John's Journal
Memorable Moments, Big Numbers … And Now A Little Downtime3/28/2011
The Minnesota high school version of March Madness – which actually begins in February every year – has come to an end. It was a thrilling ride, wasn’t it? I tried to tell as many stories as possible here on John’s Journal, and there were some great tales.

The emotional journey of Zach Gabbard and the Perham boys basketball team was something we’ll always remember, and there are many other memories, too. On the MSHSL Facebook page, I have asked our nearly 3,000 Friends about their favorite memories from the winter tournaments. The Perham Yellowjackets seem to have made a real impact with people from all over, and not just in Minnesota.

Here’s one of the Facebook messages:

“This year was all about Perham!!! They did an awesome job and deserved winning ;-) It was an emotional moment for everyone having Zach supporting and walking out on the court!!!!! Great job Yellowjackets.... You have fans in Idaho!”

Here is another memory, posted on Facebook:

“The classy postgame after the 4A girls championship game between Eden Prairie and Hopkins, with both teams gathering in a huddle for encouraging words from the coaches and heartfelt good sportsmanship.”

And here’s a fun message:

“Hey- I'm maggie I'm the manager for the freeze.. It was our second straight tournament trip.. This year was great.. Even though we lost. That made the team become really close!! It was an amazing experience either way!! But my favorite memory was actually, on our way down to the cities! Our charter bus broke down 15 ft from the state pen for an hour and a half!!”

Thanks to Maggie the manager from Northern Freeze and everyone who participates on our Facebook page. We have more than 2,800 Facebook Friends and that number is growing all the time.

In fact, our Facebook page had more than 1.2 million views in the past month alone.

And here is another great big number: 6,235,071. That’s the number of page views on mshsl.org from Feb. 21 to March 27, which is essentially the winter tournament season. Yes, you read that number correctly … more than 6.235 million page views.

That is an all-time mshsl.org record, and it’s more than a million page views beyond what we saw during the same period in 2010.

I have posted a series of photos from the winter state tournaments on our Facebook page, just in case you want to look back at one of the best times of the prep season. It’s a mad dash through all the tournaments, involving long days and great competition. And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

I’m going to duck out for the rest of this week and catch up on things like sleep and reading and walking the dog and changing the oil and getting a haircut and taking my wife out to a movie or two.

The ground is still a little damp as we wait for spring sports to get cranked up. But it won’t be long!

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 566
*Miles John has driven: 8,807

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter at twitter.com/mshsljohn
Gearing Up For Championship Saturday3/26/2011
Wow! After four games and seven overtimes on Friday at Target Center, who the heck knows what Saturday will hold.

Here’s the lineup of games …

Noon (Class 1A): Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (32-0) vs. Springfield (25-3)

2 p.m. (2A): Rochester Lourdes (24-7) vs. Perham (30-1)

6 p.m. (3A): Columbia Heights (25-6) vs. Orono (27-4)

8 p.m. (4A): Hopkins (30-1) vs. Eden Prairie (27-4)
A Springfield Surprise in Class 1A Championship Game3/26/2011
The conventional wisdom turned out to be not so wise. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa was the only undefeated basketball team in Minnesota – boys or girls – going into Saturday’s Class 1A title game against Springfield, and many fans thought B-B-E was simply too talented to lose.

In stepped the Tigers of Springfield. Out they came with a 70-58 victory and the state championship. The Tigers closed the season with a 26-3 record; B-B-E is 32-1.

I’ll write more about Springfield later in the day, including a special story about a special member of the team ...

--Basketball wasn’t the only thing on Saturday’s MSHSL schedule. The MSHSL held its annual AAA (Academics, Arts & Athletics) Award luncheon, held across the street from Target Center at the Graves 601 Hotel. The luncheon honored 32 high school seniors from all over Minnesota. Afterwards, the AAA award winners were introduced on the court during halftime of the Class 2A championship game.

Again, I’ll write more about the AAA Award later today.

ALL-TOURNAMENT AND CONSOLATION

Class 1A All-Tournament: Brady Boike, Seth Hinrichs, MACRAY; Aden Casey, Tyler Simonson, Chisholm; Jesse Kieper, Alex Fink, Cody Milbrath, Springfield; Kevin Kuefler, Connor Goodwin, Brady Koehler, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa.

Class 1A Consolation: MACCRAY 72, Chisholm 53.

