Why gopher hoops isn't hopeless.

Dan Monson did wonders for running this program into the ground. But Minnesota isn't as bad a job as you might think. Here's why

1) After Detroit and Chicago, what's the next best recruiting area in the Big Ten. I would contend its the MSP area. Are there enough good players here? Ask Northern Iowa and Bradley about that since they raid this area. Ask Bo Ryan and Tom Crean if local kids are good enough to play big time D1 ball. Even NDSU steals players from here.

2) Williams Arena, do I need to say more.

3) With Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin as recruiting opposition, where would you rather go to school and play? I think the metro could be a big advantage there.

Minnesota Conference Websites

• Arrowhead
• Big 9
• Big South
• Camden
• Central Lakes
• Central Minnesota
• Eastern Minnesota Athletic
• Gopher
• Granite Ridge
• Great River
• Heart O'Lakes
• Hiawatha Valley League
• Independent Metro Athletic
• Iron Range
• Lake
• Lake Superior
• Little Eight
• Metro East
• Metro West
• Minneapolis City
• Minnesota Classic Athletic Association
• Mississippi 8
• Northern Lakes
• North Star (can use Region 8 MN site)
• Northland
• Northwest
• Northwest Suburban
• Park Region
• Pine to Prairie
• Polar League
• Prairie
• Red Rock
• St. Paul City
• Skyline
• South Central (new 24-25)
• South Suburban
• Southeast
• Suburban East
• Three Rivers
• Tomahawk
• Tri-Metro
• Valley
• West Central
• Wright County

Abbreviations Key

Abbreviations by Conference. Note that the most schools that start with a city name followed by a school name usually are referred to by school portion of the name only. Ex: Armstrong and Cooper for the Robbinsdale schools, Kennedy and Jefferson for the Bloomington schools and of course all of the St. Paul and Minneapolis schools. North = Minneapolis North, NSP or North (St. Paul) is used to reference the other North high school.

Classic Suburban

• Henry Sibley ->Sibley
• Hill-Murray -> HM
• North (St. Paul) -> NSP
• St. Thomas Academy -> STA
• South St. Paul -> SSP

Lake

• Apple Valley -> AV
• Eastview -> EV
• Eden Prairie -> EP

MCAA

• Concordia (Bloomington) -> C-Bl
• Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity -> LP/HT
• Maranatha Christian Academy -> MCA
• Meadow Creek Christian Academy -> MCCA
• New Life Academy -> NLA
• Southwest Christian -> SWC
• West Lutheran -> WL

Missota

• Academy of Holy Angels-> AHA

North Suburban

• Benilde St. Margaret's -> BSM
• Columbia Heights -> CH
• Totino-Grace -> TG

Northwest Suburban

• Maple Grove -> MG
• Park Center -> PC

Suburban East

• Cretin-Derham Hall -> CDH
• Forest Lake -> FL
  
• Mounds View -> MV
• White Bear Lake -> WBL

Tri-Metro

• Brooklyn Center -> BC
• Concordia (Roseville) -> Concordia
• DeLaSalle -> DLS
• Mounds Park Academy -> MPA
• St. Bernard's -> SB
• St. Croix Lutheran -> SCL
• St. Paul Academy -> SPA

Others

• Christ's Household of Faith -> CHOF
• St. Michael-Albertville -> STMA

The Czar's Basketball Library

Here's a list of basketball materials that are in The Czar's basketball library.

Videos

• Steve Alford, How to Run The 2-Out 3-In Motion Offense
• Dana Altman, The Complete Guide to the High Post Offense vs. Any Defense
• Eddie Andrist, Run and Jump Press "Where Fatigue is the Name of the Game"
• Eddie Andrist, Run and Jump Pressure The Press Stress Continues
• Jamie Angeli, Back Door Buckets
• Dave Arseneault, Forcing Tempo: The Grinnell Offensive System
• Dave Arseneault, Forcing Tempo: The Grinnell Defensive System
• Ganon Baker, Ball Skills for Post Players
• Ganon Baker & Boo Williams, Grassroots Basketball Series (5 video series)
  
• Ganon Baker, The Big Fella - Post Skill Workouts!
  
• Dick Bennett, The Mover-Blocker Offense
• Dick Bennett, The "Pack-Line" Pressure Defense
  
• Jack Bennett, Championship "Gap" Man-to-Man and Sliding Zone Defense
• Jack Bennett, Championship Zone Motion Offense
• Jim Boeheim's Complete Guide to the 2-3 Match-Up Zone Defense
  
• Bruce Brown, Basic Eight Defensive Drill
• Hubie Brown, How to Win with Less Talent
• Hubie Brown, The Secrets of Winning Basketball-Volume I
• Hubie Brown, The Secrets of Winning Basketball-Volume II
• Hubie Brown, Special Situations Part I & II
  
• Pete Carril, The Princeton Offense (4 video series)
• Mike Divilbiss, The Buzz
• Billy Donovan, Mastering the Full-Court Match-Up Press
• Kevin Eastman, Development for Inside and Perimeter Players
• Kevin Eastman, Chair Drills: Shooting Workout for Inside Players
• Kevin Eastman, Chair Drills: Shooting Workout for Perimeter Players
  
