Transfers make resounding impact and other final points from the boys basketball state tournament

Each of the state champion teams was boosted, even led, by a player who transferred to the school for this season or the season before.

A Saturday-into-Sunday discussion on X, formerly known as Twitter, turned into a forum about the numbers of players who transfer from school to school each season in Minnesota. Here are some names that came up:

Senior Kayden Wells, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Minnetonka in the Class 4A final, played for Benilde-St. Margaret’s last season. So did sophomore Christian Wiggins, who scored 18 points for Wayzata in the 4A final.

Senior Daniel Freitag, who scored 33 points for Breck in its victory in the Class 2A championship game, played for Bloomington Jefferson last season. He had announced he would transfer to a school in California before deciding to play for Breck.

The senior star who led Totino-Grace to the Class 3A title, Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, played for Osseo as a sophomore.

At Cherry, junior Noah Sundquist, who had 15 points and nine rebounds in the Class 1A championship game, was prominent for Chisholm as a ninth-grader.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s coach Damian Johnson took up the debate on X after someone mentioned that two state champions, Breck and Totino-Grace, are private schools.

“People complaining about private schools and 2 of the top 5 players in this game were starters for us last year,” he tweeted during the Class 4A final. “Like I said it’s definitely not a private school issue. There’s just too much gray area with open enrollment/transfer rules.”

The Minnesota State High School League has a policy that requires athletes to sit out a season when they change schools unless they fit within a batch of exceptions, the most common one being that they changed addresses and now live in the district where they are seeking eligibility for athletics. Dozens of athletes transfer every year and are granted immediate eligibility at their new schools.

KEVIN BERTELS

Kayden Wells wasn’t in the post-championship game news conference following Minnetonka’s 72-61 victory over Wayzata in the Class 4A championship game Saturday night.

Minnetonka coach Bryce Tesdahl instead opted to bring along his three captains: Jordan Cain, Greyson Uelmen and Andy Stefonowicz.

But Tesdahl didn’t forget about the many contributions that Wells, a 6-5 senior forward, made for the Skippers.

“We can’t say enough about that kid,” Tesdahl said. “He does all the dirty work: defends, rebounds, screens, stuff that might not show up in the paper or is talked about as much, but he was the glue tonight.”

Wells had 19 points, many on hustle plays and putbacks, and led the Skippers with 10 rebounds.

“He did a great job of always being present on the ball, whether [Jackson] McAndrews had it or one of [the Wayzata] guards did, but he filled that glue position, like he has all year: defending, rebounding, screening,” Tesdahl said. “He was a big, big part of why we won tonight and why we had a successful season.”

Wells is a Minnetonka native who played last season at Benilde-St. Margaret’s but moved back to Minnetonka before the school year. “We’re happy he made that decision,” Tesdahl said.

JIM PAULSEN

Saturday’s victory relieved an irritation that has lingered with Tesdahl for 16 years.

Tesdahl who hails from central Minnesota and played for Crosby-Ironton in 2008, when the Rangers, 32-0 going into the Class 2A championship game, lost to New London-Spicer 59-51 in the final. He admitted that loss bugs him to this day but said Saturday’s victory helped soothe him.

“I’ve told the guys since I’ve got here that I lost a game in 2008 when I was at Crosby and there’s not too many days in my life that haunt me, that I want back,” Tesdahl said. “That’s one of them.”

Tesdahl said that loss has driven his life choices since.

“That’s why I really got back into high school coaching, because I wanted that day back,” he said. “I told these guys in the locker room all week that if they could help me do that, not only will they be legends in my heart, but they’ll be legends in the Minnetonka community and our basketball program forever. So, for them, selfishly, to give me that day back, it’s all worth it. And I can’t thank these guys enough.”

JIM PAULSEN

Minnetonka’s boys and girls basketball teams both won state championships, the fifth time since 2019 that a school swept those titles.

Totino-Grace won both in Class 3A last season. It happened three times in 2019, when Hopkins (4A), DeSaSalle (3A) and Minnehaha Academy (2A) all pulled it off.

JIM PAULSEN

The basketball community lost an important figure during tournament season. Bob Erdman, a member of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, died March 16. He was 90.

Erdman died on the last day of the girls basketball state tournament, just before the boys tournament began. He coached both boys and girls teams in the Roseville school district — boys at Alexander Ramsey High School and girls at Roseville High School.

He led Alexander Ramsey teams to the boys state tournament four times — in 1969, 1971, 1974 and 1975. He coached three Roseville teams to the girls state tournament — 1987, 1992 and 1993. In 1993, Roseville lost to Bloomington Jefferson in the Class 2A championship game.

He also coached the Gustavus Adolphus men’s team for five seasons from 1981 to 1986. While at Gustavus, he started the Gustie Basketball and Leadership Camps, which are still in operation.

Erdman, whose overall coaching record was 562-256 in 39 seasons, was selected to the Coaches Hall of Fame in 1996. Erdman is also a member of the Gustavus Adolphus Hall of Fame.

Erdman, a native of St. James, Minn., graduated from Gustavus Adolphus. Besides coaching, Erdman was a career guidance counselor in the Roseville district.

JOEL RIPPEL