From the January 2021 edition of The Carthaginian:

It's hard enough to fill the shoes of a school's winningest coach. Now imagine those are your father's shoes.

That shouldn't be a problem for Steve Djurickovic '11, whose shoes are, in fact, a size and a half larger than his dad's. More importantly, he stood up to plenty of pressure as one of the most decorated men's basketball players in Carthage history.

Steve's promotion to head coach took effect Aug. 1, a few weeks after his father, Bosko Djurickovic, announced his intent to retire from the position he held for 24 years.

Bosko walked away as one of the most successful men's basketball coaches in NCAA history, amassing 567 victories to rank among the top 30 in Division III. Of that total, 371 wins came at Carthage, more than doubling the previous school record.

Before Bosko arrived in Kenosha in 1996, the program had won just one College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title. His teams won five of those and made NCAA tournament runs to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four.

The end of one storied career ushered in a new one. Steve spent the past six seasons as an assistant on his father's staff.

"It was obviously a little overwhelming at first," Steve says of the transition to head coach. "I think every assistant coach thinks you're ready to be the head coach and take over right away, but then you find out really quickly there's a lot more to do. From scheduling to different meetings that you have to go to that you didn't as an assistant coach, you learn pretty quickly how you have to adjust and learn as you go."

That's an adjustment Bosko had to make, as well, 35 years earlier at North Park College (now a university) in Chicago.

"I remember when I took over in 1985, we had just won three national championships," recalls Bosko. "I said 'Hey, I've been doing this for 10 years. I'm ready to go, and we're going to win and win.' The first game I coached, we played down at (the University of Illinois at Chicago). It was one of their better teams, and they beat us by 30."

Later in the season, North Park improved enough to win another national title — the first of two for the Vikings under Bosko's leadership. After 10 years there, he moved on to Carthage, where the Djurickovics established deep roots. All three of Bosko's children are alumni: Amanda '09, Steve, and Pete '13.

With 2,547 career points, Steve remains the program's all-time leading scorer. The National Association of Basketball Coaches twice named him an All-American, and his 839 free throws made is a Division III record. He's the only player ever to lead the CCIW in scoring and assists four years in a row.

Like everything in 2020, the coaching transition was unusual.

"So much has changed because of COVID," said Bosko. "Therefore, it wasn't the normal transition where I'm sitting there on my last day and walking out with a big box of stuff."

Steve's success under his father's guidance, both as a student-athlete and an assistant coach, has helped prepare him for this next challenge.

"It's been a fun transition, and the guys on the team have been really good at being adaptable to everything that's going on," he says. "The seniors on the team this year have really stepped up in a leadership position and helped the young guys out. It's not a normal season, but we're trying to make it as close as possible."

Better late than never, the season opened in January 2021. The CCIW isn't allowing fans at the games, but there's one source of support Steve can count on: He'll have not only one of the greatest coaches in his corner, but also a loving and supporting father.

"This is Steve's opportunity to coach the team, but I want to be available," says Bosko. "He needs to be able to put his own fingerprints on what he does, and that's exciting. I am very close with all of our kids, so this is an important step for Steve, and I couldn't be happier."