• Paul Hewitt, The Point Zone Defense
• Tom Izzo, Dominating Rebounding & Man-to Man Defensive Drills
• Steve Klaas, 1-3-1 Zone Defense: The Complete Package Basics and Traps & Adjustments (2 video set)
• Tod Kowalczyk, 1-4 Zone Offense
• Jim Larranaga, The 3-2 Disrupting Camouflage Defense "Philosophy & Practice Planning-The George Mason Way"
• Mike Lee, 25 Killer Scoring Moves
• Mike Lee, Secrets of Unstoppable Guard Play
  
• Pete Newell, Big Man Moves and Skill Development
• Tom Nordland, Swish 2
• Gregg Popovich, My Favorite Drills and the Motion Offense
  
• Dave Robbins, The Circle Defense
• Flip Saunders, Match-Up Zone Defense and Special Drills Part I & II
• Bill Self, High/Low Motion Offense
• Stu Vetter, The Fast Break and Secondary Break
• Herb Welling, The Dribble Motion Offense
• Herb Welling, Building the Dribble Motion Offense
• Herb Welling, "Must Have" Dribble Motion Offense Adjustments
• Roy Williams, Tar Heel Offense & Transition Drills
• Jay Wright, 28 Competitive Drills for Shooting and Footwork
  
• Jay Wright, Attacking Footwork Drills for Perimeter Players
• Jay Wright, The Inside and Outside Game

Books

• Jamie Angeli, Primary/Secondary Break Pass Option Offensive Attack System
• Dave Arseneault, The Running Game
• Don Casey and Ralph Pim, Own the Zone
• Mark Dudzik and Katie Roberts Dynamite Drills
• Bob Kloppenburg, SOS Pressure Defense (4th Edition)
• Jim Larranaga, Coaching Basketball's Scramble Defense
• Al McGuire, Humpty-Dumpty Offense
• Al McGuire, Mosquito Defenses
• Lason Perkins, The Set Play
• Michael Podell, Perfect Practice Drills
• Dean Smith, Basketball Multiple Offense and Defense
• Stan Watts, Developing an Offensive Attack in Basketball
• Fran Webster, Basketball's Amoeba Defense
• Tex Winter, The Triple-Post Offense (Sideline Triangle)

Winning Hoops Coaching Reports

• Backdoor Offense
• Buzzer Beaters
• Ferocious Full-Court Presses
• Lock Down Defenses Part 1
• Lock Down Defenses Part 2
• Out-Of-Bounds Strategies
• Pressure Beaters
• Scouting the Opposition
• Stoppers! Time-Tested Defensive Drills
• Swarm Defense
• Zone Busters

Contact The Czar

You too can contribute to this blog and there are many ways to do so. Here are just a couple of examples

• If you saw a game and want people to know about it, write up a report on the game and email it to me. If I like what you wrote, I'll post it giving you credit for it. While I do reserve the right to edit the post for clarity, my intent is to leave the spirit of your text intact. Click here to see an example. My goal will be to post as many of these as possible, but I make no promises.
  
  
• Is there an event that people don't know enough about that you'd like to make known (ex: a team camp, scrimmage, showcase event like the East Metro Showcase)? Email me about it and I'll gladly try to spread the word.

And of course, if you enjoy reading this, spread the word to others who may also enjoy it.

Questions, comments, suggestions, corrections, broken links, news items, events to cover or anything else? They are always welcome. You can click here to contact me.

Editorial Policy

As the blog title states, I focus almost all of my attention on the Minneapolis/St. Paul high school boys basketball scene. That includes anything from regular high school games to spring/summer AAU games that include local players. It also includes recruiting info, interviews, rankings, coaching changes etc. I do make a trip back to Wisconsin each season to see at least one game, but I try to do that outside of the local boys season. For the top Wisconsin players and teams, I may comment on them here especially if there's a local connection. I will go watch the local high school girls play when the boys aren't playing, but I won't write much about it.

I cover the following Twin Cities sections

• 2AAAA, 3AAAA, 4AAAA, 5AAAA, 6AAAA, 7AAAA
• 3AAA, 4AAA, 6AAA
• 4AA
• 4A

I cover the following conferences (102 teams + metro area independents)

• Classic Lake
• Classic Suburban
• Lake
• Minneapolis City
• MCAA
• Missota
• North Suburban
• Northwest Suburban
• St. Paul City
• Suburban East
• Tri-Metro
• Metro area independents like CHOF, Minnesota Transitions, Spectrum etc

Writing Schedule
From mid-September until the start of the season I follow the multitude of fall leagues in the metro.

I do section and conference previews in late October and early November leading up to the start of practice around Thanksgiving.

During the season my week looks something like this.

Game coverage every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and most Mondays and Wednesdays (when there are games). Saturday usually will have 2 or 3 games that I cover. My posts usually are done late night on game days. I do lots of abbreviating because writing is painful. If any of the abbreviations are unclear, check out the abbreviations key. I go to all of these games as a fan first and a writer second. That means I keep all of my own statistics and notes by hand as I sit with the fans and cheer like anyone else.

Sundays are a recovery and catchup day. I write my weekly column for MinnesotaPreps.com and update my season totals with all of the different sights, sounds and tastes from the week.

As the regular season ends, I preview the sections and give predictions as I try to keep up round by round.

I also cover the spring/summer AAU scene by attending the local events and tracking some of the teams and players as they travel around the country. This may even include a road trip or 2 as I covered our local travel teams in Denver and Chicago in 2009.

