Senior Salute 2017: #1–25
Each year, we say a sentence or two about the best basketball players in Minnesota’s graduating 2017 class before they move onto their next phase of life. The first installment is made up of players No. 1–25 in our rankings.
Ranking | First Name | Last Name | High School | Plans After High School | Notes |
1 | Jericho | Sims | Cristo Rey Jesuit | Texas | After Gary Trent, Jr. went to prep school, Sims became our new top prospect in this class. Jericho made tons of progress throughout the years and enjoyed a truly breakout summer in 2016, eventually picking the Texas Longhorns. |
2 | Nathan | Reuvers | Lakeville North | Wisconsin | Reuvers quickly emerged as a big target for Greg Gard and the Badgers. Nate was great for North, helping them all the way to the state quarterfinals. Very skilled and mobile for his size, leading to his eventual 30+ scholarship offers. |
3 | Brad | Davison | Maple Grove | Wisconsin | It’s hard to describe Brad’s leadership and competitive qualities in a short blurb. He signed with UW for basketball, but plenty of college teams inquired about his future at quarterback as well. He’s exactly the kind of guy you want on your side. |
4 | Race | Thompson | Robbinsdale Armstrong | Indiana | Race surprised the whole state by reclassifying in July. He feels ready for the Big 10, and he will bring his size and skill to Bloomington a year early. |
5 | McKinley | Wright | Champlin Park | Colorado | Mr. Basketball 2017 brought Champlin Park all the way to the state title game in an unforgettable season. After switching commitments from Dayton to Colorado, the word out west is that Wright could be in for a big freshman year. |
6 | Theo | John | Champlin Park | Marquette | Theo and McKinley spearheaded an undefeated season all the way up to the final contest. The muscle-bound forward ended up picking Marquette over Minnesota after fielding several high major offers. |
7 | Goanar | Mar | DeLaSalle | George Mason | Goanar will go down in Minnesota high school basketball history as one of its most decorated players, having won state four straight times with DeLaSalle. Collegiately, he is off to a great start out east at George Mason University. |
8 | Trae | Berhow | Watertown-Mayer | Pepperdine | Trae scored nearly 24 points per game as a senior and took his skills to the west coast, where he’s now preparing for his freshman year at Pepperdine. |
9 | Simon | Wright | Hopkins | Elon | Partway through Simon’s high school career, he got in the weight room and added a bunch of muscle. He ended up impressing several D1 programs as a strong player who was tough to stop when headed to the hoop. |
10 | Myles | Hanson | Chaska | Columbia | Myles led Chaska with 24 PPG and helped the Hawks to the state tournament. Best of luck to the talented wing in the Ivy League with Columbia. |
11 | Ishmael | El-Amin | Hopkins | Ball State | Ish ran and shot his way to a scholarship with Ball State after a great career at Hopkins. The son of one of the greatest ball players in Minnesota basketball history is making his pops proud. |
12 | Tywhon | Pickford | Maple Grove | Northern Iowa | Tywhon overcame some knee injuries from years past and helped Maple Grove to state. His recruitment blew up this spring and led him to UNI. |
13 | Jordan | Horn | Tartan | Siena | Jordan always had the skill, but it was later in his high school career when he focused on training and getting in great shape. He’s extremely driven and should do well at Siena. |
14 | Isaac | Johnson | Mpls North | Western Illinois | Isaac was the main guy for North this year while capturing a second straight state title for the north side. Western Illinois will get a skilled wing. |
15 | Walt | McGrory | Edina | Wisconsin (walk-on) | Walt turned down several scholarship offers for the opportunity to walk on for Wisconsin. The strong and smart guard led Edina in points, rebounding and assists last year. |
16 | Gavin | Baumgartner | Wayzata | MN St-Moorhead | One of the bounciest wings in the state is headed to Moorhead as a top D2 commit. Gavin led Wayzata in scoring as they made the state tourney for the first time in decades. |
17 | Weston | Baker-Magrath | Marshall | Nebraska-Kearney | Weston dunked on rim after rim as he helped Marshall get back to state and make it to the semifinals. Nebraska-Kearney got a good one. |
18 | Losini | Kamara | Park Center | Idaho | Born in Liberia, Losini moved to Minnesota from New York and helped coach Ware with the transition at Park Center as a senior leader. He’s off to Idaho this fall. |
19 | Rocky | Kreuser | Totino-Grace | North Dakota State | Krueser’s size, hands and potential landed him a spot at NDSU. Don’t forget that he played AAU with Fury Kallman 17U, a team that had an incredibly successful summer. |
20 | Owen | Chose | Eden Prairie | Stonehill | Owen dropped 20 PPG for Eden Prairie and will keep the Minnesota pipeline going to Stonehill. I’ll remember his exceptional quickness and how crispy he kept his socks. |
21 | Jack | Sorenson | Lakeville South | South Kent Prep | Jack averaged almost 22 PPG for South and also spent several summers hitting buckets for D1 MN AAU. Best of luck to him out east at South Kent! |
22 | Alec | Loehr | Rosemount | Navy | D2 programs loved Alec, but he accepted an offer from the Naval Academy and will head to prep school first. Skilled and long, he averaged 17.8 PPG as a senior for Rosemount. |
23 | Bryce | Irsfeld | Browerville | MN St-Moorhead | Bryce is a gritty, tough and confident point guard who will pair very nicely with his Comets AAU teammate Baumgartner at Moorhead. |
24 | Tyler | Riemersma | Bloomington Jefferson | Navy | Riemersma averaged 19 PPG to lead Jefferson as a senior, and his 32-rebound game in January thrust him into the record books. He will join his AAU teammates the Loehrs at the Naval Academy Prep. |
25 | Luke | Loehr | Rosemount | Navy | Luke outscored his brother Alec on average with 19.8 PPG and will be joining him at the Naval Academy. The twins and Riemersma made up a big, long core of yet another tight-knit MN Warriors AAU squad. |