Class 1A tournament: Three story lines

Family matters

It's an important week for Red Lake coach Roger White and his family. In addition to preparing the boys' team for the state tournament, White's daughter Grace is one of the top players for the Warriors girls' team, which is seeded No. 2 in Section 8 and played Fosston in the section semifinals Tuesday. The Whites suffered a tragic loss in November when son Aaron, then a ninth-grader and contributor to the basketball team, died of cancer.

Formerly foes

The last time Minneapolis North appeared in the state tournament was 2003, when the school, with an enrollment much larger than the 295 or so students now, won the Class 4A state championship. That year was also the last of Minneapolis Henry's four straight Class 3A state championship seasons. Minneapolis Henry was coached by Larry McKenzie, who is now coaching North. "If you would have told me then I would be coaching North to the state tournament one day, I might have slapped you," McKenzie said with a laugh.

Coaching connections

Goodhue coach Matt Halvorson played for Rushford-Peterson's Class 1A state runner-up in 2005 and state championship team in 2006. Browerville/Eagle Valley coach Robert Schueller played for Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (RTR) in 1988 when it finished as Class 1A runner-up. He was an assistant for Fertile-Beltrami's state tournament teams in 1995 and 1996 and coached RTR to the Class 1A state championship in 2004. What's more, Schueller made the first three-pointer in state tournament history in 1988.