Coaches

John Strell

Year Inducted: 1984

Category: Coaches

Schools / Organizations: Illinois Valley Community College
Oglesby Junior College

Biography: John Strell coached basketball for 28 years at LaSalle-Peru’s Oglesby Junior College and its’ successor, Illinois Valley Community College. His team won four conference championships, six sectional championships and in 1959 were Region IV champions and competed in the National Junior College Tourney at Hutchinson, Kansas.  Four of Strell’s players were named All-American selections and he also coached one junior college player invited to the Olympic team tryouts- Len Bryant. When Strell gave up coaching in 1972, his teams had won 335 games and lost 180 and Strell was the second oldest basketball coach in terms of service in the country. Two of Strell’s former athletes became college presidents in Illinois. John died on December 1, 2006 at the age of 92.