Minnesota's Best 100 Power Forwards Ever

The power forward position was invented right here in Minnesota by Minneapolis Lakers coach John Kundla. He had George Mikan at the center spot, and he also had Vern Mikkelson on the bench. He got both in the game by putting Mikkelson at the forward spot. Now he had two posts on the floor, and could overpower a lot of opponents. 

This happened in the 1950s. Most of the “power forwards,” like Mikkelson (and Olberding and Zender and McHale, etc.), played the center spot in high school but moved out to the power forward later in their career, whether at the college level or the professional. Or, prior to the 1950s, the power forward was simply the bigger of the two forwards. But most of our best power forwards came after the 1950s and the idea of having two “bigs” on the floor.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
1. Mark Olberding, Melrose 1974	Led Melrose to overall state title, and was the 3rd player ever to score 100 points in a state tournament. 1,726 career points.	Played 1 year at MN, scoring 16 ppg. Then scored 10 ppg over 12 ABA/NBA seasons.
2. Hal Haskins, Alexandria 1943	The 1st boy ever to score 1,000 points in his career, and also set a tournament scoring record with 19 ppg in 1943.	Led Hamline to the 1949 NAIA national champion and earned all-America honors.
3. Kevin McHale, Hibbing 1976	McHale’s 79 FG percentage for that tournament remains the record to this day.	McHale scored 15 ppg in 4 years at MN, then scored 18 ppg over 13 NBA Hall of Fame seasons.
4. Kris Humphries, Hopkins 2003	Led Hopkins to 2 state tourneys, including the 2002 Class AAAA title. Mr. Basketball 2003.	Played 1 year at MN, leading the Big 10 in scoring and rebounding. Scored 6.5 ppg in 9 NBA seasons.
5. Bob Zender, Edina 1968	Led Edina to the 1st 3-peat ever, leading all scorers in 4 of 6 games in 1967 and 1968.	Played at Kansas State where he was Big 8 Newcomer of the  Year and played in 2 NCAA Elite 8s.
6. Rick Rickert, Duluth East 2001	Scored 30 ppg in 3 tournament games in leading East to 2nd place. Scored 2,358 points for his career. Mr. Basketball 2001.	Played 2 years at MN scoring 15 ppg. Played pro ball overseas.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
7. Norm Grow, Foley 1958	His 2,852 career points was the MN record for 33 years, and his 1,417 rebounds was the record for 49 years.	Played at MN where he was a starting forward as a junior.
8. Reid Travis, DeLaSalle 2014	Led the Islanders to 3 straight Class AAA titles.	Playing college ball at Stanford.
9. Steve Lingenfelter, Bloomington Jefferson 1976	Lingenfelter led the Jaguars to 2 state tournaments and twice outplayed Kevin McHale including 1976 final.	Lingenfelter played 2 years for the MN Gophers before transferring to South Dakota State, where he scored 22 ppg over 2 years. Played in 10 NBA games.
10. Vern Mikkelson, Askov 1945		Led Hamline to 1949 NAIA national title, earning all-America honors. Scored 14 ppg in 10 NBA seasons, earning Hall of Fame honors.
11. Mark Landsberger, Mounds View 1973	Led his team to 2 state tournaments including 1972 Class AA title, scoring 84 points in 4 games.	Scored 16 ppg in 2 college seasons at MN and Arizona State. Then scored 6 ppg in 7 NBA seasons.
12 (tie). Jim Fritsche, St. Paul Humboldt, and Milan Knezovich, Hibbing, both 1949	Fritsche led the 1949 state champs with the 2ndhighest ppg in tournament history (23.3). Led the St. Paul City Conference in scoring twice. Knezovich led Hibbing to 2 state tournaments. Was the #1 scorer at the time with 1,476 points.	Fritsche played at Hamline where he helped the Pipers to the 1951 NAIA national title. Knezovich played at Drake, later returned from the military to become all-conference at Mankato State.
13 (tie). Arnie Johnson, Gonvick 1938, Johnny Norlander, Virginia 1938 and Clint Wager, Winona 1937	Norlander helped his team to 2ndplace in 1937 state tournament.	Johnson played for Bemidji State, and scored 9 ppg in 7 NBA seasons. Norlander led Hamline to the 1942 NAIA national title, then scored 8 ppg in 5 NBA seasons. Wager starred on St. Mary’s (Winona) only MIAC champs in 1939, 1940, led the MIAC in scoring in 1940-1941, and played 8 years of pro ball.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
14. Jim Peterson, St. Louis Park 1981	Led his team to a 2nd, 3rdand 4th place finish in Class AA. Mr. Basketball 1980.	Scored 6 ppg in 4 years at MN, then 7 ppg in 8 NBA seasons.
15. Bill Davis, Richfield 1960	Led his team to 3rd place in the state tournament, scoring 40 points in 1 game and 88 in 3.	Was captain of the U of MN Gophers basketball team.
