Devils Lake girls’ basketball coach Justin Klein reaches 200 career wins

Justin Klein had a surprise waiting for him when he got to the locker room: a cold, icy drenching.

Moments earlier, he’d laid out on the floor holding a golden basketball minted with his name and the designation “200 CAREER WINS.” His players were grouped up behind him for a picture — Tylie Brodina holding a large number 2, and Torri Fee and Cabryn Fritel each taking a 0.

With the Devils Lake girls’ basketball team’s 67-47 win over Wahpeton on Feb. 14, Klein reached a milestone in a coaching career that’s close to two decades old.

Klein was the head boys’ coach at Warwick for two years. He was an assistant for Devils Lake under Scott Prviratsky for four. But for the last 14 years now, he’s been the Firebirds’ head man.

“I think it means more that I’m at one place, doing it and winning at one specific school and not bouncing around,” Klein said.

The Devils Lake girls had some powerhouse teams in the late 1970s and 1980s. They made the Class A state tournament seven times in an eight-year span, with titles in 1981, 1984 and 1987. But when Klein took over in 2011, the Firebirds hadn’t won a championship since then. They’d made state as recently as 2009.

Klein’s first few years saw some losing seasons. But the 2017 season started a run of dominance that’s gone on for nearly a decade now. Devils Lake made it to state in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 — always coming so close, but never quite making it over that hump to win it all. The Firebirds had a state title chance ripped away from them in 2020, when the game was canceled due to the pandemic.

“Everything within a program and within a team goes better when there’s wins,” Klein said. “We’re fortunate, and the kids work hard, and they have worked hard. And the formers, too, have done a good job, and that’s why I’ve gotten to 200 wins.”

Klein said he got into the coaching trade to win. But his personal accomplishments have been fueled by the kids he’s gotten to coach over the years — and it’s been his focus to build talented, deep teams that work together and gel as a group.

“You always want to win and get to that next level, I guess,” Klein said. “But I think watching the kids grow, and watching the team play as a team, I think it’s also a joy to coach when you can count on kids down the line. When you can bring eight, nine, 10 kids up — the eighth, ninth, 10th kid in — and they can come in and play or do something. When kids work hard and are coachable, it makes our job a lot easier.”

Klein saw his efforts rewarded from a team aspect when the girls won state last year. It ended the enduring 37-year drought.

“[The 200-win threshold] doesn’t mean as much as a state tournament or region championship; things like that,” Klein said. “Those are a little more special.”

The championship season wasn’t necessarily a perfect one for the Firebirds. They lost six games, including two during region play and one in the region tournament. They were ranked No. 4 in the final Class A poll.

But they found a way to win when it mattered most.

“A lot of ups and downs,” Klein said. “Some wins are easy; some are difficult.”

It clearly meant a lot to Klein, who said at the time that he’d been in this situation before and it was a lot more fun to win it. Brodina, as a freshman last year, led a fierce Firebirds squad with 58 points in the three-game state tournament.

“He’s just very honest,” Brodina said of Klein. “But he’s also helping us, and he always gives us great advice, and just always keeps us in mind. He pushes us to our best.”

Naturally, this season has brought high expectations. Devils Lake started the year 7-0 before taking a loss to then-unranked Kindred. The Firebirds grinded through wins over Grafton and Grand Forks Central, and took losses to Carrington and Valley City. But they won their final five games of the regular season, with margins of 30-plus points over each of Hillsboro/Central Valley, Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Grafton.

They’ll head into the upcoming region tournament as the No. 1 seed in Region 2 and the No. 3-ranked team in Class A.

“One game at a time,” Klein stressed. “Our game plan is to pressure, pressure, pressure. Push the ball. Score in transition and not sit back. It’s slow the game up, and that’s just what we’ve gotta keep doing.”

Klein, like many great basketball coaches, is an intense and fiery presence in the heat of a game. The motors are running in full gear from the moment the game starts until the final buzzer. And he’s not afraid to criticize the team’s performance afterward, if warranted. In particular, this team has gotten off to slow scoring starts at times.

But Klein has a plan, and he knows what a successful team looks like. He’s been through the ringer at this point and has a clear vision in mind for every game.

“He really pushes us for defense. The defense creates the offense,” Devils Lake senior Claire Heilman said. “We know how he likes to run things. Being a senior, we’ve had him for four years, so he knows what he expects from us and we know what to expect from him.”

The Firebirds will need to bring their best over the next two weeks. They have a tough Carrington team waiting for them amidst a talented regional field. But first, their postseason run begins with a contest on Tuesday against the winner of Monday’s No. 4 vs. No. 5 game. It’s slated to begin at Mayville State University at 5:30 p.m.

And maybe, if all goes well, Klein will be in for another surprise when he returns to the locker room.

“I hope we get a drenching when we go to Mayville,” Klein said. “I guess that’s the best drenching because we’ll know we’re going to state.”