Tessa Johnson's high school coach beaming with pride after national title win
South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson cuts down the net after the Final Four college basketball championship game against Iowa in the women's NCAA Tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. South Carolina won 87-75.
Morry Gash | AP
Perfection. That’s what millions of sports fans witnessed this weekend with the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament.
The Lady Gamecocks defeated Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 on Sunday to become just the 10th team in history to complete an undefeated season. And the win was especially sweet for hoops fans here in Minnesota, with Albertville-native Tessa Johnson shining on the biggest stage.
Joining MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk all about it is Kent Hamre, St. Michael-Albertville High School head girls’ basketball coach. He coached Johnson while she attended there.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: Perfection-- that's what millions of sports fans witnessed this weekend with the University of South Carolina women's basketball team in the NCAA tournament. The lady Gamecocks defeated Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75, to become just the 10th team in history to complete an undefeated season.
And the win was especially sweet for hoops fans in Minnesota with Albertville native Tessa Johnson shining on the biggest of stages. Joining us right now to talk about it is St. Michael-Albertville High School head girls' basketball coach, Kent Hamre. He coached Tessa while she was at school there, and I'm sure Kent is a very proud coach right now. Welcome to the program.
KENT HAMRE: Thank you so much for having me. And yes, I have been beaming all day. It's been pretty fun.
CATHY WURZER: Tell me what went through your head when you saw Tessa hit that big shot. I mean, actually, she was just-- she was a monster over the weekend. She just hit big shot after big shot to lead South Carolina, winning the championship. What were you thinking?
KENT HAMRE: Well, first of all, not surprised because she's always been kind of a big shot shooter. She's always hitting the key shots at big times of games. And just the excitement of when she did hit it, we had a watch party at the movie theater, and everybody standing up and cheering. And she's just captured the whole community.
CATHY WURZER: In the post-game interview, Tessa said she doesn't feel pressure and didn't really bat an eye. Let's take a listen.
TESSA JOHNSON: I don't feel pressure because the team that I have and the coaches that I have, no matter if I make a mistake, they're always going to encourage me, and they're never going to let me give up on myself.
CATHY WURZER: And maybe you can explain. Has she always been that way?
KENT HAMRE: Yeah, it's because of preparation. She's put herself in that position because the hours and hours and hours that she's put in the gym, she's put herself ready for that situation. It's just the time. I know she talked about it even when she played here, when she hit two free throws to seal the win for our state championship last year.
It was just, who do you want out there? Tessa, because she doesn't let the pressure get to her, probably because she's so strong, mentally strong, is, when she makes mistakes, she doesn't carry it to the next play. She's moving on, saying, hey, that was a mistake. I'm moving on, right? And give me the ball back. I'm fine. So just gave her self confidence by the thousands of hours in the gym.
CATHY WURZER: How can you coach a person like that? And I guess, my question is, this feels like so many of her talents and this fearless attitude, she's had that, right? As a coach, did you just bring it out? Did you to try to control it? I mean, what did you do with this amazing individual?
KENT HAMRE: Well, sometimes you just stay out of the way. [LAUGHS] And she's just that good. I mean, she would do things, and you would just-- but she would question the coach, and she would-- you always have to give her the why because she's a sponge. She wants to get better. But of coaching here, at times, she would do things. And it would be like, I can't believe she just did that.
And some of the-- and more passes than shots where she would do something, and you would say, well, that's an ESPN highlight reel. And us coaches, there's times, whether it be practice or in games, where we would say, how did she do that? Wow. You catch yourself just saying, wow. And it was so much fun. And then to watch her do it on the big stage, it's amazing.
CATHY WURZER: You look at what she did this season, and you look at the roster, that South Carolina roster and Tessa and, really, most of the team's returning next season. What do you see in the future for this team? And Tessa?
KENT HAMRE: You think-- and I mentioned this to Tessa afterwards, too, is, I said, enjoy the moment, relish the moment, because there's no guarantees that you're going to get back to that spot. I mean, you'd think, oh, my freshman year, I get to do this every year.
