John’s Journal: “I worry. These are my kids. These are my kids”

Postgame media gatherings generally fall into two categories, especially at high school state tournaments: Sorrow or joy.

After MSHSL state tournament games in football, girls and boys hockey and girls and boys basketball, formal postgame interviews are held after quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games. Coaches and a few players from each team sit at a table in front of media members who ask questions.

Generally speaking, the losing athletes are downcast and their coaches stress the positives of how they played, the pride he or she feels in them and how hard they worked. Winning players and coaches are all smiles, especially after a state championship game.

I have attended hundreds, maybe thousands, of postgame media sessions, many of them in the professional sports world in my career as a newspaper sportswriter before joining the MSHSL in 2010. These sessions, whether on the professional or high school level, don’t really vary. They are all but routine.

That’s why I was so caught off guard at having tears in my eyes on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena. And the emotions rose again after the final game of the day that evening.

For this year’s state basketball tournament, the postgame sessions were held in a small theater-like space; it’s a room where the Gophers men’s basketball team watches film. After Annandale defeated Minneapolis North 60-49 in the boys Class 2A title game, 26-year Annandale coach Skip Dolan and several of his players smiled and talked about their season and the joy they were feeling at winning the school’s first boys basketball championship.

As they left the interview room, they crossed paths with Minneapolis North coach Larry McKenzie and the Polars’ six seniors, who were being ushered in for their session with the media. Dolan and his players congratulated the North coach and players, which is commonplace on the high school level.

The North contingent sat down in the interview room at 3:20 p.m. As is pretty standard, players from the losing team don’t have a lot to say so their coach does the bulk of the talking. One of the questions to McKenzie, who’s been a head coach for 24 years, was this: What did you say to your team in the locker room after the game?

“I told them, first and foremost, they’ve got to keep their heads up,” he said. “Basketball is a game, it’s something that you do, it's not who you are. I'm proud of these young men in terms of what they've gone through.”

The interview session lasted a little more than 11 minutes, and it was 11 remarkable minutes. The coach and the players talked about what they and the entire North Minneapolis community have dealt with. There was Covid-19. There was a teacher’s strike that will see kids finally back in school this week. There was the February murder of teammate Deshaun Hill, 15, on a sidewalk after school. Not far away in Brooklyn Center, Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed by a police officer last year. And then there was a bigoted, racist social media message sent to one of the North players after their semifinal win on Friday night.

“Nobody has been through what we went through,” said Polars senior Rio Sanders.

I felt my eyes welling up when McKenzie -- who coached Minneapolis Patrick Henry to four state titles and has won two at North -- talked at length about what his team has dealt with.

“Being a teenager at 17 and 18 years old, and losing a classmate and a teammate? I mean, that's not common,” the coach said. “Missing almost a year and a half of school (due to Covid) and then teachers decide to walk out and not having school for 10 days? I mean, that's different.

“They've gone through more adversity than any other group of kids could probably see in a lifetime. … It has not been easy, but to my point, I'll say again, on and off the court, I'm proud; (they are) 100 percent A and B honor-roll kids, 3.45 GPA as a team. My seniors don't know where they’re going to go to college, but they will all be going to college someplace.”

Asked specifically about the vile social media message sent the previous evening, McKenzie said, “Obviously we don't have a United States of America. There's a lot of divide, even in 2022. I'll tell you, as somebody who's 60-plus years old, the more things change, the more they stay the same and I think it's an issue that is getting worse. And it's not just a High School League responsibility, but it's all of our responsibility as a community. That cannot be acceptable behavior.

"I believe that there is no greater tool in terms of fighting racism and the divide than athletics. Athletics bring people together. And it’s not the athletes, but it’s those folks out there that allow young people … where did (the young person who sent the social media message) learn that? Do you think that’s the first time he did that? Where did he learn that type of behavior? And from my understanding from people that I’ve talked to, this wasn't the first time that he's done it and it probably won't be the last time.”

I asked the coach, “With everything these kids have gone through, what’s been your level of just worrying about these guys and taking care of them?”

Larry’s answer: “To be honest with you, it’s crazy, it’s stressful, it's painful. I mean, I live and work in North Minneapolis and every time I hear about gunshots in the community, every time I hear about something going on, I worry. These are my kids. These are my kids. It hurt last night for (the player who received the racist message) to come to me and share that message. Because I want to believe that we've gotten better and we're behind that stuff.”

Shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, in the final game of the state tournament, Park Center won its first state title with a 58-53 victory over Wayzata in the Class 4A final.

In the interview room, I mentioned to Park Center coach James Ware what Larry McKenzie had said earlier in the day, how emotional he was, and asked how the Park Center team has dealt with similar issues. James nodded knowingly and said …

“Yes. Thanks for that question. We talk to these guys about the realities of life and what's happening in the world right now. And these guys are some of the smartest kids that I've ever been around. They're emotionally intelligent. We absolutely talk about everything that's happened with Daunte Wright, to be honest, and we've kept this in-house, but the amount of times that we've played games this year where the N word was used at our players ... these guys have kept their composure and we’ve talked about those moments. It's an unfortunate reality that not everybody everywhere is good. But we're trying to do something different. We're trying to rewrite the narrative in the state of Minnesota. We wanted the state of Minnesota to see this basketball team play because hopefully they saw something different than maybe what they were expecting.