The Czar's Profile

The Twin Cities Hoops Czar


Mike Fratello
I'm originally known by my TCHoopsCzar moniker (Twin Cities Hoops Czar) on the Minnesota Preps and Minnesota-Scores boys basketball forums. Its a tribute to the one and only Czar of the Telestrator, Mike Fratello (pictured). It comes from the early 90s when I feel he should have won the NBA coach of the year award in Cleveland. It also notes the fact that I can't walk by a whiteboard without drawing up a play on it. While there are many variations of the blog title and moniker used, (e.g tchoops, tc hoops czar, tc hoops blog, twin cities hoops blog, etc etc) very often it gets simplified to The Czar.

I'm a rabid high school basketball fan with no affiliation or allegiance to any metro school. I focus mostly on the boys basketball scene in the Twin Cities, but I may comment on the girls game or Wisconsin action if there's nothing going on with the boys. My perspective is that of a fan first and foremost. I combine that with my 3 seasons of experience as a player and 5 years as a manager. I also consider myself to be a basketball purist and student of the game. What I write here is best described as a diary of what I see and think as I follow the different teams and travel to the 120+ varsity games I see each season. I hope that you'll find the site to be an interesting source of opinion via my posts and also a valuable place to find free information on local players and teams via the many links to other sites that I've provided. If you do enjoy it, please pass the word on to others. In addition to writing this blog, I also write a weekly basketball column for MinnesotaPreps.com under my real identity, Kevin Alsteens (see my real picture here).

Details of how I cover the season can be read here. If you have corrections, suggestions, ideas or want to contact me, you can always contact me by clicking here.

The Cast of Characters and other stuff you should know

While I do take basketball seriously, it is only a game. Therefore, in the spirit of The Czar character, I use a royalty theme from time to time to lighten the mood. Here's an explanation of the references within that royalty theme.

• The Kingdom - Short for The Czar's Kingdom. Specifically refers to the 11 conferences and independent teams in the metro that I write about.
• The Old Kingdom - Not to be confused with The Czar's Kingdom. This refers to the La Crosse, Wisconsin area where I grew up. I make a trip back usually once a season to see a game, usually at the beginning of the season or around the holidays.
• The Emperor (of the Old Kingdom) and Her Majesty - The Czar's parents. You'll see The Emperor mentioned when attending a game with The Czar. Usually once or twice a season and usually in The Old Kingdom.
• The Emperor's Palace - The home of the Emperor and Her Majesty.
  
• Dacha de Czar - The Czar's home
• The Crown Prince - The Czar's brother and leader of the Kingdom's army. AKA The Secretary of Defense (SecDef)
• The Chairman (of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) - The Crown Prince's father and the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense.
  
• The Basketblogger - A friend of The Czar. Will see a game with The Czar from time to time. He did his own blog on the local basketball scene during the 07-08 season before he ran off and got married. You'll see him add comments here from time to time.
• The Caveman - The Czar's best friend. The nickname is due to a nasty back injury he had back in high school that forced him to sit out an entire season. The huge back brace he had to wear caused him to look hunched over, like a caveman. A high school classmate came up with the nickname but it stuck with me and that's how I've known him ever since.
• Duchess Bubbles - The artist responsible for helping me with the site images that you see in the blog header.
• Czar's Seating Rules - This is a reference to where I'm usually located at games. It means top row (against something with a back rest due to morbid obesity), center court and opposite the benches. 
• Bolshevik! - Remember that it was the Bolsheviks who overthrew the Russian Czar (Nicholas II) during the Russian Revolution of 1917-1918. In context of writings here, used to express a high degree of disgust with something or someone. 
• THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE - This is my reference to The Flex Offense.  I find that most teams run this offense like mindless robots and its almost always brutally painful to watch.  Hence I use all caps to express my overwhelming dislike of the offense.  It is not a reference to the team running it.

Welcome

Welcome to the new TCHoops blog. As a huge fan of Minneapolis/St. Paul boys high school basketball, I'll use this venue to post my thoughts and ideas on the state of local basketball.

2008 Local AAU Events

Twin Cities Summer Classic (July 12-15, 2008)

• Monday (Semifinals)
• Sunday
• Saturday
• Preview
  

AAU State Championships (June 6-8)

• Saturday
• Friday
• 17U Preview
• 16U Preview
• 15U Preview
  

MYAS Tournament (May 17-18, 2008)

• Minnesota Wrath 15U
• Minnesota Magic 15U Elites
  

AAU Seeding Tournament (May 9-11, 2008)

• Preview
  

Howard Pulley Sabes Invitational (May 9-11, 2008)

• Sunday (Bracket Play)
  
• Saturday
• Friday
• Preview

Minnesota Magic Invitational (April 25-27, 2008)

• Saturday pool play
• 17U Preview
• 16U Preview
• 15U Preview

MYAS tournament (April 12, 2008)

• Minnesota Magic 16U Elites
  

The CzarPI Explained

The CzarPI, rhymes with RPI, short for The Czar's Power Index, is an advanced RPI calculation used to evaluate teams across the state of Minnesota.  A team's CzarPI value represents the percentage of their season performance compared to a perfect season.  This allows the CzarPI to be a consistent barometer across seasons for historical comparison.

