Ken Lien, Chairman, and his committee are pleased to announce that Kevin Noreen from Minnesota Transitions Charter has been named Mr. Basketball of Minnesota for 2010.
The 6-foot-10 power forward guided his team to the 2010 Class A Championship and is statistically the most dominant player in the state. He has committed to Boston College.
His all-around game has made him the state's all-time leading scorer (4,086 points), averages 38.6 points and 16.5 rebounds per game, plus 5.9 assists, 3.9 steals and 3.2 blocks.
The other five finalists were:
Marshall Bjorklund, Sibley East
The 6-foot-6 power forward is the definition of a warrior on the floor. Committed to NDSU, Bjorklund returned strong from a shoulder injury this winter to star for the Wolverines' Class AA state contender. He averaged 25.1 ppg, 15.0 rpg and 4.2 bpg this year and is the all-time school record-holder in points (1,847), rebounds (1,257) and blocks (379).Trevor Gruis, Ellsworth
The 6-foot-9 power forward is an active post player who has committed to the University of South Dakota. He's played in the state championship game in every season of his high school career and he has Ellsworth right back in contention this winter. Averaged 18.3 ppg and 11.1 rpg.Dyami Starks, Duluth East
The 6-foot-2 guard, is a true scorer in every sense of the term. He can produce points in just about every way possible and he's a weapon who will score off the drive, from beyond the arc, with fades, pull-up jumpers and post-ups. The Columbia recruit has more than 2,000 career points and a school-record 55 in one game.Jake Thomas, Columbia Heights
A 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Thomas was the only Minnesota talent ranked in ESPN's Top 100 recruits. The Long Beach State recruit can knock down treys from outside, as well as drive into the paint. Thomas averaged 27.0 ppg for the Hylanders, who fell to DeLaSalle in the section playoffs.The Mr. Basketball winner will be announced next week, following the conclusion of the state tournament.
