Tauer has a doctorate in psychology, taught it at St. Thomas for 21 years and studied intrinsic motivation longer than that.

“It’s not just recruiting the best players,” he said. “It’s recruiting kids who value the same things you value.”

North Dakota State offered a scholarship. Tennessee-Chattanooga and Wisconsin-Milwaukee filled out his final four.

Starting with that video call, Nau embraced what his coach calls St. Thomas’ mission and values, which Tauer ticks off as “Unselfish, smart, skilled, tough.”

“When I was 17, I had no idea what I was getting into,” Nau said. “Back then, I was like, `Why are you showing me all this? Does it really matter?’” Nau said. “Now that I’m here, it’s honestly probably the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve never been part of something so special.”

A coach’s son, Tauer arrived as an assistant in 2000, became head coach in 2011. He was assistant or head coach for 12 consecutive MIAC championships starting in 2005. They won at least of share of 14 of 15 regular-season titles, including the 2016 national championship.