16. Andra Griffin, Minneapolis Central 1977	Led his team to the Class AA consolation championship and tied for tournament scoring lead with 77 points. Once scored 53 points in a game.	Scored 12 ppg in 4 years at Washington and finished as the #9 career scorer at that time. Picked in 5th round of NBA draft but did not play in the NBA.
17. Ray Cronk, Bemidji 1959	Led his team to 3 state tournaments, and led all tournament scorers his junior year with 28.7 ppg.	Played college ball at MN.
18. Frank Wachlarowicz, Little Falls 1975	Led the Flyers to the 1975 Class AA and overall titles.	Top men’s college scorer in MN history 2,357 pts at St. John’s.
19. Tony Jenkins, Shattuck, 1970	Led Shattuck to 2 state private school titles.	Played at Harvard, where he was captain.
20. Larry Mikan, Benilde 1964	Led Benilde to the state Catholic title.	Played at MN and in 53 NBA games.
21. Paul McDonald, Chisholm 1976	Led Chisholm to the 1975 Class A title, and was the #5 career rebounder at the time. Was #1 and is still #5 all-time in FT pct.	Lettered 1 year at Nebraska, then won all-NCC and all-region at SDSU. He still holds the SDSU record for 17 straight FT made.
22 (tie). Ben Coleman, Minneapolis North 1979, and Dan Coleman, Hopkins 2003	Cousins. Both were Mr. Basketball finalists. Dan helped his team to a state title and a 3rd place.	Ben scored 11.5 ppg in 4 years at MN and Maryland, then 6 ppg in 5 NBA seasons. Dan scored 10 ppg in 4 seasons at MN.
23 (tie). Trevor Mbakwe, Henry Sibley, St. Agnes 2007; Royce White, Hopkins 2009; and Rodney Williams, Robbinsdale Cooper 2009	Mbakwe helped his team to 3rdplace in the 2007 Class A tournament, and was a Mr. Basketball finalist. White helped unbeaten Hopkins 2009, reputed to be MN’s best team ever, to the state title, and was Mr. Basketball. Williams scored 1,702 career points with 660 rebounds.	Mbakwe played at Marquette and Miami-Dade CC in addition to MN, where he led the Big 10 in rebounding. White sat out a year on suspension at MN and transferred to Iowa State. Williams played at MN where he scored 10 ppg as a senior.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
24. Dean Veenhof, Edgerton 1961	Led Edgerton to 1960 state title, and finished his career with 1,887 points.	Played college ball at Augustana.
25. Jeff Nordgaard, Dawson-Boyd 1991	Led Dawson-Boyd to Class A 3rd place in 1991. And Mr. Basketball finalist that year.	Scored 16 ppg in 4 seasons, including 23 as a senior, at WGB. Played in 13 NBA games.
26. Nathan Reuvers, Lakeville North, 2017	Led the Panthers to 4th, 2nd and 6th place in 3 state tournaments, scoring 26 ppg with 12 boards and 4 blocks as a senior.	Rated as a 4-Star recruit, Reuvers will play college ball at Wisconsin.
27 (tie). Jerry Olson 1955 and Roger Voss 1958, both Austin	Olson helped his team to 3 state tournaments and a 3rd and 2nd place finish. Voss starred for Austin’s 1958 state champs	Both played at Colorado where Voss was all-Big 8 in 1961.
28. Jerry Butler, Minneapolis Roosevelt 1957	Helped Roosevelt to 2 state titles in 1956 and 1957.	Lettered as a senior at MN in 1960.
29. Kevin Noreen, Minnesota Transitions 2010	Finished as the #1 scorer at the time with more than 4,000 points, and led his team to the Class A state title. Mr. Basketball.	Played college ball at West Virginia.
30. Bob Laney, Proctor 1964	Led his team to 4th place at state, taking a record 32 rebounds in 1 game and 69 for the tournament.	Still holds Concordia (Moorhead) career scoring record with 1,847 points.
31. Joey King, Eastview 2012	Mr. Basketball finalist 2012, 24 points and 6 boards as a senior.	Scored 7 ppg as freshman at Drake, played 3 years at the U.
32. Mike Bauer, Hastings 2000	Mr. Basketball finalist.	Still #2 all-time MN Gopher with 191 3-point FG made. Plays pro ball in Europe.
33. Marshall Bjorklund, Sibley East 2010	AP Player of the Year, finished with 1,910 career points, 1,326 rebounds, 383 blocks. Mr. Basketball finalist.	Scored 16 points with 6 boards in 3 years at NDSU.
34. Johnny Gilbert, Minneapolis Patrick Henry 2000	Led Henry to Class AAA title. #4 career rebounder at the time (1,243). Mr. Basketball finalist.	Scored 4 ppg in 5 years at Oklahoma.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
35. Maynard Johnson, Plainview 1947		Scored a school record 38 points at MN in 1951.
36. Jeff McCarron, Sherburn 1970	Helped Sherburn to the state title, and finioshed with 1,597 career points.	Played 2 seasons at Augustana and is a member of the Augies Hall of Fame.
37. Chris Bjorklund, Brainerd 1997	Top scorer in Brainerd history with 1,718 points.	Played college ball at Cal Poly, scoring 17 and 18 ppg.
38. Neal Arntson, Red Wing 1915	Helped Red Wing to 1915 state title.	Played at MN where he was #2 in scoring in the Big 10 in 1922.
