Minnesota Mr. Basketball is an annual award recognizing excellence in Minnesota boys' high school basketball. The female equivalent is Minnesota Miss Basketball.

The award's legitimacy was challenged in February 2017 when John Carrier, then the boys' basketball coach at Henry Sibley High School in suburban Mendota Heights, harshly criticized Ken Lien, the chairman of the committee that annually chooses both Mr. and Miss Basketball, for his politicized anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant tweets from the @mrbasketballmn Twitter 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.Mr. BasketballCalifornia Mr. BasketballIndiana Mr. BasketballKentucky Mr. Basketball A nine-member selection committee, now led by John Robinson, has selected five finalists in March of every year since the award began. In the middle of January, a "watch list" is published which recognizes 30-40 seniors who have had a strong start to the season. At the end of the regular season, the Top 10 candidates for the Mr Basketball award are announced. 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. 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. 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, 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, 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 due to lack of playing time. The 1981 winner, Redd Overton, never attended a university and chose the junior college route instead.

Several former Minnesota Mr. Basketballs have been selected in the National Basketball Association Draft. Kevin McHale, the 1976 choice; Randy Breuer, the 1979 co-choice; Sam Jacobson, the 1994 choice; Joel Przybilla, the 1998 co-choice; and Kris Humphries, the 2003 choice, and Tyus Jones were picked in the first round. Kevin Lynch, the 1987 choice; Khalid El-Amin, the 1997 choice; and 2001 choice Rick Rickert were picked in the second round. Jim Petersen, the 1980 choice, was the only pick in the now obsolete third round. Chet Holmgren was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, 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.

Award winners

YearPlayerHigh schoolUniversityNBA Draft1975Waseca High School, WasecaMinnesota State1976Hibbing High School, HibbingMinnesotaMcHale was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1st round with the 3rd pick of the 1980 NBA draft.1977Prior Lake High School, Prior LakeMinnesota1978Bemidji High School, BemidjiSouth Dakota State1979Lincoln High School, Lake CityMinnesotaBreuer was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round with the 18th pick of the 1983 NBA draft.1979Duluth Central High School, DuluthNebraska1980St. Louis Park High School, St. Louis ParkMinnesotaPetersen was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 3rd round with the 4th pick (51st overall) of the 1984 NBA draft.1981Minneapolis North High School, MinneapolisNorth Hennepin Community College1982Irondale High School, New BrightonMontana State1983Coon Rapids High School, Coon RapidsMarquette1984Prior Lake High School, Prior LakeMinnesota1985Minneapolis North High School, MinneapolisWestern Kentucky1986Mounds View High School, Mounds ViewAugustana (SD)1987Bloomington Jefferson High School, BloomingtonMinnesotaLynch was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2nd round with the 1st pick (28th overall) of the 1991 NBA draft.1988Minneapolis North High School, MinneapolisEastern Kentucky1989DeLaSalle High School, MinneapolisNortheastern Illinois1990Owatonna High School, OwatonnaMinnesota1991Chisholm High School, ChisholmSt. Cloud State1992Eagan High School, EaganNorthwestern/St. Cloud State1993Elk River High School, Elk RiverEast Carolina/Illinois State1994Park High School, Cottage GroveMinnesotaJacobson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1st round with the 26th pick of the 1998 NBA draft.1995Minneapolis Roosevelt High School, MinneapolisMiami (OH)1996Faribault High School, FaribaultCal Poly/Minnesota1997Minneapolis North High School, MinneapolisConnecticutEl-Amin was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 2nd round with the 5th pick (34th overall) of the 2000 NBA draft.1998Totino-Grace High School, FridleySeton Hall1998Monticello High School, MonticelloMinnesotaPrzybilla was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1st round with the 9th pick of the 2000 NBA draft.1999Mounds View High School, Mounds ViewDuke2000Minnetonka High School, MinnetonkaNorth Carolina/Minnesota2001Duluth East High School, DuluthMinnesotaRickert was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2nd round with the 26th pick (55th overall) of the 2003 NBA draft.2002Academy of Holy Angels, RichfieldOhio2003Hopkins High School, MinnetonkaMinnesotaHumphries was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 1st round with the 14th pick of the 2004 NBA draft.2004Chaska High School, ChaskaMinnesota2005Mounds View High School, Mounds ViewCal Poly/Minnesota/Colorado State2006Braham High School, BrahamMichigan State2007Hopkins High School, MinnetonkaMinnesota2008Benilde-St. Margaret's School, St. Louis ParkWisconsin2009Hopkins High School, MinnetonkaMinnesota/Iowa StateWhite was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1st round with the 16th pick of the 2012 NBA draft. 2010Minnesota Transitions School, MinneapolisWest Virginia2011Hopkins High School, MinnetonkaMinnesota2012Hopkins High School, MinnetonkaHarvard2013Park Center Senior High School, Brooklyn ParkNorth Dakota2014Apple Valley High School, Apple ValleyDukeJones was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 24th pick of the 2015 NBA draft and traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night.2015JT GibsonChamplin Park High School, Brooklyn ParkOmaha2016Hopkins High School, MinnetonkaMinnesotaCoffey went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft but later signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.2017McKinley Wright IVChamplin Park High School, Brooklyn ParkColorado2018Apple Valley High School, Apple ValleyDukeJones was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 41st pick (2nd Round) of the 2020 NBA draft.2019Matthew HurtJohn Marshall High School, RochesterDuke2020Jalen SuggsMinnehaha Academy, MinneapolisGonzagaSuggs was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 5th pick in the 1st Round of the 2021 NBA draft.2021Chet HolmgrenMinnehaha Academy, MinneapolisGonzagaHolmgren was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 2nd pick in the 1st Round of the 2022 NBA draft.2022Braeden CarringtonPark Center Senior High School, Brooklyn ParkMinnesota2023Nasir WhitlockDeLaSalle High School, MinneapolisLehigh2024Jackson McAndrewWayzata High School, PlymouthCreighton2025Chase ThompsonAlexandria Area High School, AlexandriaClemson2026Christian WigginsWayzata High School, PlymouthIowa State

