After the Maple Grove boys basketball team upset Wayzata, then the state’s No. 1-ranked team, on Jan. 13, Crimson star Baboucarr Ann started shouting as he saw his teammate and starting center leaving the gym.

“Jack Thelen, Jack Thelen. Jack Thelen,” Ann screamed, in a manner that matched the student section’s vibe when it stormed the court following Maple Grove’s big victory.

“I love that guy,” added Ann, one of Thelen’s biggest fans.

Two years ago, there were more gasps and whispers than love for Thelen when he first walked the halls of high school as an awkward 6-foot-11 ninth-grader.

Thelen, now 7-1, was shy and timid and not yet comfortable being the tallest person most people had ever seen.

“It will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Thelen said of that memory. “It felt like there was a spotlight on me. The rest of the hallway felt dark, and everybody was staring at me with their jaws on the floor. It was insane.”

Thelen grew up in Monticello, and his size in the youth ranks wasn’t so strange. That town, after all, produced 7-1 big man Joel Przybilla, who played for the Gophers and in the NBA. Still, Thelen preferred to play video games instead of sports. The confidence with his height and hooping came later in high school at St. Michael-Albertville and Maple Grove.

“I was still really trying to figure out my body,” Thelen said. “My mind would think to do one thing, and my feet were just so slow and my hips were not flexible. You try to do one thing, but you’re a step slow. Not being able to jump high enough to grab a rebound. As I worked on it these last few years, I feel now a lot more capable.”

Thelen, who was averaging 13 points and nine rebounds through Maple Grove’s 10-4 start this season, is more than just capable. He’s arguably the top center prospect in the state and one of a handful of juniors with a Division I scholarship offer.

“He’s a rim protector and a rebounder,” Crimson coach Nick Schroeder said. “We’re always looking for post touch. It’s a huge part of our offense to feed the perimeter game. He plays a huge role in that, not only scoring but making great decisions with the ball.”

Before he transferred to Maple Grove as a junior, Thelen’s offensive skills were blossoming, evident in a 31-point, 19-rebound performance for STMA against Sauk Rapids-Rice his sophomore season.

“People began to come up to me a lot after that, so socially it was great,” Thelen said. “To have the ball in my hands [in the paint] that was cool.”

At Maple Grove, he gets fewer touches — the result of playing in a perimeter-heavy offense — but he has thrived on and off the court in terms of team chemistry. Ann and senior Max Iversen were his teammates on D1 Minnesota’s AAU team.

Against Wayzata, Thelen provided an inside presence by rebounding and contesting shots at the rim. Ann and Iversen combined for 46 points in the upset, giving the defending state champion Trojans their first loss against Minnesota competition this season.

“He’s a great presence,” Iversen said. “He’s one of the best passers as a center in the whole country, I’m confident to say. He gets any rebound. He gets blocks for us. The stats might not always show, but he’s huge for us.”

Tall Minnesota tales

Thelen is the tallest high school player in Minnesota, and he’s taller than any college player in the state, too. The Gophers and St. Thomas don’t have anyone who can look him eye-to-eye.

The only big man who can do that in the state is Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who like Thelen is listed at 7-1.

“He’s 7-feet tall, 7-1 in tennis shoes, and 235 pounds,” Thelen’s father, John, said of Jack. “That’s a lot of human. But he is skilled. And he is still growing [doctors say he could grow to be 7-2].”

Standing 6-7 as a seventh-grader, Thelen hit the top of a hotel doorframe so hard running to get to an AAU event that it left a mark and required him to be on concussion watch.

“I never ran like that under a door since then,” he joked.

A 7-foot center being the focal point is hard to find at all levels of basketball. The last 7-footer from Minnesota to rise to stardom in college and the pros was Minnehaha Academy’s Chet Holmgren, who challenged the stereotype of someone that size by playing mostly on the perimeter.

That’s not Thelen. He’s more like Przybilla, a low-post presence for the Gophers from 1998 to 2000 and a defensive presence for 13 NBA seasons.

Thelen met the Monticello big man everyone compared him to at a basketball camp in Milwaukee when he was 14 and already 6-9.

Basketball has changed a lot since Przybilla’s high school years. In a game now dominated by guards, Thelen had to figure out where his big body fits in.

At the 14U level, Thelen played AAU basketball with the Minnesota Rush, a travel team that’s not sponsored by major shoe brands like Nike or Adidas. The head coach of that team ran the offense through Thelen at times. That motivated him to continue to develop his post game entering high school at STMA.

“I feel like that was a key point in my development,” Thelen said. “It allowed me to be one of the guys and get my confidence up and work on my game. That was one of the defining moments in my basketball career.”

Competitive family life

Thelen towers over his 6-3 father, 6-foot mother and four younger siblings, ranging from ages 6 to 15.

But his first cousin is Gophers recruit and Wayzata 6-8 senior forward Nolen Anderson, who is a top candidate for Minnesota Mr. Basketball this year. Their mothers are sisters. Their maiden name is Miller.

Thelen’s mother, Krista, played basketball at Bloomington Jefferson before graduating in 1991. His aunt, Kiersten, was the 1994 Minnesota Miss Basketball and won two Class 2A state titles at Jefferson. She went on to star at Drake.

Sure, Maple Grove got the best of Wayzata in their first matchup, but in competitions between the cousins in their pre-high school years, Thelen didn’t win too many battles. Anderson was relentless, and that helped Thelen build his competitiveness.

Last summer, the cousins played together on D1 Minnesota’s AAU team. Their families often met at a cabin about 30 minutes north of Brainerd.

