Chet Holmgren Named Gatorade National Boys Basketball POY; First Ever From MN

Chet Holmgren is a phenom. I was lucky enough to watch him and Jalen Suggs, just before society walked off a ledge in early 2020, play together vs Bronny Jr at Target Center from media row. I did not realize, at the time, just how special that night was.

Minnehaha Academy won in amazing comeback fashion and that in itself made the event well-worth the price of admission for the 17,000 in attendance. Now, just two years since that memorable night, Jalen Suggs earned 1st or 2nd team All-American honors (depending which voters you ask) while leading Gonzaga to a National Championship game. Oh, and he’s going to be a top-5 pick in what is seen as one of the deepest drafts in NBA history later this summer.

Chet Holmgren Gatorade National Player of the Year

And now, his partner in crime that night, Chet Holmgren, has been named Gatorade Boy’s Basketball National Player of the Year, becoming the first Minnesotan in the award’s history (1985) to earn the honor. Jalen Suggs presented the award to Chet, in surprise Zoom fashion.

The nation's best. @ChetHolmgren pic.twitter.com/20k4LJewed

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) June 9, 2021

A common question when asking about Chet Holmgren is “What can’t he do?” The 7ft. playmaker is dynamic on both ends of the floor and looks to take his talents to Spokane as a Gonzaga Bulldog. Congrats, @ChetHolmgren on winning the 2020-21 National Boys Basketball #GatoradePOY ???? pic.twitter.com/om6DtrZuVq

— Gatorade (@Gatorade) June 9, 2021

Chet Holmgren was just named the @Gatorade National Player of the Year ???????? @ChetHolmgren pic.twitter.com/zT8DoqSRaw

— SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) June 10, 2021

The 7-foot, 175-pound senior center led the Redhawks to a 20-1 record and the Class AAA state championship this past season. Holmgren averaged 20.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 4.4 assists while connecting on 68.2 percent of his field-goal attempts. A McDonald’s All-American Game selection, Holmgren is the 2021 Naismith High School Trophy Player of the Year and the nation’s consensus No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021. He concluded his prep basketball career with 1,567 points, 964 rebounds and 456 blocked shots.

Gatorade Press Release

Chet is the #1 national boy’s basketball prospect in 2021, according to 247Sports.com, and will follow in Jalen Suggs footsteps to Gonzaga. But there’s no doubt that the state of Minnesota has become a national recruiting hot bed for basketball. Hopefully we can stop sending them elsewhere once it’s time to leave the nest.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan