Author: David Shama

Never did the stage seem larger than 1960 when tiny Edgerton High School located in southwestern Minnesota took home the state title.  This is a story that has lived on for 50 years and will be retold for many more.  It was our version of the movie “Hoosiers” with Edgerton starring in the role of Milan High, the small town and improbable team that pulls off a miracle Indiana state championship.

Although the Dutchmen were undefeated coming into the tournament, hardly anyone thought they would win the championship.  Perhaps not even the Dutchmen.  They had a 23-year-old coach named Richie Olson and a bunch of players with memorable names like Darrell Kreun, LeRoy Graphenteen, Dean Verdoes, Dean Veenhof and Bob Wiarda.

Right from the tournament’s start Edgerton was a crowd favorite.  Fifty years ago crowds were much better behaved than today but many fans at the 1960 tournament booed Richfield and Austin, casting them as villainous Goliath.

In 1959 small town Carlton had lost to Wayzata in the tournament finals.  For many the result wasn’t a Hollywood ending but it sure made for popular entertainment highlighting a tournament that drew more than 80,000 fans.

That kind of attendance made the tournament special and spread its reputation throughout the Untied States as one of the finest high school events in the country.  So, too, did the basketball which showcased players who would play for the Gophers and other college programs.

I was mesmerized by the tournament, watching every game from the beginning on a Thursday afternoon and continuing through Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.  In between games I headed to the backyard, cleared snow and ice off the driveway so I could mimic tournament heroes by shooting baskets.  I wasn’t deterred by a basketball that hardly bounced in the cold temperature, or a slippery ball difficult to shoot while wearing winter gloves.

Year after year the tournament offered compelling drama and entertainment.  Minneapolis Roosevelt won consecutive championships in 1956 and 1957 coached by Wayne Courtney, an emotional leader who looked intimidating even watching him on TV.  It seemed like the Bemidji Lumberjacks were in the tournament most years, wearing their distinctive t-shirt style uniforms and playing run-and gun basketball.  Other “regulars” included Duluth Central, champions in 1961, and also Edina, tournament winners in 1966-1968.

It wasn’t just the teams and games, of course, that were so captivating, it was the players, too.  How cool it was to watch 6-7 New Prague center Ron Johnson set the tournament scoring record and then go on to become a Big Ten hero for the Gophers.  There was Duluth Central’s 6-3 guard Terry Kunze who dazzled tourney crowds with his behind the back dribbling and long distance shooting, then did the same playing for the Gophers.  Edina center Bob Zender was the man for the great Hornets title teams, scoring inside and blocking shots.  He later shocked this town with his college choice, Kansas State.

There may never have been a better player in the tournament than man-child Mark Olberding who even before high school graduation was a physical load at about 6-8 with imposing muscles.  He helped Melrose to the 1974 Class A title and overall tournament championship by defeating Class AA Bemidji in a playoff game.

It was in 1971 that the tournament first had two classes and Class AA Duluth Central defeated Class A Melrose.  There would be four more such big school versus small playoffs after that.

The 1970s began a period of declining interest by the general public and media, developing toward the apathy of today.  Participation made possible by four classes is a nice educational experience but no one should believe it’s not possible for small schools to offer feisty competition against the big boys.

Minnesota Transitions is this year’s Class 1A No. 1 seed, and prep basketball authority Ken Lien watched coach John Sherman’s team almost beat 4A Minnetonka earlier this season.  “Minnesota Transitions could win an overall state tournament,” said Lien who chairs the Mr. Basketball program.

Lien looks favorably on the idea of combining 4A and 3A into one tournament, and 2A and 1A into another, then have the winners meet for an overall state championship.  Neither of us believes that will happen, but boy would that put some juice back into the state tournament.

At least we have our memories.

Why do rumors keep occurring about Tubby Smith leaving the University of Minnesota?

Smith has been the Gophers coach for three seasons and linking his name to possible head coaching basketball jobs at other schools is commonplace.  Awhile back Smith was rumored to be a possibility for the Virginia and Maryland jobs.  In December of last year it was North Carolina State.  Last week it was Oregon and Auburn.

Why?  Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher offered an explanation.  The college basketball landscape has a handful of high profile coaches including Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.  Smith is in the conversation when power coaches are mentioned but unlike most he’s shown a willingness to change jobs.  “He’s the only one who has shown a propensity to move,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners.

Smith left Kentucky to come here after 10 seasons.  Before that he was at Tulsa for four years and Georgia for two.

There’s something else, too, and it’s a mindset nationally that Minnesota isn’t a job deserving enough to retain a power coach.  The stepping stone attitude says the best coaches earn the right to be at the programs with the most resources, whether defined by player talent, facilities or compensation.

Does Dutcher believe Smith will stay at Minnesota?  “Short term he’s staying here,” Dutcher said. “I wouldn’t want to guess whether he’s here five years from now.”

Dutcher hesitates on the five years for reasons that might not be so obvious.  Dutcher, whose winning Gopher teams included a Big Ten champion in 1982, grew up in Michigan and was an assistant coach for the University of Michigan before coming here.  He never wanted to leave Minnesota.  This was home, a place he and his wife liked.  Their four children graduated from the University of Minnesota.

Home for Smith growing up was Maryland and his career stops have included Kentucky and Georgia.  Those places are a different culture than the Midwest.  Weather is different, too.  Dutcher remembers power coaches who left the Big Ten even though they had success in the Midwest.  Gary Williams dumped Ohio State for Maryland, Bill Self went from Illinois to Kansas and years ago Midwesterner Lute Olson and his wife decided the weather and other factors in Arizona were more attractive than Iowa.

“You see it all the time where sometimes Big Ten jobs aren’t, in their view, the ultimate jobs,” said Dutcher who believes that decisions to relocate are often based on family as well as coaching considerations.