39. Ryan Amoroso, Burnsville and Eric Coleman, Tartan both 2004	Amoroso led his team to 2nd place in Class AAAA, scoring 24 ppg as a senior. Coleman, 6-6, scored 13 ppg with 11 boards as a senior.	Amaroso scored 4 ppg in 4 years at Marquette and San Diego State, and played pro ball in Europe. Coleman scored 12 ppg over 4 years at Northern Iowa.
40. Warren Jeppeson, St. Louis Park 1955	Scored Lake Conference record 47 points in 1 game. Played in all-star game with Bob Ferry, Bailey Howell, Joe Ruklick, etc.	3-time basketball letterman and also played football at MN.
41. Lou Barle, Gilbert 1934		Played at UMD where he is a Hall of Famer. Played for NBL champs Oshkosh in 1941, and played in the NFL.
42. Dick Burk, Minneapolis North  1938	Led his team to runner-up in the state tournament.	2-time letterman at MN.
43. Dave Hegna, Granite Falls 1947	Scored 1,025 points.	Helped Hamline to the 1951 NAIA national title.
44. Mike Brusewitz, Henry Sibley 2008	Helped his team to Class AAAA runner-up finish in 2008. Mr. Basketball finalist.	Played 4 years at Wisconsin, scoring 6 ppg as a junior and as a senior.
45. Vern “Moose” Bagenstoss, Albany 1952	The 14thplayer to scored 1,000 points, he finished at 1,011.	Earned Little all-America honors at St. Cloud State.
46. Sid Bostic, Pipestone 1960	Dean Verdoes says he was the best player he ever played against.	His half-court shot won NCAA college division national title for SDSU 44-42 over Wittenberg in 1963. Scored 1,079 career points with 804 rebounds (#4 all-time). Member SDSU Hall of Fame.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
47. Eric Carlson, Shakopee 2007	Helped his team to the 2005 Class AAA title. His 252 FT and 335 FT attempts in 2007 was a state record.	Scored 9 ppg over 4 years at NDSU.
48. Bill “Shorty” Patterson, Minneapolis North 1954		First black to play at Gustavus. Helped Gusties to 2 MIAC titles.
49. Ernest Nzigamaszabo, Mound 1989	Once scored 51 points in a game.	Scored 4 ppg in 4 years as a MN Gopher.
50. Chet Anderson, Duluth Central 1963	Led the Trojans to the state title in 1961 as a sophomore.	Played football at MN.
51. Gordon Burich, Chisholm 1934	Led his team to the 1934 state title.
52. Mike Patterson, Mahtomedi 1961	Led his team to state tournament where they defeated Edgerton for the consolation title.	Played at UMD, where he is a member of the Hall of Fame.
53. Sanjay Lumpkin, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 2012	Scored 20 ppg as a senior.	Playing college ball at Northwestern.
54. Scott McDonald, Two Harbors 1971	Led his team to its 1ststate tournament bid in 47 years. Scored 1,436 career points.	Played college ball at West Virginia.
55. Bob Anderstrom, Willmar 1954	Led the 1954 state tournament in scoring with 71 points (23.7 ppg) and finished with 1,364 points, #7 at the time.	Lettered as a senior at MN in 1958.
56. Brett Ervin, Eden Prairie 2010	2-time all-state tournament, scored 17 ppg as a senior.	3-year starter at UMD, scored 16 ppg as a senior.
57. Joe Aase, Austin 2013	Led the Packers to 2 state tournaments.	Transferred from Davidson to Mankato State, scored 9 ppg as a junor.
58. John Carlson, Litchfield 2003	Helped Litch to 3 state titles.	Played football at Notre Dame and in NFL.
59. Keith Hasselquist, Chisago Lakes 1983	Led his team to Class AA 3rd place in 1983. Mr. Basketball finalist 1983.	Played college ball at Augustana, twice all-conference, and is a member of the Augie HoF.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
60. Wally Salovich, Minneapolis Marshall 1942		Played for the MN Gophers.
61. Billy Gross, Hayfield 1969	Led Hayfield to 2 state tournaments. Led all scorers in 1968 with 81 points.	Won all-conference honors 3 times at Augustana. Augustana’s Athletic Director 1986-present.
62. Kurt Shellhas, Edina 1967	Helped his team to 2 state titles.
63 (tie). Bob and Dick Peterson, Henning 1966	Led their team to 2 state tournaments, losing only in 3OT to Edina in 1966. Dick scored 1,579 career points, Bob 1,492.	Both played at Concordia (Moorhead), and went 11-5 in the NSC as seniors.
64. Steve Fritz, Blooming Prairie, Rochester Lourdes 1967	Led BP to state tournament as a junior, then led Lourdes to state Catholic title as a senior.	Scored 1,944 career points, still #2 on St. Thomas list, and earned all-MIAC honors 3 times.
65. Merle McClung, Montevideo 1961	Scored 1,138 career points.	Played at Harvard where he won all-Ivy League honors. He also was a Rhodes Scholar.
66. Bill Fiedler, Edina 1968	All-tournament as Edina won its 3rdstraight state title.
67. Cliff Halmrast, Moorhead 1928	Led Moorhead to 1928 state title, leading all scorers in semi and final.	Led Concordia (Moorhead) to its only MIAC title (in 1931) before 1982.
