John’s Journal: Sitting On The Bench, Waiting To Return

There’s an adage that goes something like this: Sports doesn’t build character as much as it reveals character. Whether it’s an individual athlete or a team, tough times pose challenges.

Which brings us to the girls basketball squad at Benilde-St. Margaret’s in St. Louis Park. The Red Knights won the Class 3A state championship last season, culminating a 26-6 season with wins over DeLaSalle, Alexandria and Stewartville at state. During their postseason run, thoughts of a repeat state title in 2023 were not out of the realm of possibility, considering that their top two players were non-seniors. But returning to the above adage and adding a twist to it, you never know what might happen.

Kendall McGee, talented sophomore last season, suffered a serious knee injury during the state semifinals and her ability to return before this season is over remains a question. That was one big blow to the Red Knights. Another came in the first minute of the 2023 season opener at two-time defending Class 2A state champion Providence Academy, when senior Olivia Olson suffered a broken hand.

Olson will play college basketball at Michigan and McGee has been highly recruited, as well. Both were among 10 Class 3A players who received first-team all-state honors last season.

Not surprisingly, the Red Knights have struggled so far this season. A 64-43 home-court loss to Alexandria on Friday gave them a record of 2-4. Alexandria is 6-1.

“The way Alexandria played defense, it really showed our girls the difference in being physically tough,” said Red Knights coach Tim Ellefson. “That was an eye opener. That's probably the best defensive team we've played so far. We played Hopkins and we played Hill-Murray and we played Providence Academy and that was the best defense.”

As has become routine, Olson and McGee sat next to each other on the bench during the game, offering support for their teammates.

“It's just hard to watch your team play without you, knowing that we can help the team,” said Olson, who could return in two weeks or so. “They’re working hard but not being able to play is something we have to cope with.”

The injuries, one long-term and one shorter-term, have presented opportunities for other Red Knights players. Their starting lineup on Friday night consisted of juniors Kate Kapsner and Zahara Bishop, sophomore Mirabel Wismer, and ninth-graders Sydney Friedly and Pressley Watkins. For Alexandria, the first five were juniors Hadley Thul, Chloe Scholl, MaCee Linow and Allie Haabala along with sophomore Kate Hennessy.

In other words, there were no seniors on the court at tipoff. In fact, each team has just two seniors on the roster: Olson and Asiyah Wilson for BSM and Elizabeth Heydt and Kaia Emter for Alexandra.

“It's a challenge,” Ellefson said of playing with Olson and McGree on the bench. “As a coach, I have to find a way to optimize what we have. And sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. But then it's a matter of adjustments. And how do we do that? Getting these games in, I’ve learned something new every time, what we can do and maybe what we shouldn't be doing.”

Kapsner, a team captain along with McGee and Olson, said the Red Knights understand the situation and are working hard to do things the right way.

“It's really hard without them,” she said. “We've kind of relied on them for the past two years, and they're such good parts of the team. But it's an opportunity for us to all work together and grow and make sure that we can all help them when they get back here. We’ve just got to work through it. And then we'll be back and we'll be ready.”

Last season, Olson averaged 22 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game, with McGee averaging 20 and 6. That’s a lot of points, boards and ability missing right now.

Ellefson, a realist, knows that you can only play with healthy players, and that’s what counts.  

“I would prefer having success with whoever we have, right? ... But I'm thinking long term, I'm always thinking next year and the following year and we're not going to have these kids forever. But at the same time, some girls are finding some flaws in their games that maybe Olivia covers up. I mean, Olivia is a 20-rebound girl and we can see our lack of rebounding when she's not in there. So things like that open up the eyes of some of our players and coaches and hopefully we use that to our advantage.”

There was a Freaky Friday aspect to Olson’s injury, when she simply slammed her left hand not against the rim or the backboard or the wall or the bench, but against another player’s stomach. Surgery was performed, the hand was in a brace and now she is counting down the days until she can return.

McGee is facing a more uncertain outlook. She sure hopes she is cleared to play before this season ends, but she has another year of high school basketball left, with more expected beyond that.

“It's definitely a slow process,” she said, “just trying to make sure that I can heal properly so that I can be back to where I was, because it’s definitely not something that I would want to go through again. So I’m being as careful as possible, knowing I have a lot of basketball ahead of me.”

That’s the point for everyone: There’s a lot of basketball ahead.

--MSHSL senior content creator 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 [email protected]