St. Thomas coach is driven by success, and failure

He also has won 126 games, advanced to two Final Fours and been honored as a National Coach of the Year in Division III.

But those 22 losses stick with him like super glue.

"I could give them to you in order if you want," he says. "It's like the alphabet."

I laughed. He wasn't kidding.

In a span of 62 seconds, Tauer rattled off every loss in his tenure by opponent, as if reading from a sheet of paper.

"It's a character flaw, no doubt," he says after finishing the list. "There's an adage that research is me-search. I don't know why I hate losing as much as I do."

He doesn't lose too often, but Tauer rarely talks about winning with his team either, even though winning at a high level remains an overarching expectation for his program.

"We talk about [achieving] excellence," he said.

The Tommies already have reached that standard this season, potentially with more to come.

St. Thomas (28-3) earned a spot in this week's Division III Final Four by upsetting No. 1-ranked Augustana (Ill.) 86-76 on its home floor on Saturday.

Augustana had lost only one game and was 15-0 at home.

"They're as physically dominant as any team I've seen in the 16 years I've coached [including as an assistant]," Tauer said. "I watched them in warmups and they've got 10 guys dunking in ways that we don't have one guy."

Tauer saw potential for an "uh-oh" game if the Tommies didn't take care of the basketball. Nothing raises Tauer's blood pressure more than turnovers. His team averages only nine per game, third fewest nationally.

They had nine in the first half against Augustana.

"I was beside myself," Tauer said.

They committed only four turnovers in the second half, in which they erased a seven-point deficit and displayed a competitive fight that exemplifies a Tauer-coached team.

"That's as good a team win as we've had," he said.

The Tommies play Christopher Newport in Friday's semifinal in Salem, Va.

Tauer watched video of his opponent until 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Seven hours later, he was in a classroom at St. Thomas teaching "Motivation and Emotion" — an upper-level course in the psychology department.

Tauer isn't required to teach. He chooses to because he loves it. Being a professor gives him balance in life, shows his players that he's still trying to learn himself.

His lesson plan Monday focused on homeostasis and hunger motivation. Tauer led a discussion on eating disorders and obesity as related to societal pressures.

Tauer earned his master's and Ph.D. in social psychology from Wisconsin. He published a book last June on the psychology of parenting kids in youth sports, entitled "WOSPs — Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents."

He hopes his message resonates with overbearing parents in the stands.

"It's this chronic thing," he said. "How many times do you see in a game, a kid misses a free throw and looks over at his mom and dad?"

Tauer's basketball psychology is based on hard-and-fast principles. Limit turnovers, no bad shots, share the ball.

He's used the same starting lineup every game this season. Five players average between nine and 14.5 points.

"We don't care who scores," senior guard Taylor Montero said. "That's not what St. Thomas is about."

Their 18-man varsity roster includes 17 Minnesotans. Tauer's recruiting philosophy includes trying to attract kids from successful programs.

"I always say our dream is to have the third-best player off the state champion," he said. "The best player is going [Division I]."

He occasionally receives e-mails from recruits who think they're sending links of their highlight videos to coaches at different St. Thomas colleges in Florida and Texas.

"I'm always heartbroken," Tauer said, laughing. "I'll write back and crack a joke and say, 'Hey, we're very interested. You do know it is negative 10 here now?' "

Tauer's coaching staff includes a former player he once cut. Josh Rodenbiker played two seasons on the JV team before losing his roster spot.

Tauer loved the kid's attitude and ambition so he asked him to stick around as a student assistant. He made Rodenbiker an assistant coach this season.

"He is what this program is about," Tauer said.

The program's culture reflects Tauer's personality: tough, classy, selfless.

He has a chance to win his first national championship as head coach this weekend. Regardless of the outcome, Tauer still has more games to coach this spring.

He agreed to coach his son's seventh-grade AAU team.

Chip Scoggins • chip.scoggins@startribune.com