But her, for one, you should know about exercise-- or about her injury that she had when she was a sophomore when she broke her leg. And it was more of a-- I think that they can get back, yes, but every team has-- the NCAA women's, as we've watched, has gotten so good. So there's not only to get back or to win it, but even to get back to the final four is enjoy this because there's no guarantees.
CATHY WURZER: Because you watched her become an All-American in high school-- she was Miss Minnesota Basketball. I mean, oh, my goodness. She was amazing here in Minnesota. What kind of a future do you envision for her?
KENT HAMRE: You know what? I envision a great future for her. She's always dreamed of playing in the WNBA. But even if she doesn't make it there, she is going to do so many great things in the world because she's such a kind-hearted, caring person, hard working. She's got that work ethic.
And whether she's playing basketball or working at a job, she knows what hard work means and what it takes to get to the next level, to be that great employee, to be that great friend, to be that great mother. She's just prepared herself for life using basketball as a classroom and as a tool.
CATHY WURZER: You mentioned talked to her. Did you get a chance to chat with her after the game?
KENT HAMRE: Briefly, briefly. [LAUGHS] And I just said, I know your phone is blowing up. Let you go, kid. And that's what I just said. Enjoy this, relish it, have fun with it. We'll connect when things slow down.
CATHY WURZER: But the fact you did that, I bet that was something very special to her, that her high school coach took the time to congratulate her.
KENT HAMRE: Oh, yeah. And everybody's been sending me messages. I thought it was very cool that Paige Bueckers' dad sent me a message and said, hey, I want you to reach out to Tessa. We're super proud of her.
And you look at-- that's the type of people, Paige and Brooke-- oh, Brooke-- Paige and-- I was thinking of Brian's daughter's name there, or my daughter's name-- Paige and Tessa are. They're just that type of good people, and their parents are as well. And for him to reach out after Paige had lost out and said, hey, we're all proud of Tessa, I thought that was very classy. But you've seen the interviews with Paige. She's a pretty classy kid, too.
CATHY WURZER: Coach Dawn Staley is interesting. I think she said that they look at the parents of a potential recruit, and if the recruit is respectful of their parents and coaches, they'll take them on. So, did you see that with Tessa? And is it something in your program where you also ask your players to be respectful?
KENT HAMRE: You know what? We always tell our kids, college coaches, it's a tough job for them to out recruiting. So a lot of times, when college coaches come to watch, whether it be our practice, our games, I tell the kids, that coach is looking for a reason to not recruit you, because there's so many kids they're recruiting, and they're trying to dwindle their list down.
And if you're not a good teammate, if you're not giving a high five to a teammate, if you're not looking at your coach in the eyes, if you're not being respectful to your parents, if you're not being respectful to referees, college coaches can say, you know what? We don't need to deal with that. We're going to move on. And we stress that to these kids.
We have a lot of kids getting recruited, whether it be division three, division two, or division one. And I will stress to them, you're never too big. If a community college coach calls, answer the phone. Tell them you appreciate it, because you never know in life when you might need that person to help you out. And if you're communicating, hey, you might get a favor from a coach that you didn't even go play for.
CATHY WURZER: That's so true. Say, you say that have kids that are being recruited a lot. What does Tessa's journey mean to your program at St. Michael-Albertville?
KENT HAMRE: It means so much. I mean, I'm walking the halls of middle school last year today, and I see kids with state championship sweatshirts on. I see kids with Tessa jerseys on. I see South Carolina.
And I was just walking through the lunchroom, and there was a table of boys sitting there. And I could overhear their conversation. They were talking about Tessa Johnson. It was a group of boys. It wasn't some girls. It was a group of boys saying, hey, did you watch the game last night with Tessa Johnson? I mean, everybody's talking about it. It's been so fun for our community.
CATHY WURZER: I'm so happy for you. And of course, it was just so much fun to watch Tessa. Kent, Coach Kent, thank you so much.