68. Dick Erickson, Anoka 1957	Scored 1,417 career points.	Played at U of MN.
69. Armond Battle, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 2008	Helped his team to the 2008 Class AAA title with 21 points and 7 rebounds.	Signed with Tulsa but did not play. Played 2 years with Wright State, averaging 5 ppg.
70. Del Jessen, Luverne 1965	Led his team to the 1964 state title and 4th place in ‘65, scoring 34 points in the 1964 semi.	Played football at the U of MN.
71. Mark Dusbabek, Faribault 1983	Led Faribault to a #1 statewide ranking in his senior year.	Played football at Minnesota
72. Redd Overton, Minneapolis North 1981	Led North to the 1981 Class AA title. Mr. Basketball 1981.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
73. Jerry Dreier, St. Paul Marshall 1953	Led the St. Paul City Conference in scoring at 18 ppg.	Among Macalester’s all-time leaders with 1,523 career points, and 43 in a single game.
74. Marvin Singleton, Hopkins 2011	Helped Hopkins to 3 state titles. Scored 20 points with 12 boards as a senior.	Averaged 2 ppg in 1st 2 years at Northern Iowa.
75. Jake White, Chaska 2012	Scored 23 points with 12 rebounds as a senior.	Plays college ball at Wichita State.
76. Larry Witthus, Glencoe 1979	Led Glencoe to 3rd, 5thand 3rd place in the state tournament.	Led Mankato State in scoring twice.
77. Pat Coleman, Mankato West 1991	Led West to 3rd place in 1991 Class AA tournament, leading all AA scorers with 71 points.	Played college ball at Mankato State where he is a member of the Hall of Fame.
78. Dan Banister, Mpls. North 1987	Mr. Basketball finalist.	Played college ball at Charlotte, scoring 4 ppg over 4 years.
79. Julian Greer, Brooklyn Center 1999	Thought to be the #1 rebounder in state history with 1,304, though higher totals were later found. Also scored 2,158 points.	Played 1 year of college ball at Wisconsin-Stout, scoring 11 ppg with 4.5 rebounds.
80 (tie). Tyler Flack 2012 and Connor Flack 2015, both Lakeville North	Led North to 4 straight state tournaments. Tyler helped the Panthers to 2nd place in 2012, and Connor helped them win a state title in 2014.	Tyler played college ball at South Dakota, scoring 14 ppg as a senior. Connor played at Winona State.
81. Lawrence Krause, Waseca 1948	Led Waseca to consolation title in 1948, and led all tournament scorers with 57 pts.	Played at Mankato State.
82. Theo John, Champlin Park 2017	Athletic, leaping 6-8 power forward helped his team to the runner-up slot in Class AAAA.	Will play college ball at Marquette.
83. Nate Kratch, Watertown-Mayer 2012	Recorded 1,101 rebounds and 451 blocks in his high school career.	Scored 6.5 ppg at Santa Clara.
84. Rod Grosse, Irondale 1986	Mr. Basketball finalist.	Played at Marquette, scoring 2 ppg over 4 years.
	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
85 (tie). Irwin St.John 1950, Jack Whiting 1955 and Gerry Suman 1963, all Bemidji	St. John and Whiting played in 3 tournaments each, earning all-tournament honors twice. Suman played in one state tournament.	St. John and Suman played at Bemidji State where both are members of the Hall of Fame.
86. John Nefstead, Marshall 1963	Led Marshall to 1963 state title.
87 (tie). Seth Hinrichs, MCCRAY and Shelby Moats, Waconia both 2011	Hinirhcs avg. 22 points with 11 rebounds as senior. Moats led his team to 3rd place in Class AAA his senior year, scoring 36 points with 37 boards in 3 games.	Hinrichs scored 14 points with 5 rebounds as sophomore at Lafayette. Moats played college ball at Vanderbilt but had some concussion problems.
88. Junior (Spike) Skoglund 1941 and Stewart Skoglund 1943, both Hopkins	Each set Lake Conference season scoring record. Stewart’s 22 points in a 1942 state tournament game was the most since 1921.	Both played college ball at Gustavus.
89. Dave Zollar, Duluth East 1987	Mr. Basketball finalist 1987.	Earned all-conference honors at UMD.
90. Virgil Sonju, Finalyson, Kennedy 1956	Scored 2,008 career points, #2 at the time.
91. Gary Wolters, Little Falls 1977	Played for state champs in 1975, co-led 1977 tournament with 81 points. Mr. basketball finalist 1977
92 (tie). Wayne Deden 1954 and Curt Thalberg 1957, both Red Wing	Both helped their teams to the state tournament	Deden played 4 years at Mankato State, Thalberg 1 year (but 4 years of football) at MN.
93 (tie). Don ‘Avi” Avikainen 1946 and Mike Vesel 1974, both Tower-Soudan	Avi led his team to the state tournament, while Vesel scored 2,048 career points.	Vesel played college ball at UMD.
94. Keil Anderson, Preston 1973	Scored 1,735 career points, led his team to 1973 state tournament.
95. Jeff Ellens, Cretin-Derham Hall 1994	Led St. Paul City Conference in scoring twice at 16 and 20 ppg. Mr. Basketball finalist 1994.	Also played college ball at Cornell.

	High School Resume’	Post-High School Highlights
96. Bryce Webster, St. Thomas 2006		Committed to Minnesota, then ended up at Cal State-Fullerton.
97. John Thelen, Melrose 1971	Led his team to 1971 Class A title.
98 (tie). Larry Mulder 1972, Greg Mulder 1974, Kevin Mulder 1975, Kim Mulder 1978, all Renville	Larry scored 1,202 career points, played in 2 state tournaments, Greg scored 1,480, Kevin 1,315 and Kim 1,175 points.	Larry played college ball at South Dakota State. Kevin is Moorhead State’s all-time leading scorer with 1,797 points.
99. Harper Richardson 1946 and Kal Kallenberger 1972, both Austin	Richardson helped his team to the 1946 state title. (His full name was Austin Harper Richardson.) Kallenberger scored 70 points in 3 games in 1972.	Richardson became a Methodist minister.
100. Jack Colvard, St. Paul Humboldt 1952		3-year starter at Gustavus including 2 MIAC title teams, and is a member of the Gusties HoF.

“You can’t win without talent:” Q & A with Ken Novak, Sr.

(I didn’t get a chance, initially, to ask Ken, Sr., a question because he instantly began to talk about his son, Kenny, Jr.)

Kenny, Jr., is very quiet, he’s always been very quiet. He’s an unbelieveable coach. He’s won 8 or 9 of the last 15 state championships. He was coach of the year in the United States two years ago. He’s won 28 conference titles in a row in the toughest conference in the state. 

But he doesn’t like being the center of attention. The AD was telling me the other day, you gotta get Kenny to put out some of the awards he’s won. I said, What do you want. He said, Just release some of that stuff so we can put it up there (in the Hopkins trophy case), and I said, He won’t do it. I know him, and it’s not about that. And he said, Well, I asked him, and he said, It’s about the kids, it’s not about me. And I said, I coulda told you that! That’s the way he’s always been.

Q: You were class of 1945, I was class of 1968. The game has changed a lot since our day. And there might be other things, too, but the 3-point shot, summer ball and open enrollment have really changed the game. 

This is interesting. In the St. Paul paper, John Millea…people always say, you’re recruiting…but he talked to every single kid we had that came to Hopkins, they said they had never met coach Novak. And we haven’t had many who came in. We’ve had more kids leave our place than you could ever believe. But we have kids in 9^thwho send us letters and we never say a thing. We just say, If you want to play, play. But if you’re afraid you can’t compete, then you better go.

Most of them want to know that (if they’re good enough to play for Hopkins), but we never (say anything). In fact, this kid right here in the blue shorts, Zeke Nnaji. He went to Lakeville two or three years ago, and his dad says, They never spent five minutes with him. There were two or three players who were better than him. But, now, he’s going to be a fantastic player. He’s got offers from a lot of the big schools. He’s 6-8 or 6-9. The coaches didn’t think he could play down at Lakeville. We didn’t even know who he was, he just walked in here. But, a great kid. Last week, we had Nebraska here, Wyoming, Purdue….

