Mitch Begeman on his basketball journey, bond with his father, and why now was the time to quit coaching HS hoops

If only it was an April Fool's trick.   Last week, Roosevelt boys basketball coach Mitch Begeman surprised many by stepping down at age 38, after 10 years, two state titles back-to-back (2021 and '22), and a third place state finish this year, finishing at 19-5.   It was no April Fool's trick. Begeman joins Happy Hour from the Gateway Lounge to explain how this decision was three years in the making, how he knew all season this would be his last, and how hard it was to deliver the news to his players, principal and athletic director.   Long respected as one of the best coaches and humans in the local hoops scene, Begeman held back little in this 70-minute chat that walked through his basketball journey — first as a budding high school star playing for his father Mike at O'Gorman, then at USD during the Coyotes' last D2 days, and into the coaching world after a brief stint as both a personal hoops coach and personal trainer before diving into coaching, first as a Sioux Falls Skyforce assistant, then at Roosevelt.   He poured out memories the way he poured his heart and soul into the profession and the lives of his players at a program and school marked by a diverse array of students, including those without father figures.