. “It was a Christian Laettner play to hit that shot at the buzzer to win by one. That was a thrilling tournament win. It was also the last year (for the state tournament) at St. John Arena.”

The Crimson Tornadoes (24-3) ended up the Division II state runner-up that season to Cleveland Benedictine. Von Kaenel also guided the 2004 Tornadoes (22-4) to the state tournament.

Basketball has been a labor of love for Von Kaenel, who has been named the Ohio Coach of the Year on three different occasions and has won countless league, district, regional and statewide honors.

“I think from the time I was a ninth grader in school I knew I never wanted to be anything else but a teacher and a coach,” he said. “I really can’t say I ever wanted to be anything else but that. I feel very blessed — the Lord has blessed me greatly.”

Von Kaenel says the thousands of relationships and lifetime bonds he has made with players and coaches alike are what mean the most to him.

“That’s the most rewarding thing about the whole job,” he said. “We have a (well-attended) alumni game every year on Thanksgiving morning. That’s really a connection that we keep in getting to know where the alumni is that played basketball (at Dover). We also get a birthday card sent out to them and things like that. That’s the most rewarding part of coaching is having those guys come back around. I probably don’t go a week without hearing from somebody — in and out of season. I’m always thankful for the support of our basketball alumni — all the guys who played for me at Dover and Tusky Valley. I always try to keep a connection with all of them.”

Von Kaenel said all of his success starts at home with a family that has supported him 100 percent in his long and successful journey as one of Ohio’s greatest basketball coaches.

“I think the greatest assistant coach in the world is my wife, Beth,” said Von Kaenel. “She helps me through so much and is so supportive of everything we do. She still remains active with the Mothers Club and different stuff. There’s always a planner for the things that we do.

“And both of my sons and their families are so important. My oldest son, Matthew, has been my assistant coach on the sidelines for 25 years. And his brother, Marc played quarterback at Muskingum and was the starter down there and played on the ’98 (Dover) team that was our state runner-up team. Matt had graduated the year before. Probably one of the more exciting years for me was having them (Matt and Marc) playing varsity for me at the same time and that was pretty much in ’97. Matt was a senior, and Marc was a sophomore.”

Von Kaenel said winning takes a cumulative effort of many.

“I’ve been lucky to have great assistant coaches help me along the process, as well as great parents and great kids,” he said. “It altogether adds up to success. Also, and thank you to Doc Daugherty, he’s the founder of this Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame from up in Euclid, and he’s been a good friend and very supportive person for me.”

Von Kaenel has never had a losing season at Dover after being named the Crimson Tornadoes’ head coach before the 1991-92 season. The Tornadoes have racked up 33 consecutive winning campaigns, one of the longest ongoing streaks in OHSAA history.

“I think at one time somebody told me Cincinnati Moeller was the only other (Ohio school) they knew (with such a long winning streak),” said the Dover coach.

Von Kaenel says it’s a special privilege to coach in one of the oldest and greatest rivalries in Ohio high school sports history — Dover vs. New Philadelphia.

“It’s personal, their kids know our kids and our kids know their kids and that makes it even better," he said. "If anybody ever asks me, why did I leave Tusky Valley, it’s because I wanted my kids to play in the Dover-Philly games. I wanted them to have that Dover-Philly experience. I’m so glad we did that — and I loved it at Tusky Valley, I really loved it there, and it was a tough decision. For the longest time my kids were at Strasburg, and I was (coach) at Tusky Valley, and then finally we all got to be in the same place.”

Von Kaenel counts his blessings that he’s gotten the chance to live his dream to be a head coach and enjoy success at the highest level.

“You just feel so blessed,” he said. “I’ve had a chance to live my dreams, to chase them. We’ve tried our hardest every year, and to be involved with young people certainly keeps you young, and to have the family and support that I have and the administrative support that I’ve had through the years at all places, has made it an enjoyable life.”

The 17th Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame induction is set for Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton Inn at Polaris in Columbus. There is a pre-reception at 4 p.m. before the actual induction ceremony, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum at ohiobasketballhalloffame.com.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Dover's Bob Von Kaenel to enter the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame