In the mid-to-late 1990s, I was all about South Dakota Class A high school boys basketball.

From West Central’s Josh Mueller to Little Wound’s Jess Heart and Custer’s Derek Paulsen, I was entrenched with all the legends from that decade. It was the golden era for South Dakota Class A boys basketball players.

That also included coaches like Custer legend Larry Luitjens, who had a right-hand man named Fred Paulsen. 

Information traveled slowly back then, especially for a West River kid like myself, but I studied up and discovered Fred was a coaching legend himself.

That’s when I took notice of Fred, his son Derek and the Wildcats. Derek forever etched his name in South Dakota hoops lore when he buried the game winner against Lennox for the 1998 Class A state championship — as a sophomore.

Derek led the Wildcats to a third-place finish as a junior, and shortly after that major college basketball programs offered scholarships to the 6-foot-4 point guard on the AAU circuit. 

Derek could dribble, pass and shoot with the best of ‘em. He was South Dakota’s Magic Johnson.   

Derek, with his knee-high socks and shaved head, was one of the most skilled boys basketball players South Dakota has ever seen. He was destined for college basketball greatness, and was going to make South Dakotans proud at the next level.

So when Derek and his girlfriend, Eva Wahlstrom, died in a car accident in 1999, it was a devastating moment in South Dakota sports history as we lost one of the all-time greats. 

Derek’s younger brother, Paige, led the Wildcats to the 2002 Class A state championship and he earned Mr. Basketball honors in 2003. 

Some years later, the Paulsen family moved back to Michigan and Fred continued to coach the game he loved. But I always fondly remembered their impact on South Dakota hoops. 

Fast forward to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I needed something to write about. ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls was must-see TV at the time, and I localized it.

Dennis Rodman, the flamboyant rebounding machine, was a central figure in the documentary. Rodman, who played at Southeastern Oklahoma State, faced off against Huron College in the 1986 NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. 

I interviewed Fred about going up against Rodman, who erupted for 31 points and 20 rebounds in a 79-66 victory over Huron.

We chatted for about 10 minutes about the game, but then it was all about South Dakota. He spoke highly of the hoops-crazed state, and he called it home. 

Fred opened up about Derek, and he rattled off the college basketball programs recruiting him. As a South Dakota hoophead, it was a conversation I will value forever.

At last year’s Lakota Nation Invitational in Rapid City, I spotted Fred lumbering around from court to court watching basketball. Fred and his wife, Marilyn, were in the Black Hills for the winter and he was an assistant coach for the St. Thomas More High School boys basketball team. 

I interviewed him for another story, and again, Fred raved about South Dakota and the Lakota Nation Invitational. It was another conversation I will cherish forever, and we embraced like we were lifelong friends. 

When I heard of Fred’s sudden death on Aug. 6, it was another devastating moment for the South Dakota hoops family. South Dakota had lost an all-time great coach, person and friend. 

Fred Paulsen will forever hold a place in South Dakota basketball history — for his infectious smile, friendly personality and fiery coaching style.

Thanks, Fred.