Some fundamental principles of The CzarPI

• A winless team has a CzarPI of 0.  Wins are ultimately what determines if team A is better than team B so if a team loses, their value cannot be determined.
• Wins against non-MSHSL teams are not counted as the quality of the win cannot be quantified and this is a comparison of teams playing in the state tournament series.  However, based on the first principle, losses are counted.
  Note: Starting with the 2014-15 season, losses against non-MSHSL teams are no longer counted.  This means that all non-MSHSL games are ignored.
• Teams with equal records are ordered by the quality of their wins vs their schedule results.
• The CzarPI is based only on the games played, not games to be played in the future. 
• The CzarPI will not wash your dog, find the lost city of Atlantis, cure world hunger or fix my morbid obesity.  Like all computerized rankings that do not include a human factor, this ranking should only used be as 1 tool of many to evaluate a team.

Some fundamental differences between The CzarPI and the QRF

• The QRF only takes into account wins and doesn't account for losses when determining the value for a specific game (iQRF).  The full QRF is an average across all games played so losses do count there.  The CzarPI takes into account wins and losses for an individual game and also averages per game results.
• The QRF only counts opponents wins.  That means a team with 22 wins against a great schedule is treated the same as a team with 22 wins against a weak schedule.  (Note: In 2013-14, it appears the QRF now includes opponent's opponent's wins with a class value).  The CzarPI takes into account the opponents record, the opponents opponents record and the opponents opponents opponents record.
• The QRF uses class differential.  I agree that class differential can be a valuable criteria when evaluating any game.  However it is my opinion that is not equal statewide.  For example, a class AA team in the metro where there are many private schools with kids from a large area vs a AA public school in the outstate is a major difference.  Therefore, I do not include it in the CzarPI.  
• Margin of Victory was included in the QRF until the 2011-12 season but is no longer in use.  I also feel that criteria was far too subjective to be used blindly by a calculation so I have never included it in the CzarPI.

2026-27 NBA players from Minnesota

 Here is a list of 2026-27 NBA players who played high school ball in Minnesota.

1. Jamison Battle - Toronto (DeLaSalle 
2. Amir Coffey - Milwaukee (Hopkins) 
3. Chet Holmgren - Oklahoma City (Minnehaha Academy)
4. Curtis Jones - Denver (Cretin-Derham Hall) 
5. Gary Trent Jr. - Milwaukee (Apple Valley/Prep)
6. Jalen Suggs - Orlando (Minnehaha Academy) 
7. Jericho Sims - Milwaukee (Cristo Rey) 
8. Tre Jones - Chicago (Apple Valley) 
9. Tyus Jones - Orlando (Apple Valley) 
10. Zeke Nnaji- Denver (Hopkins)

2025-26 NBA players from Minnesota

Here is a list of 2025-26 NBA players who played high school ball in Minnesota.

1. Jamison Battle - Toronto (DeLaSalle 
2. Amir Coffey - Milwaukee (Hopkins) 
3. Chet Holmgren - Oklahoma City (Minnehaha Academy)
4. Curtis Jones - Denver (Cretin-Derham Hall) 
5. Gary Trent Jr. - Milwaukee (Apple Valley/Prep)
6. Jalen Suggs - Orlando (Minnehaha Academy) 
7. Jericho Sims - Milwaukee (Cristo Rey) 
8. Tre Jones - Chicago (Apple Valley) 
9. Tyus Jones - Orlando (Apple Valley) 
10. Zeke Nnaji- Denver (Hopkins)

2024-25 NBA players from Minnesota

 Here is a list of 2024-25 NBA players who played high school ball in Minnesota.

1. Amir Coffey (Hopkins) - LA Clippers
2. Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha) - Oklahoma City
3. David Roddy (Breck) - Atlanta
4. Gary Trent Jr. (Apple Valley) -  Milwaukee
5. Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha) - Orlando
6. Jamison Battle (De La Salle) - Toronto
   
7. Jericho Sims (Cristo Rey) - New York
8. Tre Jones (Apple Valley) - San Antonio
9. Tyus Jones (Apple Valley) - Phoenix
10. Zeke Nnaji (Hopkins) - Denver

2023-24 NBA players from Minnesota

Here is a list of 2023-24 NBA players who played high school ball in Minnesota.

1. Amir Coffey (Hopkins) - LA Clippers
2. Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha) - Oklahoma City
3. David Roddy (Breck) - Memphis
4. Gary Trent (Apple Valley) -  Toronto
5. Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha) - Orlando
6. Jericho Sims (Cristo Rey) - New York
7. Kendall Brown (East Ridge) - Indiana
8. Mike Muscala (Roseville) - Washington
9. Tre Jones (Apple Valley) - San Antonio
10. Tyus Jones (Apple Valley) - Washington
11. Zeke Nnaji (Hopkins) - Denver

MN Basketball Resources

Resources for all things regarding Minnesota basketball.

2026-27 High School Season Links
Fall Hoops
Season Previews
Holiday Tourneys
Scoreboard
Current Polls
D1 & D2 Signings
Previous Seasons

Minnesota HS Hoops Links
State Records
Mr. Basketball
Bob McDonald Award
McDonald's All-Americans
State Scoring Record Tracker
MSHSL Boys Hoops
Section Assignments
Section Maps

Summer Season Links
AAU Team Sites
Nike EYBL
Adidas 3SSB
UA Association
Prep Hoops Circuit
NY2LA
NXT Pro 16 League
Prelude League

Recruiting Links
MN Player Rankings
ESPN Hoops
247 Sports Hoops
On3/Rivals Hoops
Prep Hoops
D1 Calendar

Other Basketball Links
Prep Hoops Minnesota
Minnesota-Scores.net
MN Basketball Hub
Star Tribune Preps
Pioneer Press Preps
Breakdown Sports USA
Pacesetter

Games Online Links

Here's a list of online sites where you can catch metro area games.  If you know of others, please feel free to pass them along so I can add them here.

