Land of 10,000 big men continues to produce impressive frontcourt talent

Deng Lueth circled on the calendar months in advance when his Rochester John Marshall boys basketball team was scheduled to play Faribault this year.

Lueth, a 6-11 senior for the Rockets, doesn’t get to face many players his size in the paint. He remembered Faribault’s 6-10 Ryan Kreager getting the best of him the previous season.

Classic low-post battles are scarce these days at the highest levels of basketball. This wasn’t exactly the Minnesota high school version of Hakeem vs. Shaq, but both players have Division I college potential.

“Playing a player my size is really fun,” said Lueth, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in John Marshall’s victory on Jan. 11. “It pushes me to try new moves to overcome a defender who can actually block my shot.”

In a state filled with basketball talent of all sizes, the tallest players many times get overlooked in games dominated by guard play.

A few years after a generational giant like Chet Holmgren came through Minnesota’s prep ranks, there’s more frontcourt standouts oozing with potential in the land of 10,000 big men.

You’ve got Lueth and Kreager providing an inside presence for teams outside of the Twin Cities. Cretin-Derham Hall’s 6-10 Notre Dame recruit Tommy Ahneman leads the No. 1 team in Class 4A. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Orono, Mankato East and Alexandria, the top four teams in Class 3A, all have players ranging from 6-8 to 6-10.

Three big men in the 2027 class also could have the most upside. That’s 7-foot Jack Thelen from St. Michael-Albertville, 6-10 Mustafa Mohamed from South St. Paul and 6-9 Ahmed Nur from Hopkins.

Thelen, who added 40 pounds from his freshman year, has made a noticeable adjustment to the varsity level this year. He had a career-high 31 points in STMA’s upset earlier this month against Sauk Rapids-Rice, one of the state’s top 4A teams.

“I was really skinny as a freshman struggling with the pace and physicality,” Thelen said. “Getting in the weight room and working on that has really helped me the most.”

Last AAU season, Thelen met former Gophers and NBA center Joel Przybilla in a tournament in Wisconsin. Thelen was compared to him growing up playing in Monticello, Przybilla’s hometown.

Thelen said doctors recently told him he could grow to be as tall as 7-2. Przybilla is 7-1.

“That was cool to see a guy from the same school,” Thelen said. “The way the game is going with the floor spacing and with everyone being able to shoot, you can’t really double a guy in the post. It’s a big help if you have a guy who can score [inside].”

Thelen and Mohamed were teammates on D1 Minnesota’s 15U team coached by former Gophers center Jon Williams last year. Opposing teams didn’t have the size they saw in the gym at practices every week.

Mohamed, who had 25 points and 19 rebounds against North St. Paul last month, credited his development to working with trainers on his footwork and agility.

“Learning how to be a scoring threat, running the floor, getting stronger,” Mohamed said. “Those are the little things that make a difference in my game. That’s what I worked on the most this summer and it’s really paying off.”

Holmgren, a former Minnehaha Academy standout now in the NBA, made it cool to try crossover dribbles and pull up from three-point range regularly as a 7-footer. But the state’s been producing versatile bigs for years, including John Marshall’s Matthew Hurt, who went to Duke. Recent top prospects in their respective classes have been Lakeville North’s Nolan Winter (Wisconsin) and Wayzata’s Jackson McAndrew (Creighton). Besides Ahneman in this year’s senior class, there’s Alexandria’s Chase Thompson (signed with Clemson), BSM’s Jalen Wilson (Northern Iowa) and Orono’s Brady Wooley.

Two of the best Gophers big men in the last decade were from Minnesota as well, with CDH’s Daniel Oturu and Prior Lake’s Dawson Garcia.

Showing he can play inside and outside this year, Mohamed said he’s received interest from the Gophers, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona and Ole Miss. Mohamed, Thelen, Kreager and others are the next wave of sizable talents coming from the state.

“I feel like I can play with my back to the basket and go out on the perimeter,” Mohamed said. “I feel like I have a versatile game that helps me be a threat from everywhere.”

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Nolen Anderson, Wayzata

The 6-7 junior tied Christian Wiggins with 28 points last week to give Hopkins its first loss of the season. He followed it up with 20 points Tuesday in a blowout vs. STMA.

Lukas Means, Redwood Valley

The 5-9 senior guard became the fifth boys basketball player in state history with back-to-back 50-point games with two 54-point games recently.

Jalyn Patterson, Minnesota Prep Academy

The 6-foot senior scored a combined 71 points in two wins for Minnesota Preparation Academy in the Allen Iverson Classic last week, including 42 points on 8-for-14 shooting from beyond the arc.

Amber Scalia, St. Thomas

The former Stillwater guard combined for 44 points and 13 assists in two games last week, which included a team-high 23 points in a home win vs. Denver.

Ryan Thissen, St. John’s

The 6-6 senior and former Eastview standout had a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in last week’s win at Augsburg, which was the 11th straight victory for the Johnnies.

4,000 Career points milestone for Gophers recruit and Crosby-Ironton junior guard Tori Oehrlein after scoring 42 points Tuesday.

69 Combined points for Maddyn Greenway (30) and Addi Mack (39) in their second matchup this year. Greenway, who also had 16 rebounds, led Providence Academy to the season sweep over Minnehaha Academy.

57 Single-game points for St. Louis Park’s Micah Curtis in a win against Chanhassen with no three-pointers.

22 Consecutive wins for Riverland Community College in Austin. The Yellow Jackets are the undefeated No. 1-ranked team nationally in Division III junior college.

6 Consecutive games with 20 points or more for Gophers' Dawson Garcia, who had 21 points in Tuesday’s loss at Michigan State.

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don’t be a stranger on X after reading, as chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).