Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota High School Coach of the Year
Matt Pryor’s first season as the head coach at Minnehaha Academy did not start particularly well. His talent-laden Redhawks lost four of their first six games and three weeks into the season had a record of 3-5. When the year ended on March 16, the Redhawks were the state Class AA champions and Pryor had won it all at the age of 26. It was a remarkable run for Minnehaha and their young coach who has now earned one more accolade as a result: Prep Girls Hoops High School Coach of the Year.
One of the first people to congratulate Pryor and long-time assistant coach Scott Scholl after the big win was former coach Josh Thurow, who is also Minnehaha’s athletic director. After seeing what Coach Pryor accomplished last season at Concordia Academy – his first year as a head coach – Thurow elected to step aside and take a chance on the young Minnehaha graduate. That turned out to be a solid decision.
A winner at Concordia, a champion at Minnehaha
The first time I met Coach Pryor was at an AAU game in the summer of 2017. I was watching Concordia point guard Ivane Tensaie, an intriguing young prospect with great skills and a cerebral approach to the game. When the season began I attended a Beacons practice, primarily to interview Tensaie, but also to check out the new coach. I was impressed.
Pryor was super prepared and ran a well-organized, up-tempo practice. He never raised his voice and the kids were engaged. They practiced with plenty of energy and had a few laughs. That’s always a good sign in my book. Knowing how good Tensaie is, seeing the improvement forward Lydia Lecher had made, and watching Iowa transfer Hailey Paup for the first time, it seemed like the team had potential. Not long afterwards I picked Concordia as my preseason Darkhorse of the Year. The Beacons did not disappoint.
Concordia did not beat Minnehaha last year, but they performed at a much higher level than at any time in recent campaigns. They also played well enough to impress Thurow, who had been mentoring Pryor along the way. Before long Pryor was back at Minnehaha and Thurow had given him the keys to the locker room. Let’s just say it worked out rather well.
RUNNER-UP
Brian Cosgriff, Hopkins
Brian Cosgriff was feeling the pressure this season. Although he tried to downplay the situation, it was clearly weighing on him that Hopkins had lost in the state championship game three years in a row. When Hopkins won the title for the 7th time last weekend, the sense of relief was palpable. “This is like the best ever,” Cosgriff said after the game. “I’m not going to lie to you.”
When people talk about Hopkins, the conversation is almost always about how much talent they have. What they don’t see is just how much work the Royals coaches and players put in. No team in Minnesota does more work year-round to prepare for a state-championship run. No team pre-scouts opponents more often or in more detail. No team has such an extensive summer workout routine. The Hopkins coaching staff does an outstanding job. Dre Jefferson, Mike Contreras and Mike Winston are the primary assistants, but there are several others who contribute to the team’s success including Brian’s brother Barry Cosgriff. Besides all that, there’s one more thing people need to know about Brian Cosgriff: He is a terrific human being.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Here are five more coaches who did an outstanding job during the 2018-19 high school season.
Alexis Gray-Lawson, Como Park
No young coach in Minnesota played at a higher level than Gray-Lawson, who grew up in Oakland, Calif., where her dad Orlando Gray runs a much-heralded high school program at Oakland Tech. She went on to a storied career at Cal, won a gold medal at the World University Games playing with Maya Moore, and played in the WNBA. That’s all impressive, but what she has done to build a quality program at Como (22-3), both on the court and in the classroom, may be Alexis’ greatest accomplishment to date.
Dan Baird, Becker
Becker’s success has been a community effort led largely by the Nuest and Bengtson families who have played a big role in youth basketball there. Perhaps the smartest thing Baird has done is create an environment where his young group could continue the success they had in travel ball and AAU. He has built a positive culture at Becker, worked hard to help the kids improve both individually and collectively, and employs a style of play that is fast and fun. The Bulldogs finished the season at 27-5, bowing out in the state AAA championship game. This is a team that’s going to win a ton of games in the years ahead.
Liz Carpentier, Farmington
Liz has exercised a great deal of patience over the past few years as she has forged a winning culture at Farmington while bringing a talented group of youngsters from green to great along the way. This year the Tigers had tremendous success, played with heart and passion, and recorded coveted wins over arch-rivals Eastview and Lakeville North. In the end the 24-5 squad fell on a last-second shot to the great Lauren Jensen of North, who committed last week to the University of Iowa. The Tigers will no doubt be a formidable foe again next season.
Molly Kasper, Eastview
If there’s anything I have learned watching Minnesota high school basketball over the past few years it is this: Never doubt Molly Kasper. She has forged a consistent winner, won a state championship last season, and built the kind of positive, team-first culture that all winning programs seem to have. That all paid off this season even though they had lost a ton of talent to graduation. Eastview didn’t win a state title, didn’t make it to the championship game. But in a year when little was expected from them, the 24-5 Lightning finished among the top four Class AAAA teams in the state. It was a terrific accomplishment.
Tanysha Scott, DeLaSalle
There are very high expectations at DeLaSalle, which won three consecutive girls state championships from 2011-2013 and has long been a powerhouse in boys basketball. This was Scott’s fourth season as the Islanders coach, a year in which the team faced a ton of adversity, incorporated several young players into key roles, and overcame a slow start and a long list of injuries. In the end the Islanders finished with a record of 24-5 and a Class AAA state championship. Don’t be surprised if Scott puts her name on a couple more before she’s done.
Top photo: Matt Pryor’s first season as head coach at Minnehaha Academy was one to remember. Former coach and Minnehaha athletic director Josh Thurow (top right in the photo) took a chance on the young coach and it paid off. (Photo courtesy of Minnehaha Academy)