• www.prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL (all metro buts lots of South Suburban games)
• www.ccxsports.org (NW Metro)
• www.qctv.org/sports (Anoka, Andover, Champlin, Ramsey)
• www.northmetrotv.com/sports (Blaine, Centennial, Spring Lake Park)
• www.ctvnorthsuburbs.org (St. Anthony, Mounds View, Roseville, Irondale, TG)
• www.tjsportsonline.net (CDH)
• www.townsquare.tv (Simley, Sibley, STA, SSP, SCL)
• www.youtube.com/user/VACtelevision/videos (Stillwater)
• www.youtube.com/user/scctv/videos (Tartan, NSP, Mahtomedi, WBL)
• www.youtube.com/user/slpcable  (BSM, St. Louis Park)
• www.bectv.org (Bloomington Jefferson, Bloomington Kennedy)

Section Maps

MSHSL maps for the location of each team in each section or class

All Class A	All Class AA	All Class AAA	All Class AAAA
1A	1AA	1AAA	1AAAA
2A	2AA	2AAA	2AAAA
3A	3AA	3AAA	3AAAA
4A	4AA	4AAA	4AAAA
5A	5AA	5AAA	5AAAA
6A	6AA	6AAA	6AAAA
7A	7AA	7AAA	7AAAA
8A	8AA	8AAA	8AAAA

Bob McDonald Award Winners

In 2017, there was a controversy surrounding the leadership of the Mr Basketball award for Minnesota.  In response, the Minnesota Boys Basketball Coaches Association created the Bob McDonald Award to be awarded to the top senior player in the state.  Bob McDonald compiled a 1012-428 record in 59 years of coaching at McGregor, Barnum and mostly at Chisholm (53 years). He won 3 state titles during that time.

Czar Commentary on the 2017 Mr Basketball Controversy
2017 Creation of the Bob McDonald Award
Star Tribune article on creation of the Bob McDonald Award

Bob McDonald Award Winners
Year	Winner	The Finalists
2027	TBA
2026	Christian Wiggins (Wayzata)	Nolen Anderson (Wayzata) Jaxon Boschee (Bemidji) Lucas Gustafson (Mankato East) Dothan Ijadimbola (Totino-Grace) Max Iversen (Maple Grove) Will Kirsch (Waconia) Ryan Kreager (Faribault) Kale Misegades (Henning) JoJo Mitchell (Cretin-Derham Hall) Jayden Moore (Hopkins) Deron Russell (Waseca) Cedric Tomes (East Ridge) Mason Witt (Alexandria) Hamze Yusuf (Eden Prairie) 30 Semifinalists
2025	Nolan Groves (Orono) Chase Thompson (Alexandria)	Tommy Ahneman (Cretin-Derham Hall) CJ Armstrong (Richfield) Brayson Boike (Dawson-Boyd) Isa El-Amin (Minnetonka) Sam Hondl (Albany) Brogan Madson (Mankato East) Anthony Smith (Hopkins) Tyler Wagner (Champlin Park) Chace Watley (Totino-Grace) Jalen Wilson (Benilde-St. Margaret's) 35 Semifinalists
2024	Jackson McAndrew (Wayzata)	Isaac Asuma (Cherry) Casmir Chavis (Park Center) Tameron Ferguson (St. Cloud Tech) Daniel Freitag (Breck) Grayson Grove (Alexandria) Kole Hanson (Holy Family) Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (Totino-Grace) Kyle Jorgensen (Minneapolis Washburn) Jon Mekonnen (Eastview) Jaden Morgan (De La Salle) Jack Robison (Lakeville North) Andy Stefonowicz (Minnetonka) Henry Tschetter (Stewartville) Max Woods (Chanhassen) 36 Semifinalists
2023	Nasir Whitlock (De La Salle)	Patrick Bath (Totino-Grace) Matthew Bothun (St. Francis) Taison Chatman (Totino-Grace) Nate Dahl (Buffalo) Isaiah Hagen (Orono) Jack Janicki (White Bear Lake) Boden Kapke (Holy Family) Ben Kopetzki (Andover) Owen Leach (Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton) CJ O'Hara (Park Center) Max Shikenjanski (Stillwater) Hayden Tibbits (Wayzata) JJ Ware (Park Center) Nolan Winter (Lakeville North) 38 Semifinalists
2022	Eli King (Caledonia)	Prince Aligbe (Minnehaha) Kendall Blue (East Ridge) Braeden Carrington (Park Center) Tre Holloman (Cretin-Derham Hall) Jackson Loge (Morris) Ayden McDonald (Hibbing) Pharrel Payne (Park) Kenji Scales (Eastview) Demarion Watson (Totino-Grace) Willie Wilson (Minneapolis North) 26 Semifinalists
2021	Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha)	Lamar Grayson (Richfield) Trey Longstreet (Delano) Andrew Morgan (Waseca) Francis Nwaokorie (Champlin Park) Rowan Nelson (Melrose) Josh Streit (Eden Valley-Watkins) Davon Townley (Minneapolis North) Will Tschetter (Stewartville) Kooper Vaughan (St. Charles) 30 Semifinalists
2020	Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha)	Henry Abraham (Cambridge-Isanti) Ben Carlson (East Ridge) Steven Crowl (Eastview) Dain Dainja (Park Center) Drake Dobbs (Eden Prairie) Dawson Garcia (Prior Lake) Nate Heise (Lake City) Noah King (Caledonia) Gabe Madsen (Rochester Mayo) Agwa Nywesh (Austin) Kerwin Walton (Hopkins) 28 Semifinalists
2019	Matt Hurt (Rochester John Marshall)	Courtney Brown (East Ridge) Noah Christensen (Breckenridge) Isaac Fink (Springfield) Robert Jones (Prior Lake) Antwan Kimmons (Tartan) Jaeden King (Cretin-Derham Hall) Jack Middleton (Edina) Zeke Nnaji (Hopkins) David Roddy (Breck) Tyrell Terry (De La Salle) Tyler Wahl (Lakeville North) 30 Semifinalists
2018	Tre Jones (Apple Valley)	Owen King (Caledonia) Daniel Oturu (Cretin-Derham Hall) Calvin Wishart (Delano) Gabe Kalscheur (De La Salle) Noah Kannegiesser (Hancock) Javonni Bickham (Minnehaha) Matt Todd (Monticello) Jarvis Omersa (Orono) Michael Jones (Woodbury) 35 Semifinalists