Please tell me Richard Pitino. I wish the Gophers did a better job of recruiting Minnesota.

Even my grandson, Blake Hoffarber, he had Notre Dame, he had Vanderbilt, and it wasn’t til the last day. He was at Notre Dame when Munson called him, offered him a ride, but until then, everybody else was looking at him, and they never did. And he wanted to play at Minnesota. So he signed and had a great career. 

Richard Pitino never saw Amir Coffey until the state finals, and if it hadn’t been for Ben Johnson he wouldn’t be there now. No, I don’t think they recruit that well.

I remember when Khalid El-Amin played at North, and we beat him one year. Then his son played for us and now he’s at Ball State. He was with us from the 2^ndgrade. We have never gone to a kid, ever…. There’s dads who say to me, Kenny won’t even talk to me, and I say, Well, because if he did they’d all say, hey, he’s recruiting.

I understand that you even told Royce White, please, don’t come here.

Who told you that? Yeah, we did. But I liked him. We never had a minute of problems with him. But he didn’t like playing for Dave Thorson. Dave was tough.

Dave is tougher than Ken?

Oh, Ken is not a holler guy. He’s actually quite quiet. I was a little more fiery. And Dave would intimidate him. And I’ve heard him use such terrible language. I took my wife to one game and I said I’d never take her back to DeLaSalle. And intimidating officials, holy cow! No question, Dave was a good coach, especially defensively. Offensively, not so much, and there’s kids who left DeLaSalle because of that, they held he ball….

And he would never play us. And now we’re going to play them this year. We play everybody, we don’t care. We’re going to play all of the top 10 this year, we don’t care. We never duck anybody. We have trouble playing people. They want to duck us. 

You played DeLaSalle in the Tip Off a couple years ago….

But not a regular game. And we did pretty well in that game, as I recall.  (NOTE: Hopkins won that game by maybe 10 points.) And look at Cretin. We play them every year and I don’t think they ever beat us.

But the people who did play DeLaSalle always said he would never run. 

When you guys lose, it’s always a great game. I always say, even if Hopkins doesn’t win, you gotta go through Hopkins to win yourself. Osseo in 2012, Lakeville North in 2014. Those were fantastic games. And probably the greatest regular season game I’ve ever seen was in 2010 when you lost to St. Paul Johnson at Augsburg.

They were good. Vern Simmons is a great coach and a nice guy, too. We must have played them ten times and they never beat us other than that one. But his kids work hard, they pass the ball well, and he’s a nice guy. I have a lot of respect for him, but he’s retired now.

Tell me about the 3-point shot. What has it done to the game?

It has changed it completely. For example, in my day there were more zones, though I never played a zone in my life. But we saw a lot of zones. The 3 point play changes the game around. If you can shoot, it takes away a lot…you better know who you’re playing. I don’t know any other things that’s changed things as much as the 3 point shot. 

The kids play so much more basketball today. It’s so funny how things have gone. When I was in college, we were supposed to go to NAIA, and we had a 2^ndstring center who played in DeMoLay, and a coach squealed on him and we forfeited all our games. So Hamline played Bemidji, and we had beaten Bemidji twice, but that’s how they got to go to the NAIA. They beat Bemidji by two points. 

(We got to talking about our backgrounds a little. I mentioned that I was raised a Roman Catholic. Kenny jumped in to say:)

Me, too. All my life. And I have to say, I have a record, I go to Mass every day. I haven’t missed a Mass since I was 4 years old. And last year when I almost passed away last summer, if I didn’t have my faith, I could not have made it. I lost a daughter about eight years ago, that was the hardest thing I ever did. 

There was one kid, he really wanted to come here, even before he went to this other school. But Kenny just said, no, I think it’s better if you stay where you are. 

(After some cajoling, Ken said it was “this Riley kid from Minnetonka.”)

Let’s talk about some of your kids. I thought Siyani Chambers was really underrated.

He was one of the best coaches you’ll ever have on the floor. And a great kid. We couldn’t get him out of the gym. He lived here. He wasn’t very big, but Tommy Amaker said he was one of the best coaches out there on the floor, a great leader, plays hard. 

What made Blake so good?

Tubby Smith said he was the smartest kid he ever had, that’s quite a complement from Tubby. But he could score, he was a hell of a passer, too, very unselfish. He’s a great kid, I love him. He played all the time. He was in the gym since he was that high. And he was left-handed. And he was an unbelievable offensive player.

He’s probably the only kid who ever could have made “that shot.”

And he was good at everything. He loved tennis. He never played, but he would play some of the top players and darned if he couldn’t beat ‘em. But he was very humble. 

Tell me about yourself. You played at Crosby-Ironton, right?

Yeah, right.

Where did you play college ball?

