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 13th
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
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