Throughout his playing days at Liberty Christian Academy, Willy Mueller has gone up for a basketball 1,220 times and no one has gotten the better of him.
That tally of 1,220 rebounds through …
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Throughout his playing days at Liberty Christian Academy, Willy Mueller has gone up for a basketball 1,220 times and no one has gotten the better of him.
That tally of 1,220 rebounds through Jan. 19 ranks Mueller second all-time in program history, behind the 1,230 boards Caleb Fox collected between 2009-13.
With weeks to go, it stands to reason that one day soon, the 6-foot-3 Mueller will stand alone as the best in school history.
“This just shows how hard I’ve worked for something I’ve wanted to achieve,” Mueller said. “(Head coach) Butch (Clark) told me about the record last year. That just gave me my goal.”
With his personal goal firmly in mind, Mueller said that he also aims to help Liberty Christian (14-5) succeed as a team.
With averages of 16.8 points and a robust 15.1 rebounds per game, Mueller is certainly doing his part. It’s an effort that he hopes will help lead the team to not only a Metro Christian Conference championship, but also a Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association (MCSAA) state championship.
It would be the program’s fifth state championship and first since 2019.
“It means a lot because I’ve known all of these guys for a very long time,” said Mueller of the title chases. “To be honest, they're basically family to me. The end goal is to hopefully win MAC (conference) and Joplin.”
Liberty Christian coach Butch Clark paid Mueller the highest of compliments for what he does for the team.
The coach said that Mueller’s contributions go well beyond grabbing a loose basketball here or there.
“Willy is the glue on both ends of the court, scoring and rebounding,” Clark said. “17 points and 15 boards a game is an insane average. His consistency has been amazing. Willy is a fun-loving guy and a great teammate. (He has a) great personality and sense of humor. He also is a great competitor on the court. He loves to mix it up inside.”
Clark added that he, honestly, thought that Fox’s mark would be untouchable.
“Caleb was a rebounding machine, plus he started as a freshman,” Clark said. “Pretty difficult for a freshman to be that dominant on the boards. Being able to average 300 rebounds a season is something I never thought would happen again.”
No matter what his final numbers are in terms of rebounds or where the Eagles wind up this season, Clark said he’ll be thankful for two things.
First, for all the friends and experiences the game has afforded him, and second, that he’s going to be fully ready to head for the next chapter of his life.
“I plan on going to work right after high school, probably in sales,” Mueller said. “That’s unless the Lord has other plans for me. Then I would probably stay in sports.”
Mueller said that, even if he goes into sales, sports will always be a part of his life.
“I love hunting and fishing and I really love golf,” he said. “I love just the thrill and excitement of hunting and fishing.”
