The All Time Greats 

A variety of criteria could factor into being named one of the best OHS basketball players: records, legacy, let alone the ability to win games. Without a doubt, one of the greatest is Alan Gissler. Alan was on the varsity team from 1965 to 1967. He held numerous records that would stand for 55 years. Alan held the single game scoring and rebounding record with 53 points and 30 rebounds. He also held the single season scoring record and the single season rebounding record. And, not so surprisingly, he also held the career scoring and rebounding records. This man was phenomenal. Not only was he setting records, but he was leading his team to a ton of wins. Alan led his team to a state tournament appearance in his senior year where they lost in the semifinals. 

Unfortunately, Alan isn’t here with us today, but I got the chance to interview a fellow teammate of his. Charles Roborts, a senior on that team, gave us some insight on what it was like playing with Gissler. Charles said, “Well, we didn’t run any set plays or anything. We just shot the ball and if it didn’t go in usually Alan was there to grab the rebound. We played a 1-2-2 zone defense and were a run-and-gun team.” 

There are many more greats in Osceola’s program history. Coach Zelasney brought up Grant Willits. “I played with Grant, and he just saw the court very well. Amazing defensive player. He just was a different type of player. He could get hot very quickly.” I asked Coach to name a couple other players, and he brought up Isaiah Zelasney and Kale Gustafson. "You can tell those two hold a good amount of those records on the board. The crazy part is, they played together for three years." Although no state championship came out of their run together, they led Osceola to three straight state tournament appearances and two conference championships. I’m sure I missed a couple but those are some of the “GOATS” in Osceola Boys' Basketball.