One of the better stories in high school basketball over the last year has been the meteoric rise of five-star big man Chet Holmgren.
It wasn't as if the seven-footer from Minneapolis (Minn.) Minnehaha was a total unknown. He ranked among the top 50 in his class this time last year. But since then, the super skilled and competitive junior has risen to No. 4 overall and is a legitimate contender for the top spot.
He always knew he could play, but Holmgren didn't plan it out like this.
"I haven't really planned anything, I certainly didn't have all of this planned last year," Holmgren told Rivals.com. "I just take it day by day and focus on what I can do every day to be better, really to try and be great. Whether that's getting in the gym. Getting in the weight room, getting proper recovery, working on my body or school. If I can get better I'm focusing on that.
"I'm working on everything but I'm being more specific in some stuff. Especially coming off of ball screens, the reads and options. I'm also working on my pull up game."
Along with his high skill level and fluid athleticism, it's pretty impossible not to notice his lack of strength. But, do no mistake him for soft because the fact that Holmgren will hit you right back in the mouth is a big part of why he has offers from coast to coast.
"If they hit you, hit them back," said Holmgren. "If you hit them harder than they hit you then they are more likely to back down."
This fall, Holmgren has seen Gonzaga and Ohio State officially while making unofficial trips to Iowa State and Minnesota. He broke them all down.
Iowa State: "It was good, it was a pretty short visit. We went down there to see the football game and the weather kind of messed it up a little bit. But that has nothing to do with Iowa State. You can't take anything away from the program because of the weather and it was great to see the support. It was a rivalry game, Iowa versus Iowa State and that was a great game to watch. Afterwards I sat down with the coaches for a while and was able to talk about how I would fit in their system so that was good."
Gonzaga: "It was a lot of fun, it was my first time out there. My first time being in that part of the country really. Since Day One they have made a great impression on me. They are good at what they do at the highest level that I've seen anything. They follow every rule and don't make mistakes. There have never been any questions about their program. It's a very well-run program, a great coaching staff and they are all really good people who made me feel welcome."
Minnesota: "In the recent years they've done a lot of remodeling so it's constantly changing, constantly improving. They just finished a few years ago the athlete's village, which made everything a lot easier for the athletes. You have practice facilities, you have academic advisors, nutrition, cafeterias all in one place and it makes life a lot simpler. It creates more of a community with the athletes and it's a great environment. Coach (Richard) Pitino took over from the beginning of my coming up, I guess you could say. I played up there when he first got the job when I was in like seventh grade and yeah it's grown from there."
Ohio State: "It was great. It was great to see how rowdy the fans are. It's a big city, but really it's a city inside of a city in most ways. The coaching staff is great, they are all super nice. I had some great food, I love the players. They were all fun to be around. The football game was packed and it wasn't even a rivalry game or anything like that."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Holmgren doesn't have any visits planned for the near future and from what he's said he's honing in on the high school season. He's certainly not worried about his school list at this juncture.
"Cutting anything is way off down the road," said Holmgren. "I'm just focusing on getting better and taking time to make sure I'm taking the right steps to be the best version of myself."
It wasn't as if the seven-footer from Minneapolis (Minn.) Minnehaha was a total unknown. He ranked among the top 50 in his class this time last year. But since then, the super skilled and competitive junior has risen to No. 4 overall and is a legitimate contender for the top spot.
He always knew he could play, but Holmgren didn't plan it out like this.
"I haven't really planned anything, I certainly didn't have all of this planned last year," Holmgren told Rivals.com. "I just take it day by day and focus on what I can do every day to be better, really to try and be great. Whether that's getting in the gym. Getting in the weight room, getting proper recovery, working on my body or school. If I can get better I'm focusing on that.
"I'm working on everything but I'm being more specific in some stuff. Especially coming off of ball screens, the reads and options. I'm also working on my pull up game."
Along with his high skill level and fluid athleticism, it's pretty impossible not to notice his lack of strength. But, do no mistake him for soft because the fact that Holmgren will hit you right back in the mouth is a big part of why he has offers from coast to coast.
"If they hit you, hit them back," said Holmgren. "If you hit them harder than they hit you then they are more likely to back down."
This fall, Holmgren has seen Gonzaga and Ohio State officially while making unofficial trips to Iowa State and Minnesota. He broke them all down.
Iowa State: "It was good, it was a pretty short visit. We went down there to see the football game and the weather kind of messed it up a little bit. But that has nothing to do with Iowa State. You can't take anything away from the program because of the weather and it was great to see the support. It was a rivalry game, Iowa versus Iowa State and that was a great game to watch. Afterwards I sat down with the coaches for a while and was able to talk about how I would fit in their system so that was good."
Gonzaga: "It was a lot of fun, it was my first time out there. My first time being in that part of the country really. Since Day One they have made a great impression on me. They are good at what they do at the highest level that I've seen anything. They follow every rule and don't make mistakes. There have never been any questions about their program. It's a very well-run program, a great coaching staff and they are all really good people who made me feel welcome."
Minnesota: "In the recent years they've done a lot of remodeling so it's constantly changing, constantly improving. They just finished a few years ago the athlete's village, which made everything a lot easier for the athletes. You have practice facilities, you have academic advisors, nutrition, cafeterias all in one place and it makes life a lot simpler. It creates more of a community with the athletes and it's a great environment. Coach (Richard) Pitino took over from the beginning of my coming up, I guess you could say. I played up there when he first got the job when I was in like seventh grade and yeah it's grown from there."
Ohio State: "It was great. It was great to see how rowdy the fans are. It's a big city, but really it's a city inside of a city in most ways. The coaching staff is great, they are all super nice. I had some great food, I love the players. They were all fun to be around. The football game was packed and it wasn't even a rivalry game or anything like that."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Holmgren doesn't have any visits planned for the near future and from what he's said he's honing in on the high school season. He's certainly not worried about his school list at this juncture.
"Cutting anything is way off down the road," said Holmgren. "I'm just focusing on getting better and taking time to make sure I'm taking the right steps to be the best version of myself."