“And they did rewrite the narrative. They're unselfish, they’re humble, they have empathy. These guys are super emotionally intelligent. I'm just super proud of where these guys are going to go in their life. With all the players who have come before these guys, we've been experiencing this for a long time. As coaches we’re more than just basketball coaches; we're mental health professionals even though we're not being paid for it, we are all the things, we feed them; that measly $5,000 that we get to do this, we're paying to coach. I understand 100 percent why Larry was emotional. And again and again, these guys have overcome obstacles and this moment, overcoming another obstacle, is something they will never forget.”

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org  

John’s Journal: After 641 Games, Annandale’s Dolan Has A State Title

As the 641^st game of Skip Dolan’s head coaching career came to an end, an end that was unlike any other, the Annandale head coach tried to find his wife Cathy in the stands at Williams Arena. He was unable to locate her, but that’s about the only miss the Cardinals had Saturday.

Dolan has been coaching Annandale for 26 years and the Cardinals’ 60-49 win over Minneapolis North in Saturday’s Class 2A state championship game was the first boys basketball title for the school. Annandale had made seven previous appearances at the state tournament; the best finish was second place in 2014.

“I looked all over at the end for my wife because as much I love my assistant coaches, she's my best assistant coach,” said Dolan, whose career record is 427-214. “She's been with me from day one, she knows this is who I am and she knows that I love doing this.”

The Cardinals finished with a record of 31-2, with the losses coming to Maple River on Dec. 11 and Albany on Dec. 16. They went 29-0 after that, defeating Maple Lake in the opening round of the Section 6 playoffs and Albany in the section title game.

The Cardinals’ five starters are all seniors and three-sport athletes, and their “slow” start to the season can be attributed to a lengthy football season that ended with a loss to Plainview-Elgin-Millville in the state semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on Nov. 20, two days before basketball practice began.

Time was needed for some injuries to heal, and the Cardinals finally got cranked up in late December. A three-point win over St. Cloud Tech on Dec. 30 was the turning point, according to Dolan.

“Once we beat them, I said, ‘You know what? There's going to have to be an awfully good 2A school to beat us.’ ”

That didn’t happen, and now the Cardinals have made history.

“It’s completely unbelievable I think we've all dreamed about this along with every other kid in the country who dreams about doing this,” said senior Hawkin Miller, who scored a game-high 18 points. “And to have the opportunity and the people around you in the community and the coaches around you, to be able to get it done. I think we all feel extremely blessed and lucky to be able to do this. It was a blast. I couldn't ask for anything more.”

Dolan talked about how much work went into the historic championship run.

“You can’t understand how much time these guys put in. They’re three-sport athletes, they’ve all been in the weight room consistently, they’ve all have been in the gym at 6:30 in the morning and late and stuff like that. There's not one part about this that they didn't earn.”

Dolan, a grandfather of eight, was asked how the family will celebrate.

“We're pretty reserved as far as families go, so we'll just celebrate it as a family,” he said with a smile. “But don't think for one minute we are not cherishing this.”

--Annandale shot 56.4 percent for the game and 58.3 percent in the first half, which ended with the Cardinals leading 30-23. North struggled with its accuracy, hitting 37 percent of its shots in the final 18 minutes and 42 percent overall.

“You look at the stats, and we can't win if we don't put the ball in the basket,” said North coach Larry McKenzie, who is in his 26^th year as a head coach. “And they shot the ball a lot better than we did. I think the one thing that we did not do today was we just didn't control the tempo. We played their style of basketball and obviously they were better at that than we were.”

Minneapolis North’s schedule was filled with quality opponents this season, including the teams who met Saturday night for the Class 4A state title. They lost a 12-point game to Park Center and lost by two to Wayzata, as well as defeating 3A finalist DeLaSalle. They also beat state tournament qualifiers Moorhead (4A) and Minnehaha Academy (2A).

McKenzie won four consecutive state titles at Minneapolis Patrick Henry from 2000 to 2003 and led North to championships in 2016 and 2017. North also won state crowns in 1980, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2003.

Can Hayfield Go Back-To-Back-To-Back?

It’s a little bit amazing to think that in last season’s Section 1 playoffs, Hayfield was seeded third. All they did was win the 2021 Class 1A state championship and they did it again Saturday with a 51-49 victory over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. And here’s something else to chew on: The Vikings will return three starters next season.

Winning back-to-back championships is rare, and the Hayfield players said it was not easy to compare the two.

“It's exciting, an unreal feeling both times,” said junior Isaac Matti, who had a game-high 27 points Saturday. “But this year it was a little bit of an expectation almost. Whereas last year was the first time for a lot of us, this was more of an expectation.”

Senior Kobe Foster called the 2022 title “a sigh of relief kind of, because we had a target on our back all year.”

