Catching a number of games throughout the Twin Cities over the past week, I opted to focus on a number of underclassmen throughout the Land of 10,000 Lakes. With many senior-laden teams atop the state rankings, there are times where it is tough to get an extended look at some of the youngsters the state has to offer. The 2026 and 2027 classes have countless prospects who are rapidly developing, but have yet to truly receive the exposure to D1 programs yet in live evaluation periods.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the top underclassmen that I saw in the state of Minnesota over the past week:<\/em><\/p>\n Tian Chatman, 6\u20195, PG\/SG, Totino-Grace HS (MN), 2026<\/strong> Jaeden Udean, 6\u20192, PG\/SG, DeLaSalle HS (MN), 2027<\/strong> Joseph Mitchell, 6\u20191, PG, Cretin Derham Hall (MN), 2026<\/strong> Monteff Dixon, 6\u20195, PF, Cretin Derham Hall (MN), 2025<\/strong> Preston Thielke, 6\u20193, SG, Champlin Park HS (MN), 2025<\/strong> Kwatamah Silikpoh , 5\u201910, PG, Champlin Park HS (MN), 2027<\/strong> Top Underclass Performances! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":274792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8316,1444,6886,38,4,1975,46250,23192],"tags":[46406,46961,46960,12775,46962,46959],"featured":[],"class_list":["post-274791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-all-blogs","category-exclusive-videos","category-high-school","category-high-school-videos","category-hs-midwest","category-news","category-profiles","tag-jaeden-udean","tag-joseph-mitchel","tag-joseph-mitchell","tag-minnesota-high-school-basketball","tag-monteff-dixon","tag-tian-chatman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe younger brother of Ohio State point guard Taison Chatman has shown an abundance of potential since entering high school a year and a half ago, but is really starting to get things to click in the second half of his sophomore campaign for back to back state champion Totino-Grace. The lanky combo guard has outstanding court vision, is a big time finisher above the rim, and is rapidly developing into a serious on ball defender. Toss in the fact that his 3-point shot is gaining more consistency (hit 3 3PT vs Champlin Park) and you see why high major programs have already begun closely monitoring Chatman.<\/p>\n
\nConsidered by many to be the best freshman in the state of Minnesota, Jaeden Udean doesn't even start for perennial power DeLaSalle, yet is the team's leading scorer and showed why against Cretin Derham Hall. The electric lefty was face guarded the entire game, being forced to continually stay on the move, yet also do whatever he had to do to find ways to get his shot off. Opting to revert back to his 3-point shot off the bounce quite often, Udean is constantly able to create separation with his step back and side step to get to his jumpshot. Jaeden will be running with D1 Minnesota on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit this summer.<\/p>\n
\nYet another interesting underclassman lead guard in Minnesota, Joseph \u201cJoeJoe\u201d Mitchell may be the best overall scorer as far as guards in the sophomore class are concerned. The confident scorer dropped 24 points on DeLaSalle via a flurry of quick release jumpshots, first step drives to the rack, and jumpers off the bounce. Mitchell will be running with Chatman on the AAU circuit for one of the state\u2019s more interesting 2026 squads in Team FSA.<\/p>\n
\nA bit of a throwback forward, Monteff Dixon controlled the paint for CDH in their win over DeLaSalle. The long armed junior punished guys on the block with his crafty finishes, made great passes out of the post, and absolutely controlled the glass on both ends. Monteff finished the game with 26 points and 16 rebounds in dominant fashion, but also doubles as a serious football recruit.<\/p>\n
\nAs far as productivity is concerned, Preston Thielke got it done against back to back defending state champion Totino-Grace. Thielke is a high IQ player with a bit of an unorthodox game, but his style of play and ability to shoot it from deep make him an exceptionally tough player to defend. Preston is certainly going to be one of the sleeper names in the state to follow on the AAU circuit this spring.<\/p>\n
\nIf you were to dive into statistics, there haven't been many who have done more in the freshman class in the state of Minnesota at the varsity level than Kwatamah Silikpoh. While under 6-foot at the moment, the lead guard is a crazy finisher at the rack, has unbelievably quick hands defensively, and is a threat to score any time that he has the rock in his hands. Silikpoh will be suiting up with D1 Minnesota on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit this spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"