LEBANON, ILL. — Harry Statham keeps three binders in his office, each about two inches thick and filled with offensive plays his basketball teams at McKendree University have used since 1966.

He reviews them every year, sometimes adding wrinkles learned at the three coaching clinics he attends annually. But in his 44th season, Statham considers much of the content too good not to recycle.

After a recent win, he unfolded a crumpled piece of paper to reveal a long list of plays selected for that game. He pointed to one entry, simply titled "Regular."

"That goes back to the '50s, a screen and roll play," he said. "It doesn't work every time, but it works a lot. So, what was good then still gets put in the file. We run a lot of different plays, but some of the same ones we always have."

Statham, 72, might have called "Regular" in the first game he coached at McKendree. And he'll probably have it on his cheat sheet Friday night when the Bearcats attempt to give Statham his 1,000th career win, against East-West University.

Statham will become the first men's basketball coach at a

four-year college to reach 1,000 after previously passing the legendary Dean Smith for the most career wins, a moment that garnered national attention.

Since wandering into town in 1966 to interview for a job he didn't think he could get, Statham has endured only one losing season. He has compiled a 999-381 record with 38 postseason appearances and has been honored repeatedly, from selection to the NAIA basketball Hall of Fame to dedication of a Lebanon street in his name.

Yet, for all the fuss that is being made over the approaching milestone, Statham is planning nothing more than a quick salad and coffee with friends after the game.

"It's a big number and everybody is aware of it, and they talk about it so much," he said. "It's going to happen sometime. I don't even think about it. It's a nice number, and I'll be happy when it's over."

Statham is in the midst of a run that he doesn't expect to end any time soon. He has adjusted to changes in the game, keeping his program not only relevant but among the best in the country among NAIA schools. The Bearcats are ranked No. 5.

He continues to exercise daily and has maintained good health that keeps him from contemplating retirement. And he is a picture of restraint and calmness during games, an attribute that has contributed to his longevity.

Dennis Korte played on Statham's first team at McKendree and recalled that he often was struck by his coach's level-headed approach.

"He was even more low-key back then, just very calm," Korte said. "Sometimes I think he needed to get on us more than he did, like he was too nice and needed to give us a swift kick. But it wasn't his style."

Statham isn't a screamer. He doesn't use profanity in practice or at games, and said his players don't. He doesn't lay a hand on them. He is a self-described cheerleader, relying on positive reinforcement.

"I've only seen him yell twice since I've been here," said Kenny Detmer, a senior on this year's team. "He keeps his cool really well."

If things are going particularly bad in practice, Statham leans on the age-old punishment of having players run lines. Sometimes he might be so harsh as to tell someone, "Quit being like a baby and play tougher."

While his demeanor has remained consistent, he has adapted to changes in the game.

"He still uses some older styles of things," Detmer said. "But he stays up to date. He knows a lot more than you'd think. Here and there he changes little things. He might change or add a new play, but he likes structure."

Much of what Statham uses he learned from studying the NBA in the 1960s and great college coaches of that era such as Adolph Rupp. But he studies the latest innovations at clinics, including one held every May in Las Vegas dubbed "The Largest Basketball Clinic in the World."

He is selective about what he adds, sometimes taking ideas and adjusting them to fit his team. But he's admittedly partial to the old-school portions of his binders.

"In the '60s there was great NBA basketball, and I've got a lot of stuff from then that's still good," he said. "I'll get in the office and thumb through, look at things and say, 'I forgot about that' and put it in."

While Statham has outlasted some of his better-known peers and beaten their records, he plays down the accomplishments. Apples to oranges, he said, of the comparison of NCAA and NAIA coaching.

Yet, many have taken note.

When he surpassed Smith, who retired as a legend at North Carolina, he received a phone call the next morning.

"I was really surprised," Statham said. "He was nice and wrote a nice letter. I thought, 'He doesn't even know where McKendree is.' But he said, 'I was in the military at Scott Air Force Base and know all about McKendree.' So we talked for half an hour."

Statham received handwritten letters from coaching veterans Larry Brown and Eddie Sutton. He heard from soldiers in Iraq. Requests for autographs began filling his mailbox. He still has boxes filled with correspondence that followed win No. 880 in 2004.

The build-up to that record was surrounded by considerably more hype. He was followed by camera crews to practice, to night class, to lunch and on the road. Things are quieter now, and Statham likes it that way.

If McKendree wins Friday, he said he'll probably grab something to eat with friends and get to bed to rest for Saturday's game. Then he lowered his voice, as if to reveal a secret he's not supposed to know.

"There will probably be a cake out there," he whispered. "But I don't drink and I'm not going to throw a big party. It's big, and I want it to happen for our guys. But it's not really a big deal.''