--Half of the Hayfield basketball players also play baseball, and that team was scheduled to be on a 2 a.m. Sunday flight to Florida to relax in the sun and work out. Vikings senior Easton Fritcher, who will play baseball at the University of Minnesota as the first Division I baseball player to come from Hayfield, said, “It’s going to be tough. I need some sleep.”

--After Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa defeated New Life Academy in Friday’s semifinals, coach Chris Anderson was asked about the challenge of facing the defending state champions in the title game. His answer spoke volumes.

“Obviously they've been in this situation, they've been in the state title game,” he said about Hayfield. “But I'll take what we have. I'll take these guys and I'll take them any day of the week. They have a lot of heart and passion.”

Honoring Officials And Students

--Recipients of the MSHSL Officials Distinguished Service Awards were honored at halftime of the Class 1A championship game. The honorees were Mike Amidon, St. Paul; David Anderson, Rochester; Tony Bartovich, Eveleth; Bill Benson, Maple Grove; Greg Rathbun, Byron; Jennifer Smith, Woodbury; and George Winn, Maple Grove. The Range Coaches & Officials Association was named an  Association of Excellence.

--Triple-A Award winners from around the state were honored at halftime of the Class 2A championship game. The MSHSL Academics, Arts and Athletics Award honors seniors who have a 3.0 or higher grade-point average and participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities. The list of winners can be found here: https://www.mshsl.org/about/news/awards/2022-triple-award-finalists

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org  

John’s Journal: Trip To State Is A Cherry On Top

From the start of the 2016-17 season through the end of the 2018-19 season, the Cherry boys basketball team was not making headlines. The Tigers had an overall record of 4-69 over those three seasons.

They went 16-12 in 2019-20, the first year under head coach Jordan Christianson, then 12-7 in the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season. This season has been special, with the Tigers reaching the state tournament for the first time in 25 years.

They were defeated by the defending Class 1A state champions from Hayfield 72-61 in Friday’s semifinals at Williams Arena, but that did little to diminish the pride felt by the team and its Iron Range community. They will take a record of 27-5 into Saturday’s third-place game against New Life Academy.

“I’m very, very proud of our guys,” Christianson said. “Everyone in that locker room should be proud of what they have accomplished this year. We're always too small, always too young. And these guys just scrapped all year.”

The Tigers are exceedingly young and exceptionally talented. Sophomore Isaac Asuma has been a breakout star of the state tournament, scoring 31 points in a 68-57 quarterfinal win over Nevis and 36 against Hayfield.  

“We knew he was going to get his points,” said Hayfield coach Chris Pack. “Our goal was to keep him between 15 to 25 and that obviously didn't work.”

A turnaround like what Cherry has done goes beyond talented athletes. Christianson said the Tigers’ sudden rise has a lot to do with commitment. He was sitting next to Asuma and senior Sam Serna as he spoke after the game.

“The formula is these guys bought in,” he said. “I didn't give them any magic potion or anything like that. These guys really took it upon themselves, especially these two right here. They came to everything in the summer, everything we had in the fall, everything we had in the mornings. They put in the work. That's what these guys did.”

Having the experience of winning the state title last year is a key component for Hayfield, which will meet Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game.

“It's so valuable to have these guys who were in it last year,” Pack said. “Cherry’s young and they’ll probably be back. The experience you get in a situation like this, even though it was at Target Center last year, just the environment and the big game. There's no substitute for it.”

The 2022 tournament is much different than the 2021 version, which was held with limited crowds due to the pandemic.

“Coming off last season, where minimum fans were allowed to come, having a huge crowd like Hayfield always has, it's just great to have,” said Vikings senior Easton Fritcher. “It makes you play better. You score a bucket and all of a sudden you can't hear anything. There's no better feeling than hearing the Viking roar. I know it's going to be even bigger at the next game.”

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Edges New Life

Sophomore Luke Dingmann of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa made two free throws with 15 seconds to play, putting the Jaguars ahead of New Life Academy 55-53 on Friday. B-B-E’s defense didn’t allow New Life to get a shot off before time expired, moving the Jaguars to the championship game.

“It was everything that a kid would dream of,” said B-B-E coach Chris Anderson. “You want to be in a state tournament. It's a dream come true. You want to go to the free throw line. Dream come true. And you want to knock ‘em down. That’s a dream come true. These young men lived a dream, and it feels like it. It’s like a blur for me.”

First-year New Life coach Robbie Whitney was playing college basketball at Bethel University two seasons ago and was an assistant at St. Francis High School, his alma mater, last season. To have his team take a 28-4 record into the third-place game is quite an accomplishment. The Eagles had not been to state since 2004

“I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to play in a game like that,” he said. “That's what you live for. Obviously you want to come out on top but those are the games that you'll remember forever, in an arena like this, with a team like this, coming down to a one-possession game. I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

“They were two really good teams, we both made our runs and they just happened to make one more play. So I'm just super grateful and super lucky to be able to coach guys like this.”

--In Friday night’s Class 2A semifinals, Minneapolis North met Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta, followed by Caledonia vs. Annandale.

Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta coach Mark Torgerson is retiring from coaching and teaching after this season and this school year. He has been a math teacher since 1981 and has been the Tigers head basketball coach since 1988. This is the fourth time he has led a team to state; the best finish was second place in 1994 and the Tigers also advanced to state in 2004 and 2021.