“I feel like everyone knew what Nolen was going to do,” Thelen said. “He’s just a competitor through and through. Whatever he picked, he was going to be super good at it. ... He would do anything to beat you, too.”

Thelen’s late grandfather, Marlo Miller, played basketball for the Gophers from 1957-60 for legendary coaches Ozzie Cowles and John Kundla. That was a big reason why his cousin picked the Gophers. And that’s also why Thelen eventually developed a greater passion for the game.

“That’s a huge motivator for me,” Thelen said. “I just know he’s always watching. That’s probably one of my main factors to keep playing, no matter what.”

No gentle giant

At the Mall of America this winter, Thelen walked around tall and proud. He responded nicely to questions in public about being 7-1 and playing for one of the state’s top high school teams.

“I see myself every day,” Thelen said. “But I don’t feel like you see a guy my height that often.”

When it comes to the court, though, he’s no gentle giant. Thelen will scream after a big dunk or block. He has developed toughness and craves physicality.

“He told me if he wasn’t playing basketball, he would be an offensive or defensive tackle,” Thelen’s father said with a laugh. “He used to be this skinny kid. And he’s like, ‘Dad, I just love to bang.’ I was like: You need to put on some pads.”

Not many people, let alone high schoolers, know what it’s like to be 7-feet tall. The attention his height brings is no longer awkward. He’s still growing physically and figuratively, building his strength in mind and body. He has been working on his mental muscle with Scott Savor, a national leadership expert who has experience with NBA, WNBA and college players.

“It’s been great to learn how to deal with the ups and downs,” said Thelen, who saw Maple Grove beat Wayzata but lose to Buffalo a week later. “Obviously, you can get excited. But you can only get so [negative] before your performance starts to fall off. Knowing that helps a lot.”

Basketball Across Minnesota

Fuller’s five

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Jaxon Boschee, Bemidji: The 6-3 senior guard scored 46 points Jan. 15 in a 73-71 upset of Moorhead, including the game-winning jumper. It was the same night he celebrated becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves: He could put himself in the MVP conversation with more performances like his career-high 55-point night Jan. 17 against San Antonio, which included 9-for-16 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.

Avery Koenen, North Dakota State: The 6-3 former Montevideo star had 26 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks for the Bison in a Jan. 17 win vs. South Dakota State that ended a 24-game skid in the series. NDSU’s 5-0 start in the Summit League is the best in program history.

Gavin Roderick, Alexandria: The 6-4 senior enjoyed a Steph Curry-like three-point barrage, scoring 40 points and going 10-for-10 on three-pointers in a Jan. 12 victory against Rocori. He also had a 46-point game with nine three-pointers earlier this season.

Nasir Whitlock, Lehigh: The former DeLaSalle standout had back-to-back 30-point performances. He scored 30 points and shot 12-for-20 from the field with the tying three-pointer at the end of regulation in an overtime win Jan. 14 at Boston University.

Minnesotans in the pros: Bueckers ballin’ in 3-on-3 league

Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league co-created by Lynx All-Star Napheesa Collier, started its second season Jan. 6.

It was initially a six-team league. Two squads were added for the 2026 season, including Miami-based Breeze BC led by former UConn and Hopkins star Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers, who plays for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, is on a tear in her first Unrivaled season, with 37 points, eight rebounds and five assists Jan. 19 in a victory vs. co-owner Breanna Stewart and the Mist. She also had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists vs. the Vinyl on Jan. 17.

Maybe the biggest accomplishment, though, for Bueckers was winning the $50,000 Unrivaled Free-Throw Challenge by shooting 13-for-13 at the foul line in her first five games.

College team of the week

The Minnesota State Mankato women’s team won a program-record 18th consecutive game last week with a 94-69 victory over Bemidji State on Jan. 17.

The Mavericks are ranked No. 2 in the nation among Division II teams and are in first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 12-0 league record.

Senior Natalie Bremer, who had 27 points, surpassed 2,000 career points earlier this month. The Lake City native ranks second in the NSIC in scoring with 21.7 points per game.

Minnesota Top 25 update

Tartan rose to the No. 1 spot in Class 4A and the statewide Top 25 rankings after Wayzata’s loss Jan. 13 at Maple Grove. Who will beat the Titans?

That might not be determined for weeks. Why? Because Tartan won’t play a ranked opponent until Feb. 4 vs. Mahtomedi (No. 5 in Class 3A) and Feb. 21 vs. Alexandria (No. 9 in 4A).

The No. 1 team in 3A flip flopped for the second straight week with Totino-Grace reclaiming the top spot over Richfield. That came before the Eagles’ 80-66 win against the Spartans in the MLK Classic on Jan. 19.

There will also be a new team topping the Class 2A boys rankings after No. 1 Belle Plaine fell to No. 7 Southwest Christian 81-62 on MLK Day.

On the girls side, Hopkins made a statement defeating Minnetonka 88-62 on Jan. 20 in the matchup between the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in Class 4A.

Final thoughts ...

My first season of Basketball Across Minnesota included a column on the top high school post players last January. Last season was special with Chase Thompson joining Clemson and Tommy Ahneman heading to Notre Dame. The land of 10,000 big men lost a rising star when Mustafa Mohamed transferred from South St. Paul to Melissa High in Texas. But Maple Grove’s Jack Thelen, Hopkins’ Ahmed Nur and Farmington’s Briggs Sheridan have Division I potential in the 2027 class. And Faribault senior Ryan Kreager signed with Loyola Chicago. Don’t be surprised to see the state continue to be a breeding ground for big guys.

. . .

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on stribvarsity.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).