Scoggins: St. Paul Harding delivers 'East Side pride' with historic basketball season

Steve Solaja didn't react like a coach whose team just lost a state tournament game by 43 points. He smiled and chuckled about what it felt like performing on the big stage.

"It's a crazy experience," he said.

A wonderful one, too. The final score — Mankato East 76, St. Paul Harding 33 — tells only a fraction of the story.

The details of the game won't matter today, tomorrow or 25 years from now. The participants will carry their memories of the journey that took the Harding boys basketball team to the Class 3A state tournament for the rest of their lives.

Harding had never played in the state tournament before Tuesday. The Knights hadn't even won a section playoff game since 2003. They had only six victories total three seasons ago.

"I'm proud of these boys," Solaja said.

A basketball team led by a group of talented, determined seniors became a rallying point for the school and entire East Side community.

On Monday, the school day at Harding ended at 3 p.m., and within five minutes, a line of students 20 deep had formed outside the office of athletic director Otto Kraus.

"It was even longer earlier at lunch," a school employee noted.

The booster club received $8,000 in donations in 24 hours to cover costs for a bus ride to Williams Arena and tickets to the quarterfinal game for any Harding student who wished to attend.

More than 300 students visited Kraus' office to sign up for the bus (not counting band members and cheerleaders) with 240 tickets paid for through donations.

"I haven't been able to do anything else today except this," joked Glenn Meyers, assistant athletic director.

That wasn't a complaint. The school had not qualified for a team state tournament in any sport since boys soccer in 2017. Excitement filled the school's hallways this week.

"It means everything," Solaja said.

"This is a beautiful experience," said Tony Smith, a former Harding basketball coach and teacher at the school for 35 years.

"Just an awesome time," Principal Tony Chlebecek said.

Solaja was a sophomore in the Harding program when the Knights reached the 2003 section final. They did not win another postseason game until this March.

"For me, it's a full-circle moment," he said. "It's insane to even think about."

He saw potential in his team at the beginning of the season, though he said his players needed to believe it themselves. That belief took shape as the season neared its finish.

The Knights made history with a one-point victory on St. Thomas Academy's home court in a section final that wasn't decided until the final seconds. Kraus called it "possibly the most fun sporting event I've ever been at. I know my heart rate has never been that high in the last 25 years."

The athletic director beamed as he looked down the visitor side of the gym that night.

"If you walked in and didn't know where you were, it might have felt like a Harding home game," he said.

School leaders say the term "East Side pride" is reflected in the way the community sticks together in hard times and celebrates its accomplishments. The community wrapped the basketball team in its warmest embrace.

"East Side pride is alive and well," Smith said.

Principal Chlebecek prefers the phrase "Pride of the East Side" to describe his school.

As part of the school's rebranding efforts, Chlebecek plans to display jerseys of Harding sports alums who made it to the professional ranks prominently in the school cafeteria. He also has ideas to give the basketball gym a makeover.

"My thought is two-fold: I want people to walk in and be like, 'This is the coolest gym I've ever seen,' " said Chlebecek, whose association with the school dates to 1971 when his father became a teacher. " 'As an athlete, I want to come and play here.' "

The best advertisement came this season with the inaugural state tournament. Students who had never attended a sporting event signed up for tickets.

"To see the smile on the kids' faces and not have to worry about scraping up some money to go to the state tournament game means everything to me," Solaja said.

Senior forward Mahamadou Kamara felt the love when he walked into school the morning after clinching the section title. Students and faculty kept congratulating him everywhere he turned.

"It was an unreal feeling," he said.

The team began a ritual of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a pregame meal during the playoffs. Players told Solaja that they wanted to eat at Chili's if they made it to state.

The Knights drew No. 1 seed Mankato East, a powerhouse whose only loss this season came against Hopkins. Harding battled hard but simply was overmatched.

The outcome was disappointing, but the overall experience was anything but that. The Knights made basketball relevant and gave their school and East Side community a thrill. Solaja heard from friends who made flights to be there and cheer them on.

The pride in their historic accomplishment was felt by many. The players celebrated by gathering the night before the game for a team dinner at Chili's.