--Cherry didn’t have a band at Friday’s game because their band was on a trip to Florida. The Hayfield baseball team is leaving for Florida early Sunday morning, and nine Vikings basketball players are also on the baseball team.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org  

John’s Journal: A Gopher-Islander Tradition At Williams Arena

To call Thursday afternoon’s action at the boys state basketball tournament a DeLaSalle reunion might be pushing it, but there was a clear Islanders air to the proceedings, especially during the second game in the Class 3A semifinals.

The teams on the court were DeLaSalle and Princeton. Watching from courtside were Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson and assistant Dave Thorson. Johnson played on two state championship teams at DeLaSalle coached by Thorson, who took 15 Islanders teams to state and won a state-record nine championships in 23 seasons at the Minneapolis school.

Johnson began his college playing career at Northwestern and transferred home to Minnesota for his final two seasons, serving as captain both years and graduating in 2005. He prepared congratulatory messages for all 32 head coaches in this year's state tournament.

Current DeLaSalle coach Travis Bledsoe, who played for Thorson in high school, said, “There’s just the overwhelming feeling of appreciation and humbleness that guys from DeLaSalle can make it to the very top of the basketball world. To be able to coach in the Big Ten, and Ben Johnson is only 40, he’s one of the younger coaches, and then Dave Thorson. It's been amazing.”

A member of the Gophers team this past season was Jamison Battle, another DeLaSalle figure.

“It's a Gopher-Islander tradition,” said Bledsoe after the Islanders held off Princeton 77-65.

DeLaSalle senior Kyle Johnson, who scored 15 points, said, “I've only heard great things about Ben Johnson, and Dave Thorson is the one I know most. To be honest, he was the person that sparked my interest to come here. I started watching games in third grade and I just liked the intensity and how they played. I would come down to DeLaSalle and watch. It was a gift every time I came down, so to see him courtside, it just kind of brought it all full circle for me.”

There is clearly a lot of pride on “the island,” as DeLaSalle’s campus on Nicolett Island on the Mississippi River just off downtown Minneapolis is known. Senior Amir Everett, who had 13 points against Princeton, said, “It's amazing to see those guys down there and just be able to continue this legacy of having ‘DeLaSalle’ across your chest and be able to show out in front of them and get the W.”

Pride Rides High In Princeton

After Princeton’s loss to DeLaSalle, Tigers coach Brett Cloutier talked about the preseason and how far the team has come. They gave DeLaSalle a game and the outcome was uncertain until the final minutes.

“We scrimmaged Duluth East, Buffalo and Brainerd on a Saturday and we went down to Elk River on a Tuesday and we were terrible,” he said. “We were like, ‘Are we even going to be .500?’ And to be 27-2, to play in a state semifinal, to be down nine at halftime and be able to bounce back and have that second half where we just played our absolute tails off? I couldn't be more proud as a coach. Just an absolute phenomenal effort from our guys.”

There was a big, roaring crowd from Princeton, most of them wearing blaze orange.

Four years ago Princeton came to state for the first time in 87 years and finished fourth. Their record of 27-2 matches the most wins in school history, and they can set a new record if they defeat Mankato East in the third-place game.

“It’s just such a community deal, our team, our guys,” Cloutier said. “As a head coach doing this for nine years, you don't think you're going to be amazed but it was more amazing than last time. They keep raising the bar with how impressed I've been with our guys. I couldn't be more proud.”

Totino-Grace Gets An A-Plus

When your shots aren’t only not falling but often being swatted away, it’s tough to win the basketball game. And it’s even tougher when the other team is shooting the lights out of the building.

That’s the position Mankato East was in during its 3A semifinal against Totino-Grace. The T-G Eagles won 77-39 to advance to their first state championship game on Saturday against DeLaSalle.

Here are the raw numbers: Totino-Grace shot 62.5 percent in the second half and 53.2 percent for the game, while Mankato East made only four of 26 shots in the first half (15.4 percent) and 11 of 55 for the game (20 percent).

Here’s the raw postgame message from East coach Joe Madson: “We had to play A-plus, that's number one, which we didn't do, and have them play B at best. We saw the best version of Totino. When they're dialed in, boy oh boy. I mean, you talk about rim protecting, shot blocking, scoring from the post, three-point shooting. They had everything. They answered the bell.”

The top-seeded Eagles were indeed on top of their game. Patrick Bath led them with 27 points, Tommy Humphries scored 16 and Ahjany Lee had 12 points and four of Totino-Grace’s seven blocked shots. The Eagles had 53 rebounds to East’s 26 and 18 assists to five for the Cougars.

“Defensively it was about as close to perfect as we wanted to be, I think,” said Totino-Grace coach Nick Carroll. “Offensively, we’ve always got stuff to work out.”

Top-Seeded Pirates Advance To 4A Final

Park Center, the No. 1 seed in the 4A tournament, defeated Eastview 54-39 in a surprisingly low-scoring, defensive affair. The Pirates will meet Wayzata or Cretin-Derham in Saturday’s championship game.

