Former Winfield-Mount Union stars are assistant coaches at Mount Pleasant.

By CHAD DRURY

cdrury@thehawkeye.com

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Eric Rawson and Jess Settles played on the same great basketball teams at Winfield-Mount Union High School in the 1990s, but, according to Settles, "I hardly knew who he was."

That's all changed. Now, they have daily contact and direct influence on a team.

Both are assistant coaches to Mount Pleasant boys basketball coach Paul Rundquist this season, and that daily contact will play a part in determining how far the Panthers advance in the Class 3A state basketball tournament, which begins against Western Dubuque at 3:30 p.m. today at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The former standouts are part of an impressive collection of assistant coaches under Rundquist, who also has Caleb Akey and Tyler Rodgers on his staff. Rawson was the Class 1A tournament leading scorer on the way to a title in 1995, a championship which eluded Settles in 1992 and 1993, and former teammate Klay Edwards in 1994.

Still, as fate would have it, Rawson and Settles are together again, this time trying to guide Mount Pleasant to a state championship instead of playing for one themselves.

"Eric and I are really just getting to know each other, but we're on the phone every day," said Settles, who was inducted into the IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and joined the Panthers' staff last month. "There was kind of a big gap in our age, but we did play together. I know one thing. Eric knows how to win. He didn't lose much."

"Jess was interested in what was going on here, and I told him if he wanted to coach, all he had to do was get his authorization," said Rawson, who is in his third year alongside Rundquist, and works with the guards. "He and I can play off and challenge each other, and it's only been beneficial. He brings great basketball expertise, and is just another set of eyes."

Having strong assistant coaches is nothing new to Rundquist. Not only did he grow up around great coaches because of his father, Gordon, but several of Rundquist's assistants have gone on to head-coaching jobs. Holy Trinity's Loren Menke and Mediapolis' Greg Worrall are just two of them.

"I've been very blessed with good coaches," Rundquist said. "Eric works so hard and he does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. He brings respect because he's been through the battles. All of my assistants -- Caleb Akey and Tyler Rodgers, as well -- are loyal. They trust me and I trust them."

Settles, a former All-Big Ten power forward at Iowa, works with the post players, and has helped first-cousin Henry Krieger-Coble develop into a force in the middle. He's also helped sophomore Nick Lyon make major strides as Krieger-Coble's backup.

"The timing was spectacular for Jess to come on board," Rundquist said. "He was just one more person for the kids to focus on, one more set of eyes. A lot of players-turned-coaches struggle, but he's taken it well. He's positive and optimistic, which is so important when working with high school kids."

"I'm just real thankful for the opportunity," said Settles, who is a volunteer assistant. "I've been able to watch Henry the last few years, and it just worked out that I could join the staff. This is a great group that is all about winning.

"The main reason was to help Henry develop his game because he's such a good player," Settles said. "But it's evolved into a lot of relationships. So much of it is about having good players, and that's what we have here."

Both Rawson and Settles were influenced by their high school coach, Mike Koelker, all those years ago. Rawson has told the players to "play the game in their minds," while Settles has treated the state tournament quarterfinal as if "it's another substate game, because everyone wants to get that final four."

"Coach Koelker obviously had the system down," Settles said. "He never lost a first-round game. I was always a player who was nervous before state tournament games, and I will be again, but it'll be a different feeling. I look at it through the kids' eyes now."

"I've been fortunate enough to pick up things from players and coaches and to pick out the highlights and good points, and put it all together," Rawson said. "It's about mental preparation. If you prepare like it's a state championship game, then you'll be used to it."

Settles never expected to bring an awe-inspiring presence to the gym every day. He didn't want to be viewed as such.

"It was an easy transition," Settles said. "The kids aren't old enough to remember what Eric and I did back then at Winfield. I've kind of buried my own career."

Even though Rundquist hasn't accepted all of Rawson's or Settles' ideas this season, he is grateful for their input. After all, it's not every day a coach has veteran state-tournament experience sitting next to him.

"I think they bring respect to the players because they've been through the battles before," Rundquist said. "All of my assistants are really important to the program. I'd love to have Jess here as long as he's able to do so."

"Eric and I are like vice-presidents," Settles chuckled. "We always throw out ideas. Most of them are rejected."

Rawson painted the perfect picture for the week. Edwards will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday, and Rawson hopes the Panthers are celebrating a 3A championship that same night. It would be the perfect reunion.

Settles, however, was ever the coach.

"That would be great," he said. "But we've got a tough game today. We've got to take one at a time, because we have a golden opportunity to do things."