S2 Ep 33 - Two-Time State Champion by Dean Vander Plas

On this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, we welcome Dean Vander Plas, a small-town basketball star whose journey from a driveway hoop in rural Wisconsin to the NCAA Tournament is a story of passion, perseverance, and community pride.Dean grew up in Oostburg, a town of about 1,300 people in the mid-1980s. The Vander Plas family had the only basketball hoop in the neighborhood, which meant the local kids gathered there constantly to play. Dean’s father had just one rule: Dean always got to be in the game. It was in that driveway—and later in the Sheboygan County YMCA youth league—that Dean first developed a deep love for basketball.That love would take him far. At Oostburg High School, Dean helped lead the Flying Dutchmen to back-to-back appearances in the state tournament during his junior and senior seasons. The entire town rallied behind the team, even holding an impromptu parade as they advanced to the state tournament in Madison, where they played inside the legendary UW Field House. For a group of small-town athletes, the experience felt straight out of the movie Hoosiers.Oostburg captured the 1986 and 1987 Class C state championships, but the 1987 title nearly slipped away. Trailing by 20 points entering the fourth quarter of the sectional final against Mineral Point, Dean and teammate Travis Gabrielse led a remarkable comeback that remains one of the most memorable moments in program history.After high school, Dean chose basketball over several high-profile football offers and continued his career at University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. In his senior season, the Phoenix earned an NCAA Tournament berth, traveling to Arizona where they battled Michigan State Spartans men's basketball, falling only after a game-winning shot by Steve Smith.Today, Dean enjoys life in northern Wisconsin with his wife, spending time with his three children and embracing his favorite role yet—grandfather. But back home in Oostburg, he’s still remembered as the hometown hero who helped put a small lakeshore community on the basketball map.