Mr. Basketball Winners

Read more about the history of the award on Wikipedia.

Czar Commentary on the 2017 Mr Basketball Controversy
2017 Creation of the McDonald Award
Bob McDonald Award Winners

Minnesota's Mr Basketball Winners
Year	Winner	The Finalists
2027	TBA
2026	Christian Wiggins (Wayzata)	Nolen Anderson (Wayzata) Dothan Ijadimbola (Totino-Grace) Kale Misegades (Henning) JoJo Mitchell (Cretin-Derham Hall) Jayden Moore (Hopkins) Pierce Petersohn (Triton) Deron Russell (Waseca) Cedric Tomes (East Ridge) Hamze Yusuf (Eden Prairie) 2026 Watch List
2025	Chase Thompson (Alexandria)	CJ Armstrong (Richfield) Micah Curtis (St. Louis Park) Isa El-Amin (Minnetonka) Nolan Groves (Orono) Brogan Madson (Mankato East) Anthony Smith (Hopkins) Tyler Wagner (Champlin Park) Chace Watley (Totino-Grace) Jalen Wilson (Benilde-St. Margaret's) 2025 Watch List
2024	Jackson McAndrew (Wayzata)	Isaac Asuma (Cherry) Casmir Chavis (Park Center) Tameron Ferguson (St. Cloud Tech) Daniel Freitag (Breck) Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (Totino-Grace) Kyle Jorgensen (Minneapolis Washburn) Jalen Langsy (Shakopee) Jack Robison (Lakeville North) Andy Stefonowicz (Minnetonka) 2024 Watch List
2023	Nasir Whitlock (De La Salle)	Taison Chatman (Totino-Grace) Nate Dahl (Buffalo) Quyavant Douglas (Brooklyn Center) Boden Kapke (Holy Family) Ben Kopetzki (Andover) CJ O'Hara (Park Center) Max Shikenjanski (Stillwater) Hayden Tibbits (Wayzata) Nolan Winter (Lakeville North) 2023 Watch List
2022	Braeden Carrington (Park Center)	Prince Aligbe (Minnehaha) Carter Bjerke (Wayzata) Kendall Blue (East Ridge) Alonzo Dodd (South St. Paul) Tre Holloman (Cretin-Derham Hall) Eli King (Caledonia) Jackson Loge (Morris) Pharrel Payne (Park of Cottage Grove) Demarion Watson (Totino-Grace) 2022 Watch List
2021	Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha)	Ryan Dufault (Waseca) Lamar Grayson (Richfield) Trey Longstreet (Delano) Andrew Morgan (Waseca) Francis Nwaokorie (Champlin Park) Noah Paulson (Duluth East) Henry Shannon (Eastview) Josh Strong (Champlin Park) Will Tschetter (Stewartville) 2021 Watch List
2020	Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha)	Ben Carlson (East Ridge) Steven Crowl (Eastview) Dain Dainja (Park Center) Drake Dobbs (Eden Prairie) Dawson Garcia (Prior Lake) Nate Heise (Lake City) Noah King (Caledonia) Gabe Madsen (Rochester Mayo) Kerwin Walton (Hopkins) 2020 Watch List
2019	Matt Hurt (Rochester John Marshall)	Jamison Battle (De La Salle) Issac Fink (Springfield) Antwan Kimmons (Tartan) Jaeden King (Cretin-Derham Hall) Jack Middleton (Edina) Zeke Nnaji (Hopkins) David Roddy (Breck) Tyrell Terry (De La Salle) Tyler Wahl (Lakeville North) 2019 Watch List
2018	Tre Jones (Apple Valley)	Sy Chatman (Cretin-Derham Hall) Michael Jones (Woodbury) Gabe Kalscheur (De La Salle) Owen King (Caledonia) Jarvis Omersa (Orono) Daniel Oturu (Cretin-Derham Hall) Matt Todd (Monticello) Odell Wilson (Minneapolis North) Calvin Wishart (Delano) 2018 Watch List Czar Final 5 Commentary
2017	McKinley Wright (Champlin Park)	Trae Berhow (Watertown-Mayer) Brad Davison (Maple Grove) Jordan Horn (Tartan) Theo John (Champlin Park) Issac Johnson (Minneapolis North) Goanar Mar (De La Salle) Tywhon Pickford (Maple Grove) Nate Reuvers (Lakeville North) Jericho Sims (Cristo Rey)
2016	Amir Coffey (Hopkins)	Johnny Beeninga (Wayzata) Brock Bertram (Apple Valley) Michael Hurt (Rochester John Marshall) Steffon Mitchell (Shakopee) Final 5 with Czar Commentary
2015	JT Gibson (Champlin Park)	Sacar Anim (De La Salle) Bjorn Broman (Lakeview Christian) Jarvis Johnson (De La Salle) Marshawn Wilson (Hill-Murray)
