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FARGO 鈥� At the conclusion of the high school boys basketball season, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota name a Mr. Basketball as the state鈥檚 best player. The winners are either slam dunks, or in some cases, shared between two recipients.

Minnesota鈥檚 Mr. Basketball, most recently won in the award's 50th season by Wayzata鈥檚 Jackson McAndrew, was first awarded by the Edina Park and Recreation Department in 1975. Beginning in 1977, Ken Lein, a Pine River, Minnesota native and Bemidji State graduate, led the committee until 2017.

David Hedberg has been the president of Mr. Basketball in Minnesota since late 2020 after joining the committee in 2014. He leads a nine-person group, made up of former players, coaches, officials and sportswriters that votes on the yearly award.

"We do that to try to get different perspectives," Hedberg told the Sports Time Machine. "Because a former professional player will look at something differently than a referee, or a coach, or a sportswriter." That was Hedberg's first calling, once working at the New Ulm (Minn.) Journal.

The committee begins with a watch list early in the season to decide the top 10, the final five and the eventual winner, the latter determined on ranked voting.

Minnesota, with its wide variance of school sizes and the expansion to four classes, has not considered creating multiple Mr. Basketball honors, Hedberg said.

Twice in Minnesota, two have shared the yearly honor. In 1979, Randy Breuer of Lake City and Greg Downing of Duluth Central were co-recipients. Breuer, one of 20 recipients to go on to play at Minnesota, would be the 18th overall draft pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. Downing went on to play at Nebraska, averaging 5.3 points per game for his collegiate career.

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Although the 7-foot-2 Breuer would break the state tournament scoring title and lead Lake City to its second straight Class A title, by several accounts Downing, a 6-3 forward-guard, was considered the better overall player. Downing too finished with by knocking off two unbeaten teams in the tournament.

"He's the Earvin "Magic" Johnson of the state of Minnesota," said Bob Werness, a Mr. Basketball committee member, after the Class AA title game in St. Paul.

Despite the drastic contrast between the players, Downing thought Breuer was a lock for the award.

鈥淏ut then when I thought about it, even though he had a better career than I had, you鈥檝e got to take a look at the competition he played against compared to what I did,鈥� Downing told the Sports Time Machine from his home in Ohio.

So how do you introduce yourself when you鈥檙e a co-Mr. Basketball?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 bring up the fact I was co-Mr. Basketball,鈥� Downing said. 鈥淚 bring up the fact that I was the first African-American Mr. Basketball in the state of Minnesota.鈥�

Both players were presented with a large ring, Downing said. Unfortunately, he lost it during a move and he hasn鈥檛 considered getting a replacement from Josten鈥檚.

鈥淚t would cost me $500. No, I let that go,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know what it is and everyone up in Duluth knows what it is, so to me I鈥檓 good with that.鈥�

The only other tie in Minnesota was in 1998 when Darius Lane of Totino-Grace and Monticello鈥檚 Joel Przbilla, another future Gopher, shared Mr. Basketball. After averaging 15 points per game at Seton Hall, Lane played overseas. The 7-foot-1 Pryzbilla played for four teams over a 13-year NBA career.

Along with Breuer and Pryzbilla, Kevin McHale (1976, Hibbing), Sam Jacobson (1994, Park), Kris Humphries (2003, Hopkins), Royce White (2009, Hopkins), Tyus Jones (2014, Apple Valley), Jalen Suggs (2020, Minnehaha Academy) and Chet Holmgren (2021, Minnehaha Academy) were all first-round NBA picks.

But as Hedberg points out, "Potential is not what we judge on."

As for Minnesota鈥檚 first recipient, that was Gene Glynn of Waseca. The first award came with a $250 scholarship. Years later, you鈥檇 find him at his post along the third-base line for the Minnesota Twins, holding runners up or sending them home as the team鈥檚 third base coach.

Richard Hansen and David Anderson, publishers of 鈥淪outh Dakota Basketball Preview,鈥� started that state鈥檚 award in 1978. Its first recipient was Barry Glanzer of Armour. In 1983, Luther Hippe of Sioux Falls Washington and Troy Schaefer of Pierre shared the award.

