Wheaton (Ill.) will have a familiar face at the helm of its men�s basketball program next season, as alumnus Mike Schauer returns as the team�s head coach.
Schauer, who has spent the past seven years as men�s basketball coach at Gordon, replaced Bill Harris, who announced his retirement in March after 18 years and 320 wins at Wheaton, 447 overall.
&&f-boxr&&Schauer began his head coaching tenure in 2000 with two seasons at Eastern. In nine years as a collegiate head coach Schauer has posted a 129-59 career record (.686).
"Mike is an excellent choice for Wheaton, from every perspective: in terms of the basketball component, his ability to serve as a mentor and his skills as a proven leader," said Wheaton athletic director Tony Ladd. "We had an outstanding pool of applicants, however, Mike rose to the top in the process. He brings a familiarity to Wheaton and has a proven track record of success as a head coach at the Division III level."
Schauer earned a bachelor�s degree in communications from Wheaton in 1993, after a four-year career in the men�s basketball program. A team captain as a senior, Schauer ranked first at Wheaton in career three-point field goals made (171) and third in career assists (290) at the time of his graduation. During seven years as Harris� assistant, the program enjoyed seven consecutive winning seasons and earned three NCAA tournament bids.
In seven seasons at Gordon, Schauer turned around a program that had achieved only five winning campaigns in the 30 previous seasons. His 2005-06 team made the Division III NCAA Tournament, as Gordon finished that season with a school-record 23 victories by compiling a 23-5 record.
Schauer assumes a Wheaton program that posted a 26-4 record last season, advancing to the NCAA Division III sectionals for the second consecutive year. Three starters are slated to return for Wheaton next year with senior All-CCIW guard Ben Panner and forward Jake Carwell coming back for the Thunder. Forward Tim McCrary also returns following a freshman campaign that saw him earn recognition as the D3hoops.com Midwest Region Rookie of the Year.