The Daily News

As the 2009 Wahpeton Huskies boys basketball team prepares to start the first round of the North Dakota State A Tournament, people who have lived here for a while are thinking back to where they were 30 years ago this week.

In 1979, the Wahpeton 'Wops' completed a tournament run that led them to the championship.

In fact, coach Lance Wolf's team started the season with 14 straight wins.

The March 12, 1979 Daily News front page exclaimed the Wahpeton Wops boys basketball team as State Champions. photo by Scott Sorum Advertisement

A regular season loss to Grand Forks Central, who were known as the Redskins, was the only blemish on their record before the Regional Tournament.

In the Regional finals, Wahpeton lost to Jamestown, but defeated Grafton in the challenge game to reach the State Tournament in Fargo, at the Bison Sports Arena.

Coach Wolf, who now works for Gate City Bank in Fargo, said there was a lot of pressure on the 1979 team.

"The kids had the experience from being in the State tournament the year before," Wolf said. "We were able to withstand that pressure. I just remember all of the support we had from the fans all year long. At the State tournament, we probably had the most fans there.”

The captain of the 1979 team, Dennis Eastman recalls that magical season.

"We lost to Grand Forks Central for our only loss of the regular season," Eastman said. "And it was my fault. I was supposed to box out the shooter and I didn't. He got the rebound and put it in to win the game."

Eastman, who is in his 16th year coaching the women's basketball team at Central Lakes Community College in Brainerd, Minn., says the Wops players were frustrated by their only other loss that year.

In the Regional finals, Wahpeton lost to Jamestown.

"We lost to Jamestown, which put us in a challenge game against Grafton," Eastman said. "We took out our frustrations on Grafton and beat them pretty bad.”

During the tournament, Eastman suffered an ankle injury.

His limited playing time required a strong effort by Steve Krause of the Wops' bench.

Krause, Eastman and George Swenson were named to the All-Tournament team that year.

Krause, who works at Dakota Chrysler Center in Wahpeton recalled the strong senior players in 1979.

"We were blessed with a good group of seniors," said Krause, a junior that year. "I played a little bit in the middle of the season until Mike Randall came back from a surgery. Then, for some reason, Lance [Wolf] put me in a lot during the tournament. We had such great support from the fans. It was a great experience."

Krause also recalled a group of students known as the 'Rat Pack', who would come to games dressed in fedora hats, trench coats and sunglasses.

Krause encourages this year's Huskies team to enjoy the experience of the State Tournament.

"It's a great time," Krause said. "Leave it all on the court and hopefully they can come out on top."

Swenson, who works at Minn-Kota Ag Products in Breckenridge, says winning the tournament was special for him.

"My dad won it in 1941, so it was special," Swenson said. "We were a pretty well-rounded team and the seniors had played together for many years, since around fifth grade. And on that team, it seemed that if one guy wasn't hitting, we would just give it to someone else."

The Wops beat Minot by 16 points in the semi-finals to set up a rematch with Jamestown for the title.

In the title game, Wahpeton led by quite a few points, before the BlueJays came back and tightened things up.

In the end, the Wops won 47-43 to claim the title.

"In the locker room, I remember there were a lot of happy kids," Wolf said. "We stayed over that night at the Holiday Inn in Moorhead, Minn., and the next day, the crowds met us in Wolverton and we had a parade all the way back into town. At the school, again the support was tremendous."

Swenson recalled the bus ride home the next day. "We were hanging out the windows and the whole nine yards. Mike [Randall]'s dad owned the bus. Then, we went around to the schools that next week and signed autographs for the little kids."

"For me, it took about a week for me to realize what we had accomplished," Eastman said. "There are a lot of expectations on you when you go to the tournament. This year's players need to come together. Because it's the guys with you on the court that will be there when times are tough and when times are good."

"That '79 team was a special group of kids. I still have people come up to me today and say that was one of the best teams they ever saw play in the tournament.," Wolf said.

Swenson's advice to the 2009 team—"Play the best you can, you'll never forget it."

For the fans of the 1979 Wops, it is clear that they have never forgotten the thrill of Wahpeton's last state championship basketball team.

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