“Our whole game plan, believe it or not, was to try to play fast and make the game go up and down,” said Park Center coach James Ware.

 The point totals for both teams were their lowest of the season. Park Center made 50 percent of its field goal attempts while the Lightning shot only 29.5 percent. The Pirates led 22-13 at halftime before the pace picked up a bit in the final 18 minutes.

--Craig Ehrlichman, one of the officials for the game between Mankato East and Totino-Grace, is very familiar with state championship basketball and Williams Arena. He was a member of the 1988 Rocori team that won the Class AA title.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

 

John’s Journal: Cherry Tigers Surprise Everyone But Themselves

Basketball games aren’t decided by what happened previously or by how old or tall the players are. But those things can be meaningful, which led to this line of questioning for Cherry boys coach Jordan Christianson after the Tigers defeated Nevis 68-57 Wednesday in the Class 1A state quarterfinals at Williams Arena…

You lost to that team by 22 points in January. Cherry hasn’t been to state in 25 years and this is Nevis’ third trip to state in three years. You've got junior high kids in the starting lineup. Was this a surprise?

“It was not a surprise to anyone in the locker room or in the community,” the coach said. “They’ve been playing up their whole life. I remember Isaac was in first grade playing with kids in fifth grade or sixth grade.”

Isaac Asuma was sitting next to Christianson in the postgame media room. Isaac is a 6-foot-2 sophomore who had 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Tigers. The other starters for Cherry are seventh-grader Isaiah Asuma, eighth-grader Noah Asuma, senior Sam Serna and senior Nick Serna.

Nevis had won at home against Cherry by a score of 67-45 on Jan. 18, but things were different in the rematch inside the big maroon and gold Gopher gym. Cherry led 30-26 at halftime and used a 10-0 offensive run to build a 17-point lead with five minutes to play. Isaac Asuma hit 11 of 17 field goal attempts and nine of 11 free throws.

Cherry (27-4) is riding a 13-game winning streak and has won 20 of its last 21 games.

“We knew that Isaac was probably the best athlete on the floor, obviously,” Nevis coach Scott Kramer said. “But he was able to get to the basket. We tried adjusting a few things, but he still continued to get to the basket. I mean, he just outhustled us in a lot of areas. And that was the big difference.”

Nevis senior Mathias Warrington said, “They looked small, but they were a lot more physical than they were the last time we played them. I feel like the physicality part was a big variable today.”

Despite the loss, the Nevis Tigers were proud of their accomplishment in finally playing a true state tournament game. Two years ago, they qualified for state before it was cancelled due to Covid-19, and last year their season ended with a state quarterfinal loss to Hancock in a contest played at Perham as those games were held around the state.

“We are in a unique situation because we've qualified for state for the last three years but this is the first time here,” Kramer said. “We really thought we had a game we could win but we just didn't do the things that we needed to.

“But we've had a heck of a run for our seniors. It's been great that we actually got to the Barn at least one time. We would have obviously liked to play more here but that just didn't happen today.”

Back In The Big Show

The Class 1A quarterfinals opened with Hayfield defeating Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 66-49, and the Vikings will meet Cherry in Friday’s semifinals. The other semifinal will be between Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa and either East Grand Forks Sacred Heart or New Life Academy

Hayfield won the state title last year and returned a good blend of experience. Target Center was the tournament site last season so Williams Arena is a new court for the Vikings this week.

“I think we all had nerves going into the game and I think we lost ours sooner and we settled in a lot quicker,” said Hayfield senior Ethan Pack, who had a game-high 25 points. “We've been here and we know what to do to get the job done.”

Hayfield senior Easton Fritcher said playing on the elevated court was definitely something new.

“You have to be a little careful when you're diving out of bounds, that's for sure,” he said. “I know (teammate) Kobe (Foster) and me both suffered bruises, but it's cool. I think the lighting is a little bit dimmer than Target Center. It feels pretty similar, but obviously with different coloring, a different floor. It's just a cool place to play.”

Spud Tradition From 1924 to 2022

In Class 4A, Moorhead made its 24th trip to the boys state basketball tournament this week. All of the coaches listed here have played in or coached the Spuds at state …

The 2022 Spuds are coached by Matt Ellingson, who was a 2012 Spud basketball player who was coached by Corey Zimmerman. … Zimmerman was a 1992 Spud player who was coached by Chuck Gulsvig. … Gulsvig was a 1974 player who was coached by Bill Quenette and Lowell Bolger. … Bolger was a 1953 Spud player who taught and coached with Phil Seljevold. … Seljevold was a 1944 Spud player who was coached by Cliff Halmrast. … Halmrast was a 1928 player who was coached by Glen Hanna. … Hanna was hired to replace Edwin Thune, who coached the first Spud basketball team at state in 1924.

 --MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org  

John’s Journal: One Final Trip for Austin’s Fadness

Kris Fadness will coach the Austin High School boys basketball team for one more game, maybe two, and when the final horn finally sounds he will retire with grace and humility, just as he has coached for decades.

