WEBSTER CITY - It's a call he never expected, but one he'll never forget.

The Hall of Fame came a calling last week and Bob Josten, the former longtime boys' basketball coach at Webster City High School, was more than happy to pick up the phone and answer.

Josten will be one of three boys' basketball coaches to be inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in March during the boys' state tournament in Des Moines. He will be joined by Steve McGraw, formerly of Waterloo East High School, and Bob Horner, the former head man at Mason City High School.

IHSAA Information Director Bud Legg gave Josten the news last week, and Josten says he still can't believe it.

"I'm totally in shock about the whole thing," he said Thursday afternoon. "It was a total surprise and it was very unexpected, but I'm very excited about the honor. It's a testimony to all the great players that have gone through the system over the course of the years that I spent at Webster City. There were a lot of great basketball players, but they were also great individuals and great students."

Josten spent a total of 32 years on the basketball bench, the final 27 years of his career at Webster City. He hung up his whistle following the 2003 season with a career record of 368-235, and then spent the next five years following his son, Jared, around while he played Division I basketball at the University of Northern Iowa. Jared graduated from WCHS in 2003 as the school's all-time points leader.

The Lynx won eight North Central Conference championships and reached the Class 3A state tournament twice - first in 1985 and again in 2001 - during Josten's tenure.

Josten began his coaching career at St. Mary's High School in Clinton - his alma mater. He coached the sophomore boys' basketball program and also served as the school's head football coach for one year before leaving for Burlington Notre Dame High School. He spent four seasons as the head boys' basketball coach there and then departed for Webster City in 1976.

Mark Davis coached under Josten for 11 years at Webster City, and Davis was eventually the man to take over for him in the winter of 2003. Davis says the IHSAA got it right when they decided to bring his mentor into the elite group.

"I think it's great for coach Josten to be recognized for his significant contributions to basketball," Davis, who also led the Lynx to a pair of state tournament appearances, said. "What he did for this school and the program reflect how hard he worked at coaching the game."

Davis said that Josten's teams were known for their offensive innovation, and that was the work of the man with the chalkboard.

"(Josten) could diagram a play in a minute and find ways to beat teams," Davis said. "So his offensive mind and his schemes were very good, but I think his teams were overlooked defensively. College coaches that recruited some of his kids commented that they already knew how to play defense and that was something that made him proud."

For Josten, all of the victories and league championships were gratifying, but now that his career is in the rearview mirror he says that the interaction with the athletes is what he remembers the most.

"After 31 years of coaching, I realized that there's a lot more enjoyment to the game than just winning and losing," he said. "It was a lot of fun dealing with those young guys all those yearsthat's the true reward."

Joining the three coaches in the Hall of Fame will be new player inductees Bob Ricker of Diagonal, Brian McDermott of Cascade, Chuck Harmison of Ames, Jamie Lilly of Humboldt, Loren DeKruyf of Boyden-Hull, Klay Edwards of Winfield Mt.-Union and Cary Cochran of Tri-Center.