2014	Tyus Jones (Apple Valley)	Wheeler Baker (Osseo) Brian Goodwin (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) J.P. Macura (Lakeville North) Reid Travis (De La Salle)
2013	Quinton Hooker (Park Center)	Anders Broman (Lakeview Christian) Riley Dearring (Minnetonka) Aaron Lien (Moorhead) Graham Woodward (Edina) Final 5 with Czar Commentary
2012	Siyani Chambers (Hopkins)	Joey King (Eastview) Sanjay Lumpkin (Benilde-St. Margaret's) Johnny Woodard (Duluth East) Isaiah Zierden (Benilde-St. Margaret's) Czar Commentary on Final 5
2011	Joe Coleman (Hopkins)	Lucas Brown (Roseville) Shelby Moats  (Waconia) Kyle Noreen (Minnesota Transitions) Jake White (Chaska) Final 20 + Czar Commentary on Final 5
2010	Kevin Noreen (Minnesota Transitions)	Marshall Bjorklund (Sibley East) Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth) Dyami Starks (Duluth East) Jacob Thomas (Columbia Heights) Czar Commentary on Final 5 Final 25
2009	Royce White (Hopkins)	Mike Bruesewitz (Henry Sibley) Raymond Cowles (Hopkins) Sam Dower (Osseo) Jordair Jett (St. Bernard's) Final 15
2008	Jordan Taylor (Benilde-St. Margaret's)	Jared Berggren (Princeton) Michael Floyd (Cretin-Derham Hall) Cody Schilling (Ellsworth) Anthony Tucker (Minnetonka) Final 20
2007	Blake Hoffarber (Hopkins)	Cole Aldrich (Bloomington Jefferson) Noah Dahlman (Braham) Trevor Mbakwe (St. Bernard's) Alex Rubin (Robbinsdale Armstrong) Final 20
2006	Isaiah Dahlman (Braham)	Cory Johnson (Duluth East) Cameron Rundles (De La Salle) Bryce Webster (St. Thomas Academy) Ryan Wittman (Eden Prairie) 30 Nominees
2005	Travis Busch (Mounds View)	Travis Bledsoe (De La Salle) Ray Brown (Richfield) Travis Brown (Richfield) Urule Igbavboa (Tartan) Josh Vaughan (Braham) 30 Nominees, 15 Semifinalists
2004	Spencer Tollackson (Chaska)	Ryan Amoroso (Burnsville) Eric Coleman (Tartan) Mitch Henke (Hopkins) Everette Pedesclaux (Robbinsdale Armstrong) 20 Nominees
2003	Kris Humphries (Hopkins)	Dan Coleman (Hopkins) Kevin Henderson (Minneapolis North) Lawrence McKenzie (Minneapolis Henry) Kammron Taylor (Minneapolis North) Eric Webb (Grand Rapids)
2002	Stephen King (Holy Angels)	Jeff Halbert (White Bear Lake) Mike Keating (Cretin-Derham Hall) Zerek Knight (Minneapolis Henry) Terry Pettis (Minneapolis Henry)
2001	Rick Rickert (Duluth East)	Alan Anderson (De La Salle) Eric Crawford (Tartan) Moe Hargrow (St. Paul Highland Park) Tim Theis (Shakopee)
2000	Adam Boone (Minnetonka)	Alex Carlson (Litchfield) Johnnie Gilbert (Minneapolis Henry) Jake Sullivan (Tartan) Tony Travis (Minneapolis Henry)
1999	Nick Horvath (Mounds View)	Troy Bell (Holy Angels) Nick Jacobson (Roseville) Ben Johnson (De La Salle) Shane Schilling (Minnetonka)
1998	Joel Pryzbilla (Monticello) Darius Lane (Totino-Grace)	Mark Buri (Trinity) Ryan Iverson (Eden Prairie) Josh Ziemke (Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton)
1997	Khalid El-Amin (Minneapolis North)	Greg Buth (Edina) Jared Nuness (Hopkins) Joe Snowden (Roseville) Jabbar Washington (Minneapolis North)
1996	Mitch Ohnstad (Faribault)	Russ Archambault (Sartell) Javier Collins (St. Thomas Academy) Luke Jimenez (Redwood Valley) Jamie Swenson (New London-Spicer)
1995	Robert Mestas (Minneapolis Roosevelt)	Nathan Holmstadt (Monticello) Blaine Joerger (Staples-Motley) Brady Larson (St. Francis) James Ware (Hopkins)
1994	Sam Jacobsen (Park of Cottage Grove)	Jeff Ellens (Cretin-Derham Hall) Marlon McCoy (St. Agnes) Nate Pelowski (Chaska) Justin White (Hopkins)
1993	Skipp Schaefbauer (Elk River)	Bryan Doughty (Anoka) Arvesta Kelly (Cretin-Derham Hall) John Thomas (Minneapolis Roosevelt) Jake Voit (Duluth East)