The 57-year-old Packers coach announced recently that this would be his 25^th and final year at Austin; he was the head coach at Caledonia for four years before that. Since 2012 he has led his teams to six state tournaments, including Class 3A second-place finishes in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Princeton defeated Austin 73-63 in Tuesday’s 3A quarterfinals at Williams Arena, sending the Packers into the consolation bracket at Concordia University in St. Paul. They will meet St. Cloud Tech on Wednesday. If they win, they will play for fifth place on Thursday. If they lose, that will be the end.

No matter the timing, an iconic coaching era will come to a close.

“Kris is a legend,” said Princeton coach Brett Cloutier. “He's probably on the Mount Rushmore of high school coaches after what he's done for Austin basketball and the community itself.”

Fadness said after Tuesday’s game that he regretted announcing his retirement before the season ended, because that took the focus off his players.

“Well, it's very humbling,” he said of the attention he has received. “But it's not about me. It’s about these guys. And to be quite honest with you, I've gotten too much attention and I'm sort of mad at myself for telling people I was going to quit when I did because then all of a sudden the attention went off our guys and came more to me and that's just not right.

“So I made a huge mistake, with that not my only one. But that was a huge mistake. Because this game is about the players. And we've been very blessed in Austin to have a community that supports us. We have a great administration and faculty. I've had great assistant coaches, my family's been supportive. Our janitors have been great. I mean, just down the line our community has supported us and the people around us have been so good. I can't say enough positive things.”

He lamented the current state of coaching high school basketball, which has become a near-year-round job.

“It's getting harder and harder to be a lifer at this,” he said. “I would love to keep coaching but it's not seasonal anymore. It's two seasons; we have a winter season and we have a summer season. We're playing 30-some games in the summer, a lot of these guys are playing in spring AAU. … It's a grind right now from a time perspective. And I don't think any coach ever does it for the money because you're not making money. No coach is doing it for that reason. It's a passion.”

Asked about all the successful young coaches in the game, Fadness issued a warning about finding and retaining more of them.

“There are a lot of great young coaches out there and a lot of guys that are working hard, but we're going to need more. I know there's a referee shortage, but we're dealing with coaching shortages here. We have three guys on our staff coaching five levels this year.”

He mentioned assistant coach Jordan Ransom, a 19-year-old college student who coaches two Austin ninth-grade teams, and top assistant Jamaal Gibson.

“Jamaal has been quite frankly a godsend to me because of all the time and commitment he's willing to make. …  We can't find coaches in Austin and we have a winning program. And if you're a young coach and you have a family; we lost an assistant last year who had their second child and he said, ‘I just can't do this anymore.’ I get it.”

Seeing the Packers in the state tournament wasn’t a sure thing a few weeks ago. They had a record of 9-10 but turned it around to win eight of their last 10 games before the state tournament. It happened because of talented, hard-working athletes and a coach who knows what he’s doing.

“I'm really proud,” Fadness said. “I can't express it. Honestly, we have great kids, and I'm really happy for our seniors to get this moment.”

Back Home At Williams Arena

When Mound Westonka coach Andre Phillips was a student at the University of Minnesota, he was a manager for the Gophers men’s basketball team under coach Tubby Smith.

Smith phoned Phillips on Monday evening, wishing him and his team well in this week’s state tournament.

“He wished us good luck and it was pretty nice,” Phillips said after the Whitehawks were defeated by Mankato East 68-55 in Tuesday’s 3A quarterfinals at Williams Arena.

It’s no surprise that Phillips views the University of Minnesota campus and Williams Arena as special places.

“As we arrived on campus, I was telling some of the kids on the bus things like, ‘That's where I lived, that's where the players lived, this is where I spent most of my time,’ ” he said.

In previous years, most of the boys state tournament games, including the semifinals and championship games, have been played at Target Center. The only games there this year were six quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Timberwolves have home games Wednesday and Friday so the rest of the tournament is taking place at Williams Arena, which is fine with Phillips.

“Probably most kids these days really want to play at the Target Center, and nothing against the Target Center but for a high school basketball game it's hard to beat this place,” he said. “When you look at the history, the environment, the way it echoes from the bands, all the different sounds that you can hear. It’s just a more intimate setting than the Target Center. Even if you have the same amount of fans, they just spread out so far (at Target Center) and you just don't feel that noise. Our fans weren’t that far from our bench. You could hear them and you could feel them.”

Remembering Pal Kueth

Pal Kueth, a basketball player who graduated from Mankato East High School in 2021 and died suddenly last September, remains an inspiring figure to this year’s Cougars.

His most historic moment came when he launched a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer to give East a 45-44 win over crosstown rival Mankato West last March. Before this season began, Pal’s initials were painted on the court at East, marking the spot from where took that shot.

The team keeps his jersey with them and many of the Cougars have his initials written on their shoes. Senior Puolrah Gong also had “PK” and a heart written on tape around his right wrist Tuesday.

“It gives us a spark,” he said. “It gives us something to play for. He's always with us, he's everywhere. … It's good for us. It's good to play for somebody. It makes us play a little tougher.”

Road warriors

After performing at state tournaments while their teams played at girls hockey, boys hockey, girls basketball and now boys basketball, the Mankato East band is leaving for a spring break band trip to Nashville.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org  

John’s Journal: The Assistant Coach With The Championship Background

A calm, unassuming man held a clipboard and occasionally jotted things down as he stood behind the Providence Academy bench as the Lions held off Fergus Falls 55-53 to win the Class 2A girls basketball state championship Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena.

