BRAINERD — Entering the Region 13 Tournament, Central Lakes College men’s basketball coach Jim Russell sits on 499 wins.
The Raiders coach for 25 seasons had a chance to reach the milestone in front of the home fans Tuesday, Feb, 21, against Red Lake Nation College. However, the game was canceled due to Red Lake Nation not having enough players.
So Russell, who already is the winningest coach in CLC history, will have to wait until the Region 13 Tournament to get his 500th win.
Russell said reaching this milestone means a lot to him.
“It means a lot because it’s a milestone for length of time in coaching as well,” Russell said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for Central Lakes College, but for me, it’s for all the players who have been through here, all the coaches that have gone through here and I think doing it in 25 years, you get the idea of many wins per season we did.”
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Russell’s first season with the Raiders came in the 1997-98 season when he led the Raiders to a 17-8 season and a third-place finish in the Minnesota Community College Conference state tournament. Russell was also coach of the year in the conference in his first season.
“I never thought I’d reach 500 wins,” Russell said. “Especially in the coaching world on the men’s side, there is so much turnover. I’ve seen a lot of coaches come in and out of this league and a lot of friends in coaching who aren’t coaching anymore. I didn’t see this coming at all, so yeah, it’s a big one.”
In his fifth season, Russell led the Raiders to a school record in wins with a 20-7 season in 2001-2002.
The record did not last long. In 2003-04 Russell guided the Raiders to 21 wins and an unbeaten conference record. The season also marked CLC’s first Region 13 tournament appearance in 37 years.
Russell brought the men’s basketball program to new heights again in 2007-08 when he coached the Raiders to their first state championship in program history. That season was also the first Region 13 title for CLC since 1949, which advanced them to the NJCAA Division III Tournament in Delhi, New York.
The next season, Russell helped the Raiders break the school record for wins with 24.
The Raiders won 26 games in the 2010-11 season and followed it with 29 wins in 2011-12.
In the 2011-12 season, Russell won his second Region 13 title. He then won his first two games in the NJCAA Tournament to help the Raiders finish fourth in the nation.
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A special moment for Russell came when he got his 400th win in the 2016-17 season. Russell earned the milestone in a double overtime victory against St. Cloud in the quarterfinals of the MCAC/Region 13 Tournament.
“That one was special because my son Jacob was on the team,” Russell said. “It was also a big playoff game at Anoka-Ramsey.”
Russell got his third Region 13 title in 2018-19 when he led the Raiders to a 26-7 season. CLC won its quarterfinal game in the NJCAA Division III Tournament before losing the next two games to finish fourth in the nation.
Overall, Russell has won eight Northern Division titles and this weekend will coach in his 22nd state tournament.
Russell credited some of his coaching mentors including Gary Esbolt, who gave Russell an opportunity to coach with him at St. Olaf University.
“He taught me a lot about organization skills and time management and recruiting,” Russell said.
Another Russell mentor was Don Brubacher, who Russell coached with at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, which was an NAIA school.
“He gave me an opportunity to really understand Xs and Os and really gave me a huge boost on how to understand recruiting around the state of Kansas which is such a big basketball state,” Russell said. “Those are two big names that helped me and the third one was Jay Helman who was the head coach at Western State in Gunnison, Colorado. He became the president at the college, but he gave me the opportunity to help him run the program at all levels. Those three guys were big, big mentors of mine and big influences in my life.”
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Russell has been Region 13 Coach of the Year three times including most recently in 2019 and has been MCAC Coach of the Year six times.
“The Central Lakes College administration and community have brought great support,” Russell said. “You have to have that to stay as long as I have. There is a big difference in having the program and a lot of teams are just filling kids in hoping to have a team and I’m lucky enough to get to build a program and the kids here have a huge influence on the community and a huge influence on the college and also help them with their education.”
Russell’s secret to staying at one place for 25 years is finding the right fit.
“I feel like I really fit at CLC,” he said. “I feel like I belong here at the college. The reason I say that is because I feel like I can relate to the kids and they have been through a lot in their life and so have I. They motivate me to get better as a coach and have a great interaction with them other than just basketball. I get a chance to enjoy work every day and make an impact on these kids' lives.”
Jim Russell
Job: Central Lakes College Men’s Basketball head coach
Time: 25 seasons (1997-2023)
Record: 499-202 (.712)
Highlights: Eight conference titles, 22 state tournament appearances, three NJCAA National Tournament appearances, three-time Region 13 coach of the year and six-time MCAC coach of the year.
CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.
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