Men's Basketball

50th Anniversary Pilot Profiles - Dave Riffell

Bethel College Basketball will be profiling athletes from the past leading up to a celebration of the 50 years of Pilot Basketball this November

All things considered, Dave Riffell might have been the best player in Bethel history. Twice named to the NCCAA All American team, just missed breaking the school record for career scoring even though injuries limited him to 88 games. The 6-9 center also earned NAIA District 21 honors as a senior.

Probably the finest basketball player ever produced at the tiny Mishawaka college,” wrote the South Bend Tribune Earl Mishler in 1975.

Riffel scored 1,672 (19.0) points and grabbed 1,012 (11.0) rebounds to become the third Pilot in history to combine 1,000 points with 1,000 rebounds.

Riffell poured in 429 points as a freshman to lead the Pilots to a 13-13 record. Bethel finished 16-15 the year before his arrival. But, the 6-9 center blossomed as a senior scoring 513 points as a key figure in Bethel’s first 20-victory season.

“Dave has to be the person most responsible for the turn around of basketball at Bethel College, “ said coach Tom Firestone.

The Pilots finished 55-51 during Riffell’s career and traveled to the NAIA playoffs for the first time in 1973-1974.

An outstanding high school player, Riffell won All State honors at Heath, Ohio as a junior. He was also named on various all-league and all-county teams.

He continued to win awards at Bethel. Riffell was named to the Pilot Invitational team three times, including an MVP award in 1973. He was named to the all tourney teams in the Turkey Classic and Prairie Conference tourneys in 1972. Riffell was honored on the Clearwater Invitational team in 1973-1974 and twice made the NCCAA All District team (’73-’74). He topped those honors with a selection as Bethel Player of the Year in 1972-1973.

iffell tossed in 40 points versus Spring Arbor in 1972-1973 to establish a career high.

After graduation, Riffell played with the South Bend Bisons in the now defunct International Basketball Association and later coached basketball at Caston High School.