Minnesota's Black college basketball coaches inspire each other to help more follow in their footsteps

Thank you for checking out Basketball Across Minnesota, my weekly look at some of the state's top hoops stories, from preps to pros. — Marcus Fuller

When Macalester hired Abe Woldeslassie to lead the Scots in April 2018, he was the only Black head coach in men's college basketball in Division I, II and III in Minnesota.

Growing up in Minneapolis, Woldeslassie saw that living that dream was possible. He attended former Gophers coach Clem Haskins' basketball camps and looked up to Georgetown's John Thompson, the first Black coach to win an NCAA hoops title.

Now Woldeslassie's among other Black coaches leading basketball programs in Minnesota, including the Gophers' Ben Johnson, now in his second season.

"I take that very seriously," said Woldeslassie about being a person of color in a head-coaching role at his Division III school in St. Paul. "I have a John Thompson towel hanging in my office."

There are four Black head coaches in men's and women's basketball at the NCAA level now in Minnesota. Woldeslassie and Crown College's Bridgeport Tusler are the only two Black head coaches in D-III basketball in Minnesota. And St. Cloud State's Quincy Henderson is the state's only Black head coach in D-II.

"A head-coaching position at any level, whether it's high school, Division I, II, III, NAIA or junior college is tough," said Henderson, a first-year men's coach. "It's such a competitive market, regardless of skin color. There aren't a ton of head coaches of color. I'm honored to be given the opportunity to coach here."

Last February, Tusler was Woldeslassie's assistant when the Scots reached the MIAC championship game for the first time since 2004 — suffering a tough 75-71 loss to top-seeded St. John's.

This season, Tusler's leading his own program as Crown women's coach. He cherished his time with Woldeslassie, who has led Macalester to more MIAC wins the past two seasons (20) than the previous decade combined before his arrival. The Scots were tied for third in the league through Wednesday's games.

The Polars already have a school-record 11 wins under Tusler, needing victories in their last two games to advance to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time ever.

"I owe a lot to Abe for taking me under his wing," said Tusler, who played football and basketball at Osseo. "Almost everything off the court I'm doing now, I learned from Abe. Whether that's recruiting, relationships, fundraising. ... He was really intentional what he wanted for his players and his program. How do you change a culture? Abe was perfect [to show] me that."

A year ago, Tusler was on the Macalester bench watching a thrilling two-point upset over second-seeded Augsburg in the MIAC semifinals. The next day his wife, Angie, gave birth to their first child. And the conference final vs. St. John's was two days later.

As much as he loved being with the Scots, Tusler felt he needed to pursue a bigger opportunity for his family. He applied for jobs, mostly at Division II schools. He worked as an Amazon deliveryman and planned to teach but also serve as an assistant under his wife, who was Eden Prairie's head JV coach (she's now varsity girls coach at Blake), when Crown called him last August about its opening.

"My whole entire life I wanted to be a head coach," said Tusler, who was the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and Minnesota Mr. Football as a senior in 2012. He also was the starting point guard as a junior for Osseo's Class 4A state championship basketball team.

Tusler started his college playing career on South Dakota State's football team but transferred to Bethel and was a member of the Royals team that won the 2017 MIAC basketball title playing for Doug Novak.

"One cool thing being at a small school like Crown that hasn't had much success is you win a couple games, and everyone's eyes are open that you can win more," he said. "It's been really fun."

Tusler is the only Black head coach in women's basketball in Minnesota at all levels above junior college. Northland's Shannon Nelson, a former Gophers player, won the Division III women's junior college national title in 2014.

Mesabi Range's Tamara Moore became the first Black woman head coach for a men's college hoops team in the nation when hired in 2020. Moore's team was 17-8 and third in her league after a win Wednesday.

There are six head coaches of color in Minnesota's junior college ranks: Moore, Nelson, Ramsey County's Travis Bledsoe, Dakota County's Peter Olafeso, Fond du Lac's Robert Smith, and Central Lake's Jim Russell. With their success, and others at higher levels, more could be on the way.

Fuller's Five ballers

Jeremy Beckler, Carleton

The 6-8 senior earned national player of the week honors for averaging 30 points in two wins last week, including 29 points vs. Macalester to clinch Carleton's first outright MIAC title in 100 years.

Matthew Bothun, St. Francis

The 6-9 North Dakota recruit averaged nearly 44 points during a three-game stretch this month, highlighted by 46 points vs. Pine City and 45 vs. Cambridge-Isanti.

Jo Langbehn, St. Thomas

The Elk River native combined for 48 points in two recent victories for the Tommies, including 29 points on 12-for-16 from the field in an 80-57 win at Missouri-Kansas City last Saturday.

Sara Scalia, Indiana

The ex-Gophers and Stillwater standout had her best game with the Hoosiers with 24 points on 6-for-8 shooting from three-point range Monday in a win vs. Ohio State.

Nolan Winter, Lakeville North

The 6-11 Wisconsin recruit had a career-high 47 points in last week's win over Farmington, going 17-for-23 on field goals and 11-for-15 on free throws.

Statistically speaking

1,000 — Career points milestone reached on the same night for Stillwater junior Amy Thompson and senior Lexi Karlen, a Minnesota Duluth recruit.

100 — Coaching wins reached recently by Benilde-St. Margaret boys coach Damian Johnson, who started his career at North St. Paul in 2017.

45 — Consecutive losses for Jackson County Central boys team before beating Marshall last Friday.

5 — Years between the Wayzata girls last win vs. Hopkins and last week's 55-53 victory.

3 — Consecutive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles for the Minnesota Duluth women's team after improving to 19-1 in conference play.

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don't be a stranger on Twitter after reading, as chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on Twitter)