Sheldon Iowa — At halftime of the 4A boys championship game Saturday night in Des Moines this year’s class of the Boys High School Basketball Hall of Fame will be officially inducted. This year’s class includes former Orab Head Coach Claude Struve.
At Sioux Valley High School, Claude was an all-conference athlete and the captain of the baseball, football and basketball conference championship teams for Hall of Fame Coach Bob Miller. He earned his college degree at Wayne State College, Nebraska and served as a teacher and assistant coach at Oakland for three years and to Les Douma at Sheldon for four seasons.
In the 1980-81 season Struve assumed the head basketball position at Sheldon and coached the Orabs for 33 years posting a career record of 432-285. He directed the school to five conference titles and seven District Tournament championships. In his final season in 2013, he led the Orabs to their first Tournament appearance in 36 years and eventually to the Class 2A State Championship, defeating the top-ranked West Fork 48-36 for the title.
Claude was named Northwest Iowa Coach-of-the Year five times including 2013 when he was also the State’s 2A Coach of the Year.
On a recent edition of the Sheldon Sports Scene we talked with Claude and asked what he expected of his players and what they could expect from him.
Struve also talked about how difficult the game of basketball really is
Following the Substate win that propelled the Orabs to the title in 2013 coach Struve told us that it was a win for all of his players that came before that championship team. His feelings are much the same as the Hall of Fame awaits on Saturday night in that he’ll be bringing his former players in with him.
Congratulations to former Orab boys basketball coach Claude Struve on his induction into the Boys Basketball Hall of Fame at halftime of the 4A boys championship game Saturday night in Des Moines.