Class 2A Consolation: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 67, Redwood Valley 64.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS

Here’s an email I received Saturday. It is self-explanatory…

“Would you please help make corrections to comments made during Perham's state championship games concerning the fact that Perham has no "Band" because of budget cuts? The fact is that Perham's budget cuts caused the Band to not operate at the same capacity, but the PHS Band and Pep Band is alive and well. It is directed by Mr. Larry Wankel who puts his heart and soul into each students' musical success and they love him for it. It was very disheartening for Band members to not be able to play at State games but the Garage band won the luck of the draw. This correction would mean so much to the already "let-down" Perham Band members. Thank you so much!”

--Diet Coke Count: 1 for the day, 16 for the tournament, 77 for the winter tournaments.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 566
*Miles John has driven: 8,807

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter at twitter.com/mshsljohn
Two Hearts Connected: Perham’s Zach Gabbard and Brent Hanson3/26/2011
When the teenager from Perham collapsed while playing basketball, he could have died. But quick action saved his life and he’s become an inspiration to everyone who knows his story.

I’m not talking about Zach Gabbard, although the previous words certainly apply to the Perham eleventh-grader who inspired the Yellowjackets through Saturday’s 45-37 victory over Rochester Lourdes in the Class 2A state championship game. I’m referring to Brent Hanson, a Perham assistant coach who has lived 10 years now with an internal defibrillator.

Zach collapsed on Jan. 20 during a game in the gym at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. He was revived via CPR and an AED, transported to Fargo and later to the Twin Cities, where he remains. He has had multiple surgeries and some setbacks, but his appearances at Williams Arena and Target Center this week were magical.

Brent Hanson was 19 and playing pickup basketball with some buddies in the gym at the Perham Area Community Center when he went down. Paramedics were close by, arrived quickly and used an AED to shock his heart back into rhythm. An internal defibrillator was implanted in his chest and he is in great health. He plays basketball and has even run a marathon since his cardiac episode.

Brent stayed close to Zach and his parents in the days following Zach’s collapse.

“I’m not a heart doctor but I’ve gotten a heart education, that’s for sure,” he said. “As a parent, one of the things you’re concerned with is, ‘Is there something we could have done to prevent this?’ I have learned that it’s freak, there’s nothing you can do to prevent it. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen.

“With them seeing me lead a normal life and coach Zach, I think that gave them a little bit of hope, knowing that this isn’t going to end his athletic career, hopefully.”

When I asked Brent -- who works as an IT technician for Becker County – about the Yellowjackets’ storybook season, he said, “Somebody should get the Disney movie rights, because it’s unbelievable.”

--Zach and his parents were not at Target Center for Saturday’s championship game. After the game, this message was posted on Zach’s CaringBridge website …

“Zach's Friday was an extremely long day for him. Our 5 hour excursion to the Target Center turned out to be 7 hours. Zach was exhausted this morning and his blood pressure was low. We struggled with the decision of taking him to the game but didn't want to have a setback. And wouldn't you know it: his blood pressure was normal halfways into the first half. We watched the game on t.v. and the win was very emotional for all of us (tears of joy and sadness that Zach was not playing or even there.) Onward and upward from this day forward! Hard work so he can get home. :)”

Since Zach wasn't on hand to receive his championship medal when his name was called, teammate Jordan Bruhn accepted it on behalf of Zach. Bruhn held up three fingers (Zach wears jersey number 3) as he did so. When the team posed for photos with the championship trophy, they held up three fingers instead of the traditional index fingers.

A SPECIAL DAY FOR SOME SPECIAL STUDENTS

Basketball wasn’t the only event on the schedule Saturday. The MSHSL held the annual AAA (Academics, Arts & Athletics) Award luncheon, across the street from Target Center at the Graves 601 Hotel. The luncheon honored 32 high school seniors from all over Minnesota. Afterwards, the AAA award winners were introduced on the court during halftime of the Class 2A championship game.

One honoree was unable to attend the luncheon, but he had a pretty good reason. When the luncheon began, Springfield senior Dillon Schultz was in the starting lineup and helping Springfield win the Class 1A state championship. The Tigers defeated Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 70-58, with Schultz scoring 17 points.

Like all of the AAA Award recipients, Dillon (right) is busy. He’s on the basketball and golf teams, he participates in choir and is also a member of the speech program at Springfield. And he just doesn’t participate; he is highly successful.

He was the Class A golf state champion as a sophomore and finished in a second-place tie at state as a junior. He will take one more crack at a state golf title this spring. At the state speech meet two years ago, Dillon and Cody Henrickson finished 11th in Class A Duo Interpretation. Last spring they finished second in the same category.

“My family’s always there and they always motivate me to keep going and keep being the best I can be at everything I do,” he said. “And I try to do everything absolutely to my best. I don’t take things as given and I don’t ever slack off. There’s free time, but you’re never too busy.”

CLASS 3A: FAMILY TRADITION CONTINUES

When Bird Island-Lake Lillian won state basketball titles in 1980 and 1981, the coach was Jerry Wohler and the star player was his son, Barry. The family business added more gold Saturday night when Orono beat Columbia Heights 85-76 to win the 3A championship.Barry Wohler is now the coach of the Orono Spartans and the starting lineup includes his son Brady, a junior guard. Brady, who scored 23 points Saturday, has watched his dad’s state championship games on video and dreamed of winning a gold medal.

Asked about his son’s performance Saturday, Barry (pictured below) joked, “I’d like to think he gets that from his mother.”Grandpa and Grandma Wohler, who were in the stands Saturday, have one more family tie in the tournament: Osseo senior guard Ross Miller is also their grandson.

--In 4A, Hopkins won its third consecutive state title with a 64-52 win over Eden Prairie.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS

Here’s an email I received Saturday. It is self-explanatory…

“Would you please help make corrections to comments made during Perham's state championship games concerning the fact that Perham has no "Band" because of budget cuts? The fact is that Perham's budget cuts caused the Band to not operate at the same capacity, but the PHS Band and Pep Band is alive and well. It is directed by Mr. Larry Wankel who puts his heart and soul into each students' musical success and they love him for it. It was very disheartening for Band members to not be able to play at State games but the Garage band won the luck of the draw. This correction would mean so much to the already "let-down" Perham Band members. Thank you so much!”

That's a wrap for the winter tournaments. Let's take some time off and wait patiently for the earth to dry. Spring sports are here!

We close with a drum roll (insert that sound effect here) and the final numbers...

--Diet Coke Count: 5 for the day, 20 for the tournament, 81 for the winter tournaments.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 566
*Miles John has driven: 8,807

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter at twitter.com/mshsljohn
1A, 2A Schools Take Over Target Center … And A 4A Preview3/25/2011
Today’s boys state basketball tournament features the semifinal games in Class 1A and 2A, which is always a treat. Here’s the lineup…

Class 1A
Noon: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa vs. MACCRAY
2 p.m.: Chisholm vs. Springfield

Class 2A
6 p.m.: Rochester Lourdes vs. Redwood Valley
8 p.m.: Perham vs. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown

I’ll have lots of good stuff from those games later in the day. But let’s start the day talking about Saturday’s Class 4A title game.

There will be no secrets when Hopkins and Eden Prairie take the floor Saturday night. The Lake Conference neighbors met twice this season, with Eden Prairie winning 75-71 on Feb. 1 and Hopkins winning 73-60 on 17 days later. Oddly, the visiting team won each game.

Hopkins is 30-1, Eden Prairie is 27-4; the Eagles also lost to Minneapolis Washburn, St. Paul Johnson and Chaska. After Eden Prairie beat Osseo in Thursday night’s semifinals, I asked coach David Flom what would be important in the title game. He said it’s all about the turnovers.

“I don’t know if it’s the magic number, but if we have fewer than 13 turnovers we win the game,” Flom said. “The way they play defense, they gamble a lot, they lunge; they’re willing to gamble because they’re so great athletically. And we just have to make sure we take care of the ball and take advantage of that without turning the ball over.”

Hopkins is famous for swiping turnovers, galloping down the court and scoring on the break. The Royals can score that way in a hurry, and the Eagles know it.

“They’re fantastic in transition,” Flom said. “Even a one-on-two isn’t really transition, but it is for them. So we have to play five-on-five defense. And to play five-on-five we have to get great shots. We’ve talked about always wanting good shots, and against them we need great shots.

“We are going into the game expecting to win. We really are, and that’s not just for the media or anything; we expect to win. And that’s the key: if we take care of the ball we should beat ‘em. They clearly have better individuals, but I believe we’re a better team.”

Hopkins is chasing its third consecutive title. The record is four in a row. Here is a list of the teams that have won the most consecutive championships:

4 - Southwest Minnesota Christian (Class A) 1999-2000-2001-2002
4 -- Minneapolis Patrick Henry (3A) 2000-2001-2002-2003
3 - Edina (single class) 1966-1967-1968
3 – Minneapolis Patrick Henry (Class 3A) 2001-2002-2003
3 – Braham (Class 2A) 2004-2005-2006
3 – Minneapolis North 1995 & 1996 (Sweet 16) 1997 (3A)

--Diet Coke Count: 1 for the day, 11 for the tournament, 72 for the winter tournaments.

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has visited: 566
*Miles John has driven: 8,855

--Join the MSHSL on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook button on the right side of www.mshsl.org. John Millea is on Twitter at twitter.com/mshsljohn