I started, or, well, I didn’t start, but my high school coach went to Carleton…

Herman Woock.

Yeah. He played on the same team as Joe Hutton, Carl Nordly, Gus Young, Ozzie Cowles…. (NOTE: They all played at Carleton, but Hutton, Nordly and Cowles played there in the early 1920s, Woock and Young in the early 1930s.)

And, by the way, Herman Woock, we always had great teams. We went to state four years in a row when I was in high school, and we lost in two finals. We lost by two points to Patrick Henry and we lost by two points to Denfeld. 

(NOTE: C-I actually lost to Mpls. Patrick Henry 51-42 in the 1944 state final. In 1947 Duluth Denfeld beat C-I 46-44.)

What kind of coach was Herman Woock?

He was tougher than tough. Oh, was he tough. But I’ll tell you something. He knew his basketball. Fundamentally, nobody ever was any better than he was. And I think about it now, and I’m going to be 90 in March, 89 I should say, and Herman Woock, when we were in 7^thor 8^thgrade, he never had an assistant coach that I can think of. And, when we were in 7^thand 8^thgrade we would sit on the bench during practice, and then he’s say to come on the floor and shoot, and we were with him, and he controlled everything. 

But, we pressed all over, every single second, so height didn’t mean anything. We never were very big but we pressed every second. We loved him even though he was tougher than anybody I ever knew.

You know, I asked Bob McDonald about Harvey Roels and he said, He was a tough son-of-a-bitch.

But Harvey Roels, I had Harvey Roels one year at Crosby-Ironton, but he was a football coach more than a basketball coach. And compared to Herman Woock, he was not what I’d call a tough SOB. 

(NOTE: Actually, it was Harvey’s brother Carlton Roels who coach at C-I after Woock left.)

Herman Woock was tougher?

Oh! On a scale of 1 to 10, Herman was a 10 and Harvey (NOTE: that is, of course, Carlton) would be a 2.

Now, you played in the state tournament in….

We played in 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947. (NOTE: Ken played in the 1945, 1946 and 1947 tournaments.)

Did you get down and see the tournament in 1944?

Oh, yeah, I was there.

I’ve been trying to find somebody who saw Jim McIntyre play. 

Oh, yeah, I knew Jim McIntyre. 

So, what kind of player was Jim McIntyre? You’d probably never seen anybody that big.

No, no, I’ll tell you, he was a hell of a high school player. He was very good. We only had a 5-11 center playing against him, Don Jacobson, but we only lost by two points.

(NOTE: Again, the final score was Henry 51 Crosby-Ironton 42.)

And, another guy who was really good was that kid from Duluth Denfeld….

Rudy Monson.

Very good.

Well, I tell people I’m a historian so I better know something. But he played at UMD.

We kicked the hell out of him at UMD. I played at St. Cloud and we kicked the hell out of them.

Who was your coach at St. Cloud?

Warren Cash. He was the nicest guy in the world but UMD never beat us.

Now, you played with Jim Malosky at Crosby-Ironton, right? And he went to UMD.

Yeah, we lived a half a block apart in high school. He looked like he was 40 years old compared to the rest of us. We barely had hair under our arms. And then he played quarterback for Billy Bye. But I can never remember us (C-I) losing more than one game, or none (each year). With Herman, we went all over and played. We went to Wisconsin, all over. And like I said, when we were in grade school, we never had a coach. You know who had the 5^thand 6^thand 7^thand 8^thand 9^thgraders. We did. He didn’t have any other coaches. He was an unbelieveable coach.

And you say you pressed everybody all over the court.

Every second. And, then when I coached at St. Cloud State, we pressed every single second because (Herman) said, The big guys can’t hurt you if they can’t get him the ball. 

Now, I hadn’t heard that, the full court pressure. I had thought that that was something that came into style a little later. Where did that come from? Where did Herman learn that? Was that an Iron Range thing?

Herman Woock was the only one who did that every second.

When you became a head coach, you’re known for playing uptempo, and you started coaching in the 1950s?

I was a head coach at St. Cloud State. I started at a small town called Olivia but I was only there for six weeks because I was called up for the Korean War, so I never got a chance. And in 1954, I was the head coach at St. Cloud State, and I pressed every single second of every game I ever coached—college, high school and in the service. I also coached in the service in Washington, D.C.

Who would you say your mentors were, then? You became a head coach, now you’re in charge, you can do it your way. Who are the guys whose ideas you liked?

Well, it’s a combination of things, there’s a lot of them, but the guy I really respected was Dean Smith at North Carolina. He was so solid and so good at everything, and he had four corners and all of those things, he was a heck of a coach. Kenny spent about a month or two with Krzyzyewski and Dean Smith and that guy who died of cancer, Valvano, he spent a week with each one of them. But Dean Smith was, I just liked everything about him. He had good teams, they were so well-coached.