鈥淚t was fine because the guy I shared it with had every right to win it too,鈥� Hippe told the Sports Time Machine.

Hippe and Schaefer squared off that season in the state Class A title game, where the Warriors beat the defending champion Governors 59-56 to finish the season 23-0. Hippe had with 20 points, Schaefer 27.

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鈥淚t was a big deal,鈥� Hippe said of winning Mr. Basketball. 鈥淏ut it meant a lot more to win an undefeated state championship and more for our head coach [John Odney], he coached all those years to get a state championship.鈥�

Hippe later became the Minnesota Vikings travel director before retiring in 2022.

South Dakota鈥檚 Mr. Basketball honor has been shared five more times, in 1985 by Randy Leslie of Washington and Bart Friedrick of Mitchell; in 1992 by Eric Lappe of Harrold and Lance Luitjens of Custer; in 1996 by John Sivesind of Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Todd Schlekeway of Mobridge; in 1998 by Austin Hanson, of Brandon Valley and Mike Miller of Mitchell; and in 2011 by Zach Hortsman of Winner and St. Thomas More鈥檚 Liam Duffy.

Miller, a first-round draft pick by Orlando in 2000, played 17 seasons in the NBA and won Rookie of the Year in 2000 and the Sixth Man Award with Memphis in 2006.

North Dakota began its Mr. Basketball Award in 1985. Bismarck Tribune sports editor Abe Winter and Williston sportscaster Lee Halvorson helped spearhead the efforts with the state鈥檚 Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Fargo North鈥檚 Juno Pintar and Newburg鈥檚 Chris Lamoureux, both 6-foot guards, shared the first award. Pintar was the early favorite but as Winter wrote in the Tribune, Lamoureux鈥檚 impressive play in the Class B tournament swayed some voters.

鈥淚t was an actual vote,鈥� Winter told the Sports Time Machine. 鈥淲herever the state tournament was that year, I think it was Bismarck. We had our meeting on Saturday morning to pick our all-state teams and Mr. Basketball during the [Class] B tournament. We put in a ballot, and at that time, we鈥檇 vote for just one person and it was an actual tie. I can鈥檛 remember how many we had there, maybe 30, and it was 15 for each.鈥�

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Years later, Winter said they went to a points system where each voter could rank three players.

鈥淭hat pretty much eliminated the ties, although there was one other time we had a tie in Fargo,鈥� he said.

That tie between Chris Gardner of Fargo South and Ben Jacobson of Mayville-Portland in 1989 was not without drama. Winter noticed Mandan sportscaster Gus Becker had not turned in his ballot.

鈥溾�楪us, you didn鈥檛 vote,鈥欌�� Winter recalled. Becker then supplied his favorite and the result was a tie.

Quickly, Winter got on the phone to a trophy shop owned by the wife of Dan Carr, the Linton coach who is the state鈥檚 all-time winningest boys coach. 鈥淲e needed a second one,鈥� Winter recalled, 鈥渁nd somehow she got it to us in Bismarck that night to present both of them.鈥�

Over the years, debate brewed over a single recipient, often the argument being there should be two winners, one for Class A and one for Class B.

In 1989, , saying there were just too many differences between the state's two classes.

In 1995, Forum sportswriter Jeff Kolpack argued to leave it alone. 鈥淧art of the charm of Mr. Basketball is the debate that goes along with it.鈥�

The honor, as Winter said, still has importance, even to the nominees and finalists.

鈥淥ne time in Minot, there was a snowstorm and we met that morning and we picked the five finalists and two were from Fargo,鈥� Winter recalled. 鈥淣either of them were going to win it but I phoned them and said, 鈥業 can鈥檛 tell you who is winning it, but if you want, if you can make it here, we'll introduce you on TV.鈥�

鈥淭hey drove through a snowstorm all the way from Fargo just to be introduced on TV that night. So that's how much it meant.鈥