Most winners

+By university Number University 20 Minnesota 4 Duke 2 Cal Poly 2 Gonzaga 2 Iowa State 2 St. Cloud State 1 Augustana (SD) 1 Clemson 1 Colorado State 1 Connecticut 1 Creighton 1 Dayton 1 East Carolina 1 Eastern Kentucky 1 Harvard 1 Illinois State 1 Lehigh 1 Marquette 1 Miami (OH) 1 Michigan State 1 Minnesota State 1 Montana State 1 Nebraska 1 North Carolina 1 North Dakota 1 Northeastern Illinois 1 Northwestern 1 Ohio 1 Omaha 1 Seton Hall 1 South Dakota State 1 Western Kentucky 1 West Virginia 1 Wisconsin

+By high school Number High school 6 Hopkins High School 4 Minneapolis North High School 3 Mounds View High School 2 Minnehaha Academy 2 Park Center Senior High School 2 Prior Lake High School 2 DeLaSalle High School 2 Champlin Park High School 2 Apple Valley High School 2 Wayzata High School 1 Academy of Holy Angels 1 Alexandria Area High School 1 Bemidji High School 1 Benilde-St. Margaret's School 1 Bloomington Jefferson High School 1 Braham High School 1 Chaska High School 1 Chisholm High School 1 Coon Rapids High School 1 Duluth Central High School 1 Duluth East High School 1 Eagan High School 1 Elk River High School 1 Faribault High School 1 Hibbing High School 1 Irondale High School 1 Lake City High School 1 Minneapolis Roosevelt High School 1 Minnesota Transitions School 1 Minnetonka High School 1 Monticello High School 1 Owatonna High School 1 Park High School 1 St. Louis Park High School 1 Totino-Grace High School 1 Waseca High School

See also Minnesota Miss Basketball

Notes

References