KENT HAMRE: Hey, it's been so much fun for me. I appreciate you reaching out. This has been-- it's been a busy day, but a fun day with-- I'm beaming with pride. I feel like a proud father. [LAUGHS] So, no, it means a lot. Thank you so much for having me on.
CATHY WURZER: I'm just so thrilled for you and the program. Thank you, coach. Kent Hamre has been with us, the St. Michael-Albertville High School head girls' basketball coach.
And the win was especially sweet for hoops fans in Minnesota with Albertville native Tessa Johnson shining on the biggest of stages. Joining us right now to talk about it is St. Michael-Albertville High School head girls' basketball coach, Kent Hamre. He coached Tessa while she was at school there, and I'm sure Kent is a very proud coach right now. Welcome to the program.
KENT HAMRE: Thank you so much for having me. And yes, I have been beaming all day. It's been pretty fun.
CATHY WURZER: Tell me what went through your head when you saw Tessa hit that big shot. I mean, actually, she was just-- she was a monster over the weekend. She just hit big shot after big shot to lead South Carolina, winning the championship. What were you thinking?
KENT HAMRE: Well, first of all, not surprised because she's always been kind of a big shot shooter. She's always hitting the key shots at big times of games. And just the excitement of when she did hit it, we had a watch party at the movie theater, and everybody standing up and cheering. And she's just captured the whole community.
CATHY WURZER: In the post-game interview, Tessa said she doesn't feel pressure and didn't really bat an eye. Let's take a listen.
TESSA JOHNSON: I don't feel pressure because the team that I have and the coaches that I have, no matter if I make a mistake, they're always going to encourage me, and they're never going to let me give up on myself.
CATHY WURZER: And maybe you can explain. Has she always been that way?
KENT HAMRE: Yeah, it's because of preparation. She's put herself in that position because the hours and hours and hours that she's put in the gym, she's put herself ready for that situation. It's just the time. I know she talked about it even when she played here, when she hit two free throws to seal the win for our state championship last year.
It was just, who do you want out there? Tessa, because she doesn't let the pressure get to her, probably because she's so strong, mentally strong, is, when she makes mistakes, she doesn't carry it to the next play. She's moving on, saying, hey, that was a mistake. I'm moving on, right? And give me the ball back. I'm fine. So just gave her self confidence by the thousands of hours in the gym.
CATHY WURZER: How can you coach a person like that? And I guess, my question is, this feels like so many of her talents and this fearless attitude, she's had that, right? As a coach, did you just bring it out? Did you to try to control it? I mean, what did you do with this amazing individual?
KENT HAMRE: Well, sometimes you just stay out of the way. [LAUGHS] And she's just that good. I mean, she would do things, and you would just-- but she would question the coach, and she would-- you always have to give her the why because she's a sponge. She wants to get better. But of coaching here, at times, she would do things. And it would be like, I can't believe she just did that.
And some of the-- and more passes than shots where she would do something, and you would say, well, that's an ESPN highlight reel. And us coaches, there's times, whether it be practice or in games, where we would say, how did she do that? Wow. You catch yourself just saying, wow. And it was so much fun. And then to watch her do it on the big stage, it's amazing.
CATHY WURZER: You look at what she did this season, and you look at the roster, that South Carolina roster and Tessa and, really, most of the team's returning next season. What do you see in the future for this team? And Tessa?
KENT HAMRE: You think-- and I mentioned this to Tessa afterwards, too, is, I said, enjoy the moment, relish the moment, because there's no guarantees that you're going to get back to that spot. I mean, you'd think, oh, my freshman year, I get to do this every year.
But her, for one, you should know about exercise-- or about her injury that she had when she was a sophomore when she broke her leg. And it was more of a-- I think that they can get back, yes, but every team has-- the NCAA women's, as we've watched, has gotten so good. So there's not only to get back or to win it, but even to get back to the final four is enjoy this because there's no guarantees.