1992	Bret Yonke (Eagan)	Darren Dearring (De La Salle) Sly Johnson (St. Paul Central) Chad Weeks (Blaine) Trevor Winter (Slayton)
1991	Joel McDonald (Chisholm)	Mike Amos (Hopkins) Brian Carpenter (Minneapolis Washburn) Jeff Nordgaard (Dawson-Boyd) Donald Phillips (Minneapolis Roosevelt)
1990	Chad Kolander (Owatonna)	John Brownfielde (Minnetonka) Prentiss Perkins (Minneapolis Henry) Mike VanDenGarde (Bloomington Jefferson) Russell Wilson (Minneapolis South)
1989	Tom Conroy (DeLaSalle)	Stewart Cramer (Osseo) Dana Grimsrud (Rushford) Juriad Hughes (St. Paul Central) Jason Johnson (Armstrong)
1988	Derek Reuben (Minneapolis North)	Mark Arzdorf (Blaine) Jason Garrow (Marshall) Bob Martin (Apple Valley) Mike Polomny (Park Center)
1987	Kevin Lynch (Bloomington Jefferson)	Dan Bannister (Minneapolis North) Michael Dearing (St. Paul Central) Jeff Wirtz (Blaine) David Zollar (Duluth East)
1986	Steve Schlotthauer (Mounds View)	Mike Alaspa (Columbia Heights) Rod Grosse (Irondale) Mike Hilley (Fergus Falls) Sam Skarich (St. Cloud Tech)
1985	Brett McNeal (Minneapolis North)	Peter Anderson (Duluth East) Damon Dragotis (De La Salle) Larry Ogden (White Bear Lake) Joe Regnier (White Bear Lake)
1984	Tim Hanson (Prior Lake)	Joe Geiger (New Prague) Tery Kuechle (Armstrong) Greg Lawson (Blaine) Paul Westby (Pelican Rapids)
1983	Tom Copa (Coon Rapids)	Mark Dusbabeck (Faribault) Keith Hasselquist (Chisago Lakes) Kevin Treanor (Coon Rapids) Paul VanDenEide (Willmar)
1982	Robb Shelquist (Irondale)	Dave Dahlke (Chaska) Brad Dudek (Duluth East) Harlan Hill (Minneapolis North) Tom McDonald (Chisholm)
1981	Redd Overton (Minneapolis North)	Brian Amman (Richfield) John Anderson (St. Louis Park) Todd Anderson (Armstrong) Barry Wohler (Bird Island-Lake Lillian)
1980	Jim Petersen (St. Louis Park)	David Gilreath (Marshall U) Brian Hansen (Duluth East) Chad Sheets (Moorhead) Rickey Suggs (St. Paul Central)
1979	Randy Breuer (Lake City) Greg Downing (Duluth Central)	Ben Coleman (Minneapolis North) Todd Swanson (Rocori) Mark Wackler (Howard Lake-Waverly)
1978	Jim Jensen (Bemidji)	Steve Nett (Winona Cotter) Tim Olson (Orr) Ted Struger (Fridley Grace) Bob Winzenburg (Fairmont)
1977	Brian Pedersen (Prior Lake)	Buck Easterling (Duluth Central) Andre Griffin (Minneapolis Central) Tim Wahl (Minneapolis Southwest) Gary Wolters (Little Falls)
1976	Kevin McHale (Hibbing)	Greg Boone (Minneapolis Central) Ronnie Henderson (Marshall U) Steve Lingenfelter (Bloomington Jefferson) Doug Pederson (Prior Lake)
1975	Gene Glynn (Waseca)	Rockne Johnson (Duluth East) Kevin Mulder (Renville) Bill Thompson (Mankato West) Frank Wachlarowicz (Little Falls)

Minnesota McDonalds All-Americans

Minnesota's McDonald's All-American Game Participants
Year	Players
2021	Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha Academy) - Gonzaga Kendall Brown (East Ridge/Sunrise Christian) - Baylor
2020	Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha Academy) - Gonzaga Dawson Garcia (Prior Lake) - Marquette
2019	Matthew Hurt (Rochester John Marshall) - Duke
2018	Tre Jones (Apple Valley) - Duke
2017	Gary Trent (Prolific Prep (CA)/Apple Valley) - Duke
2014	Tyus Jones (Apple Valley) - Duke Reid Travis (De La Salle) - Stanford Rashad Vaughn (Findlay Prep (NV)/Robbinsdale Cooper) - UNLV
2007	Cole Aldrich (Bloomington Jefferson) - Kansas
2003	Kris Humphries (Hopkins) - Minnesota
2001	Rick Rickert (Duluth East) - Minnesota
1998	Joel Przybilla (Monticello) - Minnesota
1997	Khalid El-Amin (Minneapolis North) - Connecticut
1980	Jim Peterson (St. Louis Park) - Minnesota