Minnesota was always known for that Carleton ball-control type of game. Ozzie Cowles slowed it down. Joe Hutton slowed it down.

Completely. A lot of our guys from Crosby-Ironton went to Hamline because Herman Woock played with Joe. I had the chance to go there, I had a chance to go to the University, but I went to St. Cloud State because I also had Joe Odanovich (at St. Cloud), who was one of my coaches for a year (at Crosby-Ironton).

When I went to Carleton, there were five of us (freshmen) who were supposed to go there, but I was the only one who showed up. And when I watched them play, they were so bad, this team was the worst I’d ever seen. So I went to the coach and I said, Coach, I don’t think I can stay here, because I wanted to play at a better tempo. And he said, Ken, I don’t blame you, and he said, I hear you’ve got a couple other places to go. I said, I do, and so I called (coach Cash) up and he said, I’ve got one spot that’s going to be filled by Monday, and this was a Saturday, and he said, it’s yours, you’ve got a full ride, and I took it. And it turned out real well.

I had only gone down to Carleton because Herman played there…. They weren’t very good. The other five guys didn’t show up, I never knew if they couldn’t get in because of grades or what, but it was a good decision for me. 

And, then, barely four years later, you became the coach at St. Cloud.

At age 24, I read in one paper not too long ago, that no coach has ever been younger as a head coach at a Division II school. You just don’t see anyone at age 24. And, I loved it.

Did you ever play against Whitey Skoog?

In high school? Oh, yeah. They never touched us, they never beat us in high school. He was never that good in high school. He learned to play in the Army. I was 21 when I finished college, he was 22 when he started. He became a great basketball player. But in high school, no, he was never a factor in any of our games.

Who were the great players of your generation in high school that you remember?

Our coach always made us think that everybody was great. Malosky was a good basketball player. He played at the U a little bit as a freshman. But he was more a good athlete who played basketball. But in football he quarterbacked with Billy Bye and those guys. Billy always said Malosky couldn’t block, he couldn’t pass, but he was the greatest coach on the field he ever saw and he was a great competitor. 

Jimmy guarded me all the way through, and he was a year older than me. He was such a competitor, he would do anything to win. Anything to win. And it was great playing against him because then when you get somebody else….

You played against Lynd in 1946, that’s a very famous ballgame. You guys were rated #1 in the state at the time, I believe. 

We didn’t play very well and we still only lost by one point. (NOTE: The final score of that game was Lynd 58 C-I 47.)

Were they different than anything you had seen before?

No, they played well, they shot the ball well, of course, we’d never heard of them, which probably wasn’t good. But they were a good team and they deserved it, they deserved to win. We didn’t play that well and yet everybody thought it was a great game….

Everyone always commented on the pace of the game. Did Lynd run a little harder than anybody else…?

Yeah, they did. They had good size, though, they had pretty good people inside. We had a 5-11 center, that was the biggest we had, and Lynd was a good team. Of course, did they lose that year?

Yes, Austin beat them in the final.

Austin was always good. Didn’t they have a kid named Halvorson or something.

Burdie Halldorson, 1951, though they didn’t win it that year.

Did Austin win the state title?

Yes, three times. Twice under Ove Berven but three times total.

There was one kid, when I was coaching at St. Cloud, we tried to recruit him from Eau Claire, he went to the U.

Chuck Mencel?

Nice guy. Nice guy. And one hell of a basketball player.

You probably knew Dick Garmaker.

Of course, Dick played at the (Hibbing) junior college. He was from the Range. He was a hell of a basketball player, too. But he may have been in the service, too, if I’m not mistaken. He had to be one of he best players I remember from my time.

You started at Hopkins in…

1954. Well, 1955.

So you succeeded Butsie.

I sure did.

Was he a tough son-of-a-bitch, too?

He was tough and he was one hell of a basketball coach. He was a great golf coach, too, though he never hit a golf ball himself. We had a golf course next door to us. But the school board called me and offered me the job. I hated to leave (St. Cloud) but my wife was from St. Cloud and she kind of wanted to get out of town. And it turned out…I learned a great deal from Butsie. He slowed it down. He went to Hamline. He slowed it down. He never pressed. They’d pass the ball around forever.

He not only had size but he had the Tschimperles, particularly Dan. (NOTE: It was Dave actually who was the better of the 2 Tschimperle brothers at Hopkins in the early 1950s.)

How good was he?

He was very, very good. He was a McDonald’s all-American. He was one of the best in high school at that time. At Hopkins, we always had good…. I was just asked by one of the guys at WCCO, How do you do it every single year? 28 championships in a row!? I said, you know, talent. He said, a lot of teams have talent. Well, they say you can’t win without talent, but there’s a lot of coaches who can’t win with it.