CATHY WURZER: Because you watched her become an All-American in high school-- she was Miss Minnesota Basketball. I mean, oh, my goodness. She was amazing here in Minnesota. What kind of a future do you envision for her?
KENT HAMRE: You know what? I envision a great future for her. She's always dreamed of playing in the WNBA. But even if she doesn't make it there, she is going to do so many great things in the world because she's such a kind-hearted, caring person, hard working. She's got that work ethic.
And whether she's playing basketball or working at a job, she knows what hard work means and what it takes to get to the next level, to be that great employee, to be that great friend, to be that great mother. She's just prepared herself for life using basketball as a classroom and as a tool.
CATHY WURZER: You mentioned talked to her. Did you get a chance to chat with her after the game?
KENT HAMRE: Briefly, briefly. [LAUGHS] And I just said, I know your phone is blowing up. Let you go, kid. And that's what I just said. Enjoy this, relish it, have fun with it. We'll connect when things slow down.
CATHY WURZER: But the fact you did that, I bet that was something very special to her, that her high school coach took the time to congratulate her.
KENT HAMRE: Oh, yeah. And everybody's been sending me messages. I thought it was very cool that Paige Bueckers' dad sent me a message and said, hey, I want you to reach out to Tessa. We're super proud of her.
And you look at-- that's the type of people, Paige and Brooke-- oh, Brooke-- Paige and-- I was thinking of Brian's daughter's name there, or my daughter's name-- Paige and Tessa are. They're just that type of good people, and their parents are as well. And for him to reach out after Paige had lost out and said, hey, we're all proud of Tessa, I thought that was very classy. But you've seen the interviews with Paige. She's a pretty classy kid, too.
CATHY WURZER: Coach Dawn Staley is interesting. I think she said that they look at the parents of a potential recruit, and if the recruit is respectful of their parents and coaches, they'll take them on. So, did you see that with Tessa? And is it something in your program where you also ask your players to be respectful?
KENT HAMRE: You know what? We always tell our kids, college coaches, it's a tough job for them to out recruiting. So a lot of times, when college coaches come to watch, whether it be our practice, our games, I tell the kids, that coach is looking for a reason to not recruit you, because there's so many kids they're recruiting, and they're trying to dwindle their list down.
And if you're not a good teammate, if you're not giving a high five to a teammate, if you're not looking at your coach in the eyes, if you're not being respectful to your parents, if you're not being respectful to referees, college coaches can say, you know what? We don't need to deal with that. We're going to move on. And we stress that to these kids.
We have a lot of kids getting recruited, whether it be division three, division two, or division one. And I will stress to them, you're never too big. If a community college coach calls, answer the phone. Tell them you appreciate it, because you never know in life when you might need that person to help you out. And if you're communicating, hey, you might get a favor from a coach that you didn't even go play for.
CATHY WURZER: That's so true. Say, you say that have kids that are being recruited a lot. What does Tessa's journey mean to your program at St. Michael-Albertville?
KENT HAMRE: It means so much. I mean, I'm walking the halls of middle school last year today, and I see kids with state championship sweatshirts on. I see kids with Tessa jerseys on. I see South Carolina.
And I was just walking through the lunchroom, and there was a table of boys sitting there. And I could overhear their conversation. They were talking about Tessa Johnson. It was a group of boys. It wasn't some girls. It was a group of boys saying, hey, did you watch the game last night with Tessa Johnson? I mean, everybody's talking about it. It's been so fun for our community.
CATHY WURZER: I'm so happy for you. And of course, it was just so much fun to watch Tessa. Kent, Coach Kent, thank you so much.
KENT HAMRE: Hey, it's been so much fun for me. I appreciate you reaching out. This has been-- it's been a busy day, but a fun day with-- I'm beaming with pride. I feel like a proud father. [LAUGHS] So, no, it means a lot. Thank you so much for having me on.
CATHY WURZER: I'm just so thrilled for you and the program. Thank you, coach. Kent Hamre has been with us, the St. Michael-Albertville High School head girls' basketball coach.
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