Upper Iowa University Athletics Hall of Fame
Dennis Helms was inducted into the Upper Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame as a coach. Helms graduated from Upper Iowa in 1969 and played basketball for the Peacocks earning a pair of varsity letters. He served as the team captain and earned the team's Most Valuable Player award as a senior. Helms graduated with a degree in physical education and history.
In 2013, Helms was inducted into the National Junior College Association of America's Basketball Hall of Fame. Helms had successful stops at Odessa College, Meridian Community College, Butler Community College, Crowder College and Iowa Western Community College. Over his 32 years as a head coach at NJCAA institutions, Helms posted a career record of 724 wins and 279 losses making him one of just 19 coaches in NJCAA history with over 700 victories.
Helms had the most success during his first run at Odessa from 1986-96. During this decade of dominance, the Wranglers won four Western Junior College Athletic Conference (1988, '89, '93, '94) titles, four NJCAA Region 5 Championships (1988, '89, '90, '93) and four appearances in the NJCAA Division I National Championships (1988, '89, '90, '93).
In 1997, he took over the men's basketball program at Meridian Community College where he guided the Eagles to a two-year record of 49-19, including a fifth-place finish in the 1999 NJCAA Division I National Championships. He moved on to Butler Community College for six seasons from 1999-2005 with the best season coming in 2000-01 when the Grizzlies won the Kansas Jayhawk West Division for the first time in 16 years. Helms returned to Odessa in 2006 and led the Wranglers to 20 or more victories six times and a conference championship in 2008. He amassed a coaching record at Odessa of 426 wins and 124 losses.
During his 32 seasons, Helms developed several future NBA players including three first round and three second round draft picks: Larry Johnson, (UNLV, 1990 #1 NBA Draft Pick), Alvin Robertson (Arkansas, 1984 #7 NBA Draft Pick), Tony Allen (Oklahoma State, 2004 #25 NBA Draft Pick), Rodney Dent (Kentucky, 1994 #32 NBA Draft Pick), Martin Norris (Auburn, #33 1996 NBA Draft Pick) and Ronald Murray (Shaw, 2002 #42 NBA Draft Pick).
Following his time as a head coach in the NJCAA, Helms took his talents to the high school level. He currently serves the Lockhart Independent School District in Texas as a physical education teacher and girls basketball coach.
