Former Langford Area coach Paul Raasch will be honored this week as a member of the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association (SDBCA) Hall of Shrine.
Raasch, along with former Hanson basketball coach Jim Bridge, Summit natives Richard “Dick” Hansen and Dave Anderson, and Wakonda native Milton Sorenson will be inducted into the Hall. Bridge and Sorenson were honored at the Class B girls state tournament last week in Brookings, and Raasch and Hansen and Anderson will be recognized at the Class B boys state tournament in Aberdeen this week.
Raasch, a 1982 Castlewood High School and 1986 South Dakota State University graduate, has been a boys basketball coach in South Dakota for the past 40 years. He taught and coached for 10 years each in Alpena and Webster, 16 years at Langford and the past four in his hometown. He’s also coached girls basketball, football and track.
During his career, Raasch has guided 13 teams to the state Class B boys basketball tournaments including leading Castlewood to a state title in 2025 and Langford Area to runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2015. He also led Langford to two state Class 9B championship football games, winning in 2015 and finishing as the runner-up in 2016, and is one of only four coaches in state history with basketball and football state titles.
The longest active tenured boys basketball coach in South Dakota, he has compiled a career record of 641-264 and is currently third overall in boys basketball career wins in South Dakota. He also compiled a 106-63 record in eight years as a head girls’ basketball coach and an 85-49 record in 14 seasons as a football coach.
Raasch has been selected as the South Dakota High School Coaches Association’s Boys Basketball Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2025, South Dakota Sportswriters Association Prep Boys Coach of the Year in 2025, football and basketball Region Coach of the Year 11 times and a national finalist for NFHSCA Boys Basketball Coach of the Year in 2025.
In addition, he served as a South Dakota All-Star Games coach four times and served the SDBCA as a representative on the group’s advisory committee and as a region director. He was also inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
Hansen and Anderson developed their passion for South Dakota high school basketball at a young age. They attended their first state tournament in 1965 at Aberdeen and were instantly hooked. The lifelong friends moved to Minnesota after their graduations before Hansen returned to South Dakota and spent one year as a teacher and coach at Bristol High School.
Hansen kept up on sports all over the country, subscribing to several publications. In his reading, he came across a magazine that covered New York City high school basketball and the idea was born to cover his home state. He recruited his longtime friend Anderson to write the book. Together, they spent more than 30 years on a mission to cover South Dakota’s high school basketball, coaches and players.
Bridge began his career in 1980 as a college student working in South Dakota schools as a coach at Springfield, Bon Homme, Wagner and Armour. His lengthy career in education included 10 years as a teacher and a combined 29 years as a principal and superintendent. Included in that span were 34 years as Hanson’s athletic director and 38 years as the school’s head girls’ basketball coach.
With 636 wins, he is the state’s all-time winningest girls’ basketball coach. He is a six-time Region Girls Basketball Coach of the Year, three-time Region Athletic Director of the Year and a Region Assistant Boys Coach of the Year. He served as a South Dakota All-Star girls basketball coach coach in 1994 and 2020 and in 2000, he coached Team South Dakota to the Down Under Hoops Classic Championship on the GOLD Coast of Australia.
Sorenson was born in 1935 at Wakonda and became one of the most prolific scorers in state boys basketball history with 2,480 points for Wakonda High School.
After high school and military service with the Army, he attended Southern State Teachers College. It was during this time that he became a referee. Due to his bald head, professional appearance and consistent by-the-book calls, the nickname “Mr. Clean” was earned. Notably, Sorenson refereed six state basketball tournaments in addition to a Harlem Globetrotters game. He also refereed for football, including the first-ever game played at the Dakota Dome, and umpired slowpitch softball.
