Former Jewell coach Larry Holley has died. His wins and ways will long be remembered

In his last year of recruiting, more than four decades into the job, former William Jewell men’s basketball coach Larry Holley took a trip to McPherson, Kansas.

He met with Mason Alexander, who had anticipated talking the X’s and O’s of college basketball. How might he fit in?

That’s how most of these visits had gone.

Not this one.

“This guy is one of the great basketball coaches, and he has all these wins, but instead all he cared about was my major, my plans after college, what my parents do, if I have brothers and sisters,” Alexander said. “He was just interested in who I was.”

Holley, who coached college hoops for a half century, including 40 years at William Jewell, died unexpectedly Thursday. He was 76.

He leaves a legacy as one of the winningest coaches in men’s basketball history, a mere footnote to those who knew him.

Holley grew up in small-town Jameson, Missouri, graduating with a class of just 10. He attended William Jewell as a three-sport athlete before embarking on a coaching career.

In that endeavor, he amassed 918 wins, making stops at Central Methodist and Northwest Missouri State before a 40-year run at William Jewell. The wins rank 10th in history for all of college basketball, just ahead of Bob Huggins, Roy Williams and Bob Knight.

Holley’s name is synonymous with high school basketball in Kansas City. In 1980, he started the William Jewell Holiday Classic high school tournament, drawing the city’s best teams on the Missouri side of the state line.

But a favorite line of his — which had nothing to do with the particulars of basketball — perhaps described him best.

All roads lead to Jameson.

“The thing for me is his relational connection with former players, coaches, even officials,” said Chris McCabe, who succeeded Holley at William Jewell in 2019. “Everybody has a Larry Holley story.”

If a former player’s name popped up during a conversation, as Alexander recalled, Holley could provide you the rundown of his life. Work. Marriage. Kids.

Just last week, Holley and his wife, Linda, invited Alexander, John Zimmerman and Robbie Hanson to their home for dinner. It was a tradition for Holley for each graduating class. Those three comprised his final recruiting class.

“Everyone should know how Coach Holley was as a person. His wins speak for themselves,” Alexander said. “If you ever talk to him, the first thing he would talk about his how successful his ex-players were.”

The court at William Jewell’s Mabee Center is named for Holley. Four of his teams reached the Final Four, and three more the Elite Eight. His 2004 team received the No. 1 ranking in the national tournament. He won 11 regular-season conference championships.

Asked to describe Holley’s coaching style, Alexander provided one word — professional. He never cussed, or at least never did around his players, and didn’t tolerate his players cussing, either. His non-negotiable requirements included all players keeping their shirts tucked in — “shirt tails in,” he’d say — and wearing identical uniforms to practice, including the undershirt, and matching shoes to games.

Holley is a member of five Halls of Fame — NAIA, William Jewell College, Missouri Sports, Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches Association and the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

He has three daughters — Lindsay, Lauren and Lacey.