His name is Brian Cosgriff and he’s an assistant coach for the Lions. He’s also one of the most successful head coaches in the history of Minnesota high school basketball.

He retired from coaching at Hopkins after the 2019-20 season with a career record of 569-67 in 21 seasons with the Royals; his 569 wins ranked 13^th all-time among girls basketball coaches prior to the current season. Cosgriff’s teams won seven big-school state titles and it may have been 18 had Covid-19 not shut down the state tourney in 2020. The only girls coaches to win more state titles are Myron Glass of Rochester Lourdes and Faith Johnson Patterson of Minneapolis North and DeLaSalle, who each won eight crowns.

When Cosgriff retired from coaching at Hopkins he also stepped down from his job as an elementary physical education teacher in the district. He took a similar job at Providence Academy, and this year joined head coach Conner Goetz’s coaching staff.

“He's been instrumental,” Goetz said. “He's been there, he's seen it all, with how many state championships and state tournaments. More importantly, he's kind of like an emotional leader. He's someone that the girls can turn to.

“He can really build relationships with kids, and he's a teacher in the building, too, which helps us out so much with the girls during the day. He leads film sessions on things and there's really not a scenario in basketball he hasn't seen. Any time I have a question, he’s seen it before.”

Cosgriff’s most well-known player at Hopkins was Paige Bueckers, a high school all-American now starring at Connecticut. Bueckers was a young star as a guard, as is current Providence Academy eighth-grader Maddyn Greenway (daughter of former Vikings player Chad Greenway).

“It's been really nice, especially with me being in the position that Paige was in,” Maddyn said. “(Cosgriff has) really helped me. Not by telling me what she did, but just leading me like he led her. I think it's been really nice having him and learning the tips, because she was amazing. It's been really fun to kind of have the same coach as her and learn from him.”

Goetz doesn’t give Cosgriff – he’s often called “Cos” for short -- any specific assignments during games other than telling him, “I want your eyes on the game, I want you to just tell me what you see.”

“He likes to keep himself busy,” Goetz said. “He keeps track of turnovers, he keeps track of assists, all those little hustle stats.”

Lions junior Grace Counts called it “a blessing” to have Cosgriff on the coaching staff.

“He really knows a lot, he has that deep wisdom from all his years of coaching,” she said. “He can pick you up when you're down. He knows if you don't have that good first half, he knows you can come back. He has a lot of trust in you. And he's really good to have at school, too, because he's just so fun as a teacher and just like a friend to have in the building. We’re always talking to Cos about basketball or March Madness or whatever. It's just great having Cos around.”

Unable To Play But Still In The Game

As the clock ran down to the final seconds in all three of Hancock’s games at the Class 1A state tournament, Owls fans chanted, “Tori! Tori! Tori!”

Tori Pahl is a 6-foot senior for the Owls who has been sidelined after complications from shoulder surgery. She suffered a torn labrum in 2019, and during surgery medical anchors were put in place. They were supposed to melt away insider ther shoulder, but when they didn’t she had another surgery to remove them on Feb. 8, which has kept her from playing.

She was in the game for the final nine seconds in the quarterfinals against Nevis, the final five seconds of the semifinals against Mayer Lutheran, and she was on the court as the last 15 seconds were counted off in the Owls’ 54-43 win over Minneota in Saturday’s championship game.

“It was really emotional,” Tori said, sitting alongside fellow seniors Rylee Hanson and Carlee Hanson in the postgame interview room. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do with these two since we started playing basketball.”

Hancock won its second state girls basketball title, the first coming in 1997. The Owls had been to state seven times previously, most recently in 2011.

Minneota reached the championship game for the fourth year in a row. The Vikings won state titles in 2019 and 2021 and would have played for another in 2020 had Covid not stopped the tournament. Over the past five seasons Minnesota has a combined record of 141-12.

Honoring Lisa Lissimore

Lisa Lissimore, who first became known as a star basketball player at St. Paul Central in the 1970s and went on to become one of the most impactful figures in high school activities during a 34-year career with the Minnesota State High School League, was honored during on-court ceremonies prior to Saturday’s Class 2A and 4A championship games. She will retire at the end of April.

She was a member of Central’s first Class 2A girls basketball championship team in 1976 and has been the director of the girls state basketball tournament, among other duties, for many years. She has also directed cross-country, swimming and diving, softball, synchronized swimming and badminton, as well as being responsible for corporate sponsorships and recognition programs.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org  

John’s Journal: Remembering A Teammate Taken Too Soon

The pink t-shirts were a bit striking when the girls basketball team from Hayfield High School took the court to warm up at Williams Arena on Friday. The Vikings’ school colors are blue and gold, and those tints did peek out from the players’ shorts.

The words on the front of the shirts read, “In memory of Macy,” with wings attached to the M and Y. On the back was one word in all caps: HOLTAN.

