John's Journal: The Team Is New To State But The Coach Is Experienced

As a postgame interview session was getting off the ground Thursday at Target Center, the coach from Red Lake County asked the first question: “Are we on TV?’

The answer was negative. There might have been a TV camera or two recording video, but nothing was live. The bulk of the media consisted of reporters holding notebooks, pens and audio recorders.

With that point settled, the coach – Steve Philion – got down to answering questions along with players Owen Chervestad, Will Gieseke and Connor Duden. The Rebels had just squeaked past Goodhue 68-61 in a highly intense Class A state quarterfinal, and there was relief and satisfaction in the air.

The coach could be forgiven for not being familiar with the nuances of a postgame conclave at the state tournament. Red Lake County, a cooperative team with students from Red Lake Falls High School and Red Lake County Central in nearby Oklee, has been in existence for 18 years and was making its first appearance in the big metro show.

Philion, in his 51^st year as a head coach, took teams from Clearbrook-Gonvick to state in 1992 and 1993. It’s good to have him back.

His 694 career wins put him among the top 10 of boys basketball coaches in Minnesota, and he was inducted into the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016. He’s also a high-level football, baseball and softball official. All that experience as an official might be why Steve rarely if ever barks at an official on the basketball court. In fact, he’s usually the picture of tranquility.

“He’s got all this experience and he's calming,” said Chervestad. “The big games, he’s been there. We know he's going to get us the right play, get us going and get us prepared so we never have to come into a game questioning what the game plan is or what we need to do to win. It's always written down, and we know exactly what we need to do. He does a great job.”

Philion grew up in Red Lake Falls, graduating from high school in 1970. He was busy as an athlete on the basketball, baseball, football, track and golf teams. After graduating from Bemidji State he taught and coached at Gonvick-Trail High School, then Clearbrook-Gonvick. In 1988 he became a teacher back in Red Lake Falls. The town is 300 miles from Williams Arena in the greater Grand Fork-Crookston-Thief River Falls region.

The Rebels, who are seeded third in the Class A tournament, lost to Dawson-Boyd 80-66 in Friday’s semifinals at Williams Arena. They will meet Nevis in the third-place game Saturday at Concordia University in St. Paul.

Red Lake County came to state with a record of 29-2, losing only to Ada-Borup West and Kittson County Central. They avenged the loss to KCC by defeating the Bearcats in the Section 8 championship game.

“There has been lots of basketball in the summer, AAU stuff, these guys have paid their dues,” Philion said. “They totally deserve this. They're amazing kids. They are outstanding players, outstanding people, and they really deserve all they can get here.”

Philion joked about being at state with Clearbrook-Gonvick “like 700 years ago” and musing that his players ask him questions about the Civil War. The 70-something coach might rarely smile on the sideline but he knows how to have fun.

The Rebels are glad to have him as their coach, leading the way all these years.

“This feels like a culmination of all the hours put in in the gym, all the late nights, early mornings, we feel like we deserve this, it feels like we should be here,” Gieseke said. “This is something that we worked for all our lives.”

Dawson-Boyd Coach Has Been Here Before

Another returning figure who had not been to state in many years is Dawson-Boyd coach Cory Larson. Dawson-Boyd’s only previous trip to state was in 1991, when Cory was a junior on the team. He’s been head coach of the Blackjacks (terrific nickname, by the way) for 20 years and came to state this year with a career record of 365-165.

Dawson-Boyd, from southwestern Minnesota, was 27-3 as the state tournament began. The Blackjacks lost during the regular season to Albany (top-seeded in 2A at state), Cherry (top-seeded in 1A) and Dell Rapids St. Mary from South Dakota.

“That (previous state tournament) was 34 years ago, so for one, it's tough to remember,” Larson said with a grin. “You certainly remember bits and pieces of the games when we played. We opened up at Williams Arena and our other two games were at the St. Paul Civic Center, so that was a while ago.

“Honestly, I probably remember more from things like the hotel experience, hanging with the group of guys that that we had. We ended up having to spend an extra night because there was a snowstorm, so we didn't leave for Dawson until Sunday.”

Memories like that come flooding back all these years later, and Larson knows what his players will take away from the experience this weekend.

“It was probably what it’s like for these guys, too. You don't get caught up in things like what the fans are doing and all that. You just kind of prepare for the games and go out and play and try to enjoy it. For me as a coach, I feel like it's more rewarding than it was as a player. These guys, the investment that they've made, not just this season but getting here, is a culmination of the time and effort that these guys have put in from when they were waist-high.”

Fifty Years In The Front Row

As has been the case for half a century, Bryce Pack was sitting in the front row at Williams Arena on Friday during the boys state basketball tournament. And as usual, his sons sat alongside.

Bryce, 72, is a retired educator, administrator, coach and official who grew up in Walnut Grove. I met him years ago when I visited Red Rock Central in Lamberton, where he was the athletic director. Now retired, he and his wife Deb spend lots of time roaming around Minnesota to watch his grandkids compete on various athletic fields.

There are four sons, 11 grandkids and one great-grandchild. As for the Pack boys…

--Chris is the head boys basketball coach and activities director at Hayfield.

--Nick is a contractor who lives in Baldwin, Wis., and officiates at the high school level as well as in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

--Casey teaches at Maple Lake, is an assistant boys basketball coach at Annandale and is the referee on a high school football officiating crew as well as a crew in the college ranks.

--Colby is the activities director and boys basketball coach at Red Rock Central and a football official who has worked Prep Bowl games.

Bryce came to the state tournament all four years while he was in high school at Walnut Grove, where he graduated in 1971. He missed four tournaments while he was in college at Southwest Minnesota State; he was a baseball player and the team was always on a southern trip.

But since 1975 – when Little Falls and Chisholm won state titles in a two-class system -- Bryce has been at every boys state basketball tournament. It’s a family tradition; the Pack pack arrives when the doors open and they sit in the front row at Williams Arena or Target Center. They talk about the great and/or odd things they have seen, the talented players and terrific plays, the down-to-the-wire finishes, the friends they have made.

My Top Eight Nicknames In The Tournament

1. Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks

2. Moorhead Spuds

3. Montevideo Thunder Hawks

4. Pequot Lakes Patriots

5. Byron Bears

6. Anoka Tornadoes

7. Duluth Denfeld Hunters

8. DeLaSalle Islanders

--MSHSL staff member John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Bluesky at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]