by Mark Znidar, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH , The Columbus Dispatch

"I grew up in a family of nine boys, and there was always something going on," he said. "There was at least one Niekamp playing basketball for St. Henry for a period of 18 years."

Niekamp laughed hard at the memory.

"I like telling this story," he said. "The 19th year (in 1979), when there was no Niekamp on the team, St. Henry won the state championship with Jim Lachey playing a big role. They had to get rid of all those Niekamps to win a championship."

These days, the University of Findlay has no plans to get rid of its Niekamp. Ron, the third of the nine Niekamp boys, completed his 24th season by leading the team to the NCAA Division II national championship and a 36-0 record.

Coaches in the state overwhelmingly voted Niekamp the Dispatch Ohio men's basketball coach of the year.

Findlay won three of its games in the tournament in overtime, including 56-53 in the championship game against Cal Poly Pomona as guard Tyler Evans of Logan Elm hit a three-point basket at the buzzer.

As usual, the event was a family affair for the 59-year-old Niekamp, whose wife, Doris, and 82-year-old father, Paul, watched from the grandstands in Springfield, Mass. Niekamp's mother, Dorothy, died in July 2008.

Brother Joe Niekamp, a coach himself at St. Henry, said the old days were the start for Ron.

"Basketball always was a passion for us," he said. "Our brother Pat coaches at Fort Recovery, and Tim once coached basketball in Alaska. There was always something going on at our house. What a job our parents had raising all those boys. We tested their patience. I remember getting up in the morning and sitting at the kitchen table rehashing the game from the night before with my brothers."

Joe lived through Ron during Findlay's run in the tournament.

"We've all remained close and we all pull for the Oilers," he said. "What a year for them. Ron reached the pinnacle. I'm full of admiration for what they did after so many years of making deep runs in the tournament."

Ron has never wandered far from St. Henry. He coached 13 years in high school, taking Ottawa-Glandorf to the state tournament in 1977 and '78 and Lima Senior that far in 1982, before going to Findlay.

At Findlay, Niekamp has won four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, eight GLIAC division championships and 550 games. He has won 20 or more games in 18 seasons.

"Our time in Findlay has been wonderful and this championship was the ultimate," he said. "This is going to stay with you forever. We talked about winning the national championship when these players were freshmen. The seed was planted at that time. We just didn't expect to take years off people's lives with all those close games at the end. We were totally drained. We were on empty. But we are so happy."

mznidar@dispatch.com

Box Story: Voting results \

Results of voting by coaches for the Dispatch Ohio men's college basketball coach of the year award (first-place votes worth three points, second-place two points and third-place one point; first-place votes in parentheses): \

COACH, SCHOOL ... PTS \

Ron Niekamp, Findlay (23) ... 72

Sean Miller, Xavier (2) ... 30

Gary Waters, Cleveland State (2) ... 28

Keith Dambrot, Akron (2) ... 14

Mike Moran, John Carroll ... 13

Damon Goodwin, Capital ... 9

Brian Gregory, Dayton (2) ... 8

Brad Brownell, Wright State ... 2

K.C. Hunt, Wilmington ... 2

Doug Lewis, Central State ... 2

Louis Orr, Bowling Green ... 2

Charlie Coles, Miami ... 1

Pat Estepp, Cedarville ... 1

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