Macy Holtan was 16 years old and a sophomore at Hayfield when she was killed in a traffic accident in early 2021. Her obituary read in part, “She was an excellent student and participated in golf, FFA and performing arts. … She enjoyed reading, Corvettes and watching professional golf tournaments.”

The Vikings wore the shirts before every game last season, brought them out when they played a home game on the anniversary of Macy’s passing this season, and again on Friday.

Macy’s parents, Justin and Nichole, and other relatives have remained close with the team, said Hayfield senior Aine Stasko.

“She was a really nice girl. And she was always so happy and positive and her parents and family do a lot for our team. We thought this would be a great way to give back.”

--The team from Providence Academy, which defeated Albany 55-48 in Friday night’s Class 2A semifinals, wore warmup shirts that had “RAM III” printed on the back. It’s a tribute to Robert Miller III, who passed away on Feb. 4. His daughter Kyra is a junior for the Lions.

Past Is Present For Hancock

The Hancock Owls have come oh so close to reaching the state tournament in recent years, with losses deep in section play closing the last two seasons. They broke through to win the Section 6A title this year and have defeated Nevis and Mayer Lutheran to reach Saturday’s Class 1A championship game against Minneota.

Hancock has a record of 29-1, with the loss coming against Class 2A West Central Area in January.

Fifth-year Owls coach Tony Thielke said players from those recent teams share in the credit for what’s happening now.

“This team is here and they get the benefits of it, but the past helped lay the foundation, some girls that graduated last year,” he said. “And the work ethic in the summer and constant time in the gym, the girls that bonded, young girls, ninth-graders, 10^th-graders stepping in and filling some roles and kind of gelling together has been fun to watch this year.”

Ninth-grader Kaitlyn Rohloff, who matched sophomore teammate Kaitlyn Staples with 17 points Friday, said, “The last couple years we've been so close to state and this year we’ve just kept pushing each other in practice and it's paid off.”

If there were any jitters for Hancock against Mayer Lutheran, they didn’t show.

“We just kind of told them that they’ve played a lot of basketball,” Thielke said. “It's just another game, another venue, a different venue. Just to step back and enjoy the ride because it goes so quickly. Take it all in. These girls play a lot of basketball so it's just one more game and it's fun to see them rewarded for their efforts.”

The Streak Ends, The Mission Continues

When Minneota defeated Hayfield 53-45 in the Class 1A semifinals Friday, it marked the end of two impressive winning streaks. For one, it was Hayfield’s first girls basketball loss after 32 wins this season.

Coach Kasey Krekling also coaches the Hayfield baseball team (as noted in the previous John’s Journal post). The Vikings lost to Sacred Heart in the 2019 state baseball quarterfinals, there were no spring sports in 2020, and in 2021 they were undefeated en route to the 1A state title.

Hayfield will meet Mayer Lutheran in Saturday’s 11 a.m. third-place game at Concordia University in St. Paul.

With a young roster -- only two seniors were among eight players who saw action Friday – the future is bright for the Vikings, and that includes after their high school careers come to a close.

“The dream is not over and it doesn't end even when the game is over tomorrow,” Krekling said. “I want to be part of their life from here on out. I'm going to help them in all their life. Coaching doesn't end when the season's over.”

Experience Pays Off

Minneota has reached the state semifinals in five consecutive years, and Saturday’s championship game will be their third title game in those five years. In 2020, they had reached the semifinals before the tournament was halted because of Covid-19. They won state titles in 2019 and 2021 and finished third at state in 2018.

That kind of big-game, big-stage experience is important.

“I think that's just it,” said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. “And that's one of the things that I told the girls in a timeout. We made a run and got back in there and I said there was going to be a butt-chewing at halftime about the difference between seniors being on the floor and sophomores (or Hayfield). And nothing against Hayfield, they're obviously a great team because they got here, but what I was talking about is, ‘You’ve got the experience, you've been on this floor, you've been in this scenario, we should be the ones looking like we're in control instead of looking like we're taken out of our element.’

“Again, Hayfield did a great job of doing that. And that's what they do. It's a good pressure defense, they're quick. So we talked about utilizing our experience, ‘You've been here before, this is something that you have experienced, something that you want, we’ve just got to play with composure.’ ”

Getting Back To Normal

Two years have passed since the onset of Covid-19 caused the sudden cancellation of the 2020 girls state basketball tournament at the midway point, a shutdown of the boys basketball postseason and a spring with no high school sports.

A year ago, the winter state tournaments were held with limited crowds, but now everything feels normal again.

“It’s been special to be down here at a traditional state tournament, so to speak,” said Albany coach Aaron Boyum. “For us as coaches, we have the whole hotel experience, and you get to talk with other coaches and then they get the camaraderie amongst themselves, too. So it's been a lot of fun to have that. The excitement in the crowd has been fun to have, as well.”

Great Example Set By The Hancock Students, Band

Repeating an important message I posted Friday on Twitter: I’ve heard a lot of great student sections and bands over the years, and the kids from Hancock are as great as they come. Tremendous spirit, everything positive, so much fun, picked up their instruments to play at halftime, sang ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ acapella. Outstanding. Great behavior by fans needs to be appreciated and applauded. Well done Owls!

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org