For this episode in the continuing series on Minnesota High School basketball legends Matt is joined by a father/son combo - Coach John Carlson and his son Alex Carlson from Litchfield. John coached Alex and his fellow Litchfield Dragon teammates to an undefeated season in the year 2000, winning a state Class 2A title finishing 30-0. That team left a mark on Minnesota basketball as that year they never won a game by fewer than 14 points and they defeated Class 4A powerhouses Minnetonka and Tartan. Tartan only lost that one game all season and eventually went on to win the Class 4A state title. 2000 was Alex's senior year where he was a Mr. Basketball finalist and he went on to play college basketball at the Division 2 level at St. Cloud St.
The Litchfield run of success continued as John led the Dragons to two more state titles in 2002 and 2003 as the teams were led by his son John Jr., among others. We dive into what it was like to build the program in Litchfield, what made that 2000 team special and how they handled the father/son and coach/player dynamic. John was a head coach for 29 years, won over 430 games and is a member of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Also joining the conversation for this episode is Jeff Munneke.
Enjoy this conversation in the Bare's Den with former Litchfield Dragons - John and Alex Carlson.
