The players say they never saw it coming.

For nearly two years, South St. Paul has been building a new narrative surrounding its boys’ basketball program to replace one that never really existed.

South St. Paul is traditionally thought of as a hardscrabble, tough-as-nails community, its athletic program built on hockey and hard work. Basketball had rarely made a dent in the community’s consciousness.

Six state tournament appearances are in the school’s past, but the most recent was in 1970, more than a half-century ago.

The turnaround began three years ago with the hiring of coach Matt McCollister. McCollister was an attorney by trade but a basketball coach by passion, having left a residue of success wherever he went. His first year at the reins, South St. Paul ended a run of three 20-loss seasons. The Packers won 18 games after winning 16 games combined in the three previous years.

Playing an up-tempo style and always on the attack, South St. Paul won 19 games in 2020-21, falling one victory short of a state tournament berth. The Packers were approaching the crest this season, led by silky senior Alonzo Dodd — a polished 6-2 ballhandling wizard who not only gets to the rim and finishes but is arguably the state’s best playmaker. An end to the state tournament drought seemed inevitable.

That smooth glide path hit turbulence. McCollister was accused of conspiracy to commit health-care fraud springing from his work as a personal injury attorney in 2016 and 2017, before he became South St. Paul coach.

He was charged by federal prosecutors on Dec. 8, 2021. He resigned from his head coaching position on Jan. 11, just a few days before pleading guilty to the charges.

South St. Paul was 11-0 and ranked No. 3 in Class 3A when McCollister exited.

“It took us all by surprise,” senior guard Ramontre “Tre” Harmon said. “No one expected us to lose him at the peak of our season. We were all in shock.”

“It hit me hard because me and him are tight,” senior forward Keon Moore said. “At first, I thought he was joking.”

The architect of the Packers’ surge to excellence was gone. A season with lofty goals appeared in jeopardy.

The Packers made it a rallying point.

“Nothing’s changed,” said Darren Edwards, who has assumed the title of co-head coach along with Paul Miller. “We’re still expected to do what we were going to do. When Coach Matt left, his last message to me was to take care of business. That’s what we’re going to do.”

South St. Paul has won all eight games since the resignation, remains undefeated (19-0) and is still ranked No. 3 in Class 3A.

A lot depends on the calming influence of Dodd. As soon as McCollister stepped away, the senior guard knew how to react.

“That was our main man, our mentor. It hit us hard, but we knew that we had to keep going,” Dodd said. “He taught us our style, but most importantly he taught us how to be leaders.”

Team members believe that they’re a much tighter group than they were before losing their coach.

“We know we have to keep going, to play hard for each other and for the community,” Harmon said. “We’re a lot closer now than we were.”

McCollister is still in their thoughts. “After we win, we put our hands in a circle and say his name, ‘Coach Matt on three,’” Dodd said. “It reflects on what kind of a coach he was.”