Minnesota Mr. Basketball
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Minnesota Mr. Basketball is an annual award recognizing excellence in
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
boys' high school basketball. The female equivalent is Minnesota Miss Basketball. The award's legitimacy was challenged in February 2017 when Henry Sibley, Minnesota high school basketball coach John Carrier called out owner and chairman Ken Lien for his politicized anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant tweets from the @mrbasketballmn
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account. The Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association was among many who announced their support of Carrier's complaint. The award was established in 1975 and is given to the person(s) chosen as the best high school boys' basketball senior in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The award is the fourth oldest such award in the nation; only Indiana Mr. Basketball, California Mr. Basketball, and Kentucky Mr. Basketball, which were first awarded in 1939, 1950, and 1956, respectively, predate it. A nine-member selection committee, headed by Ken Lien since 1977, has selected five finalists in March of every year since the award began. Those five finalists are chosen from a larger pool of 15 finalists picked in January, and the winner of the award is named in April. In order to select the most deserving student-athlete, the selection panel watches over 120 high school basketball games and creates detailed reviews on every one of them. The winner is then invited to an honorary dinner, along with the Minnesota Miss Basketball selection. Twice the panel chose two winners, in 1979 and 1998. The first award winner was Gene Glynn, who attended Waseca High School in
Waseca, Minnesota Waseca ( ) is a city in Waseca County, Minnesota, Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,229 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, t ...
. He played for Mankato State University, now known as Minnesota State University. Six recipients of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball award were enrolled at Hopkins High School and
Minneapolis North High School North Community High School, or simply North, is a four-year public comprehensive high school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has existed for over 120 years in several buildings all located on the city's northside. Minneapolis Nort ...
, the most of any high school. Most recipients go to Division I universities, with a high of 17 attending the University of Minnesota. Glynn, the 1975 winner; Jim Jensen, the 1978 winner; Steve Schlotthauer, the 1986 winner; Tom Conroy, the 1989 winner; Joel McDonald, the 1991 winner; and Bret Yonke, the 1992 winner, all attended Division II schools. Conroy attended
Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. NEIU serves approximately 5,000 students in the region and is both a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and Asian American and Nat ...
, which upgraded to Division I in 1991, his sophomore year. Yonke began his career at Division I Northwestern and later transferred to Division II
St. Cloud State St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...
due to lack of playing time. The 1981 winner, Redd Overton, never attended a university and chose the
junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
route instead. Several former Minnesota Mr. Basketballs have been selected in the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
. Kevin McHale, the 1976 choice;
Randy Breuer Randall W. Breuer (born October 11, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. A 7'3" center from the University of Minnesota, ...
, the 1979 co-choice;
Sam Jacobson Samuel Ryan Jacobson (born July 22, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Early lif ...
, the 1994 choice;
Joel Przybilla Joel Przybilla (; born October 10, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played the center position for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Przybilla was born in Monticello, M ...
, the 1998 co-choice; and
Kris Humphries Kristopher Nathan Humphries (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball power forward who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, ...
, the 2003 choice, were picked in the first round. Kevin Lynch, the 1987 choice;
Khalid El-Amin Khalid El-Amin (born April 25, 1979) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a member of the 1999 University of Connecticut men's basketball team that won the NCAA championship. He is originally from Minnesota, where he play ...
, the 1997 choice; and 2001 choice
Rick Rickert Rick Rickert (born February 11, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a 2001 graduate of Duluth East High School where he was a basketball star and highly recruited college prospect. He was named 2001 Minnesota Mr. Ba ...
were picked in the second round.
Jim Petersen James Richard Petersen (born February 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player, and a current television analyst with the Minnesota Timberwolves. From 2009 to 2017 he served as an assistant coach and later associate head c ...
, the 1980 choice, was the only pick in the now obsolete third round.
Chet Holmgren Chet Thomas Holmgren ( ; born May 1, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top-ranked player of the 2021 class, Holmg ...
was selected by the
Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...
with the second overall pick in the
2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...
, making him the highest-selected draft pick ever taken out of Gonzaga and the highest-drafted pick from the state of Minnesota, topping Kevin McHale, who was taken third overall in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
.


Award winners


Most winners


See also

* Minnesota Miss Basketball


Notes


References

{{USHSMRBB Mr. and Miss Basketball awards Awards established in 1975 Minnesota State High School League Lists of people from Minnesota Minnesota sports-related lists Basketball players from Minnesota