Boys' Basketball: INSTANT SUCCESS

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor

sports@beeherald.com

@BrandonJHurley

DES MOINES –

Back-to-back state tournament appearances, a conference title and a third place finish isn’t too bad of a way to start a career. 

The past six seasons have been a drastic reversal for Kuemper basketball head coach and former Paton-Churdan Rocket, Sean Minnehan. 

Success hasn’t always followed the 2005 graduate. His playing days were littered with loses, 42 to be exact. 

The 29-year old has nearly reached that mark in wins just two years into his head coaching career, guiding the Knights to consecutive state tournaments, a 41-9 overall record, a state tournament victory and a date with Pella Christian Thursday afternoon in Des Moines. 

The constant losing on the hardwood in high school didn’t do much to deter Minnehan, it only motivated him to help other players grow. 

The coach was the veteran face of a P-C squad that was marred in a 25 plus game losing-streak across two seasons. The Rockets picked up just two wins from 2003-2005, compiling a 2-42 record. P-C lost all 23 games during Minnehan’s senior season (2004-2005) and were 2-19 the previous year. The 1A squad struggled with experience and height during Minnehan’s playing career. The father of one stands roughly five-foot-10, yet he was the tallest player on the P-C squad. 

“You’re just playing for your teammates,” Minnehan said of his rocky playing career. “It wasn’t about wins and losses for us. You’re just playing for your friends. It’s a game, you enjoy the game no matter what, so that was the biggest takeaway I had.” 

The young coach tried to not let the high school failures wear on him too much. He used it as fuel for a career in coaching. 

“It was not fun. I think I was able to learn from it and grow from it,” Minnehan said. “It’s put me in this position here, so I wouldn’t change much.” 

Though the victories were few and far between, Minnehan developed a relationship with then head coach Jared Galpin that reached beyond the athlete-coach bond. His natural teaching tendencies also sprouted as a teenager. 

“He gave me an opportunity to coach a sixth grade basketball team and I enjoyed it. So I knew it was definitely something I could see myself pursuing a bit more,” Minnehan said. “I just like working with kids. As a teacher, I want to help kids to achieve and meet their own goals and push them a little harder. I want them to hold their selves to a high standard and that’s why I got into coaching.”

The father and husband attended Iowa State University following high school graduation, earning a degree in kinesiology and exercise science. It was during his time in Ames where his coaching roots really began to sprout. He took on roles with the All-Iowa Attack development program in Ames and Kingdom Hoops in Ankeny.

“[I learned] to hold your kids to a higher standard, compete at all times, little things like that,” Minnehan said. “As far as ‘Xs and Os,’ you pick up different things. I picked up things here and there and applied them to my own coaching style and personality.”

Minnehan spent five years as an assistant coach in the Kuemper program before taking over in 2015, starting under former coach Tyler Edwards. The hot start wasn’t too unexpected, Minnehan knew what he was stepping into when he took over. 

“Working with Tyler since 2010, I kind of envisioned the success, whether it was through him or at the head of the program,” Minnehan said. “I felt like I learned a lot from the coaches.”

The coach has been an educator in the Kuemper school district for seven years. He teaches middle school P.E. and seventh and eighth grade health class. 

Minnehan immediately put his prior knowledge to work, guiding KHS to a 18-7 record and a trip to the 2016 state tournament as a rookie, where they lost to eventual champion, Hull Western Christian in the quarterfinals. 

There was a brief moment of culture shock when Minnehan joined the Kuemper staff, he wasn’t used to so much winning at the high school level. But he’s come to relish in it now, because, frankly, who wouldn’t? Minnehan is in the midst of his third state tournament as a coach and he’s not even a decade in.  

“Yeah, it was a little different my first time as an assistant coach,” Minnehan said. “But the big thing is just enjoying the moment.” 

Of course, the quick success hasn’t all been due to the coaching prowess of Minnehan. He owes a majority of the credit to a 6’7” forward that isn’t too shabby out on the court himself. Senior Matt Dentlinger broke the all-time Kuemper scoring record in the Knights’ quarterfinal win over G-H-V, pouring in 19 points to put his career total at 1,275, adding to his all-time school record of total blocks and rebounds. The 2016 all-state forward is well on his way to consecutive state honors, compiling 19.5 ppg, 12 rebounds per game and 3.5 blocks per game, guiding the Knights to a 24-3record. Kuemper scored at a highly efficient rate, pouring in 73 points per game (second highest mark in the 2A tournament field), drilling 177 three pointers (third most) while holding opponents to just 51 points per game. As a team, KHS knocks down 51 percent of their field goal attempts and 39 percent of their threes. 

The players are what really make his job fun, Minnehan said. 

“They are great students, they are fun to be around and they work really, really hard,” the coach said. “If I push them, they accept the challenge. That’s the biggest difference for us.” 

For now, Minnehan is basking in the success, with eyes on a state title, hoping to continue a strong Kuemper tradition. The Knights have made 15 state tournaments, culminated with a state title back in 1985. 

Minnehan is married to his wife, Natalie, and together they have a two-year old daughter, Lilly.

““It’s been pretty wild,” Minnehan said. “But it’s about the kids, creating those opportunities for a guy to be successful. If is a guy is down I’ll look to pick him up a little bit. But if a guy needs pushed, then I’ll be that guy or one of our assistant coaches will.” 

The Knights finished third in Class 2A, losing in the semifinals to Pella Christian, 64-61 followed by a commanding victory over Camanche in the consolation game. It was Kuemper’s best finish at state since 2013.