Longtime Mankato East basketball coach Joe Madson seeks first title with son Brogan leading charge

Tiann Madson used to get her youngest son, Brogan, out of school to go see the Timberwolves when they held preseason practices in Mankato. He became enamored of point guard Ricky Rubio.

“I would always watch the practices and get their autographs when they were getting on the bus,” Brogan Madson said. “I liked how Ricky was a connector. He connected with all the guys on the team through his passing ability.”

These days, Brogan is a senior guard for Mankato East, with passing among the skills he wields for the team coached by his father, Joe. Father, son and the rest of the Cougars (27-1) will begin the school’s 13th state tournament appearance Tuesday as the No. 1 seed when they play St. Paul Harding (18-10) at 10 a.m. in the Class 3A quarterfinals at Williams Arena.

Joe Madson is in his 25th year at the helm of the program and owns a career record of 448-226. He is 16th in victories among active boys basketball coaches.

His son is his coach on the floor, leading by example and putting up big statistics as he goes. A 6-1 guard, Brogan is the Cougars' career leader in points (1,719), assists (420) and steals (255).

“He has become more vocal as a leader,” Joe Madson said. “He is mature, hungry to get better and wants to win.”

Joe Madson knows the highest level of high school coaching success. He also coaches the Cougars softball team and has a career record of 585-172, the sixth-most wins in state history. The softball team has won the past two Class 3A championships, the fifth and sixth titles in program history.

His philosophy is the same for basketball and softball, and it began forming at the beginning of his coaching career.

“I had no idea how long anything would be, but I certainly knew that I loved those games and wanted to help young athletes understand the game and love them the way I did,” Joe Madson said. “Over the years one thing has remained the same: Get your athletes to realize how playing together and competing will benefit them in life. You want your players to know how important they are to you as a coach, and if you work together you can create great memories.”

Joe Madson, also an English teacher at the high school, figured out early what to do with his life.

“I knew I wanted to be a head coach in basketball after my first stint of coaching,” he said.

He served as an assistant coach for seven years under Dave Johnson at Mankato East. “He taught me a ton about organization, building your program, being prepared for your opponent, and putting your players first,” Madson said.

Joe Madson has never won a basketball state championship; neither has the program.

“Our 2005 team could have won the championship and was poised to do so, but ran into a tough Richfield team [in the semifinals],” he said.

This year’s team has the best winning percentage (.964) in program history. The Cougars are ranked third in the Star Tribune’s statewide Minnesota Top 25 rankings and are ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News.

“We are playing really well as a team right now,” Brogan Madson said. “We had a tough nonconference schedule to prepare us for the state tournament.”

Brogan suggests he’s a team leader in a category not measured by statistics: instruction received. His dad uses him when he needs to get a point across.

“I think he is harder on me than the other players on the team,” Brogan Madson said, grinning.

It seems to have worked out.

“When you are trying to make it in basketball as a 6-1, kid you need to be hungry and different,” Joe Madson said. “He is a humble kid who wants to win, and if that means taking minimal shots and not scoring, he is fine. I love how he prides himself on defense more than offense.”

Brogan patterned himself after his older brother, Jax. He just completed his senior season at Bethany Lutheran, where he was the Vikings' second-leading scorer and rebounder.

“Jax is my role model,” Brogan Madson said. “The way he worked is how I want people to perceive me. I want to do what is best for the team, not myself.”

Brogan is averaging 22.3 points, 4.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game in his final season, with a mission of winning a state title with his father. The Cougars were the runner-up — the highest finish in program history — to Totino-Grace a year ago.

“I remember him being ecstatic when he won the state championship in softball,” Brogan Madson said. “All he kept saying was: ‘Now we got to get one in basketball. Now we got to get one in basketball.’ Hopefully, we can make that happen.”