Three area boys basketball players selected to play in All-Star Series

ROCHESTER — Three area boys basketball players will take part in the 41st annual Minnesota High School All-Star Basketball Series which will be played on Saturday.

The event will be held at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids and each of the four teams will be two games.

Among the 40 seniors selected to play in the event are Aeron Stevens of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Ryan Heise of Lake City and Buay Koak of Lyle/Austin Pacelli.

Stevens is a 6-foot-7 forward/center who helped P-E-M win the Section 1AA title game 58-55 over Lake City. Stevens scored 33 points in the section title game to help the Bulldogs secure a berth in the Class AA state tournament.

Stevens, who will play college basketball at Division II Minnesota Southwest State University in Marshall, averaged more than 23 points and seven rebounds per game this season. He helped P-E-M finish with a 26-6 record during the 2022-23 season.

He will play for the Gold team in the All-Star Series.

Heise and Koak will both be members of the 10-player Blue team.

Heise is a 6-9 guard/forward who will play his college basketball at Division II Upper Iowa University. He came on as a senior and averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game and was one of the area's top defenders. He helped the Tigers win another Hiawatha Valley League title and post an overall record of 26-2.

Koak, a 6-4 guard, reached the 2,000-point total for his career this past season and finished with more than 2,300. He averaged 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.9 blocks per game as he excelled on both ends of the court.

Koak is still undecided about his college basketball career. He helped L/P post a 23-6 record and a title in the West Division of the Southeast Conference. He was selected as the SEC Player of the Year for the second straight season. The Athletics suffered a narrow 54-51 loss to Goodhue in the Section 1A semifinals.

Hayfield's Isaac Matti was selected for the event, but he suffered a broken foot in a Section 1A semifinal loss to Spring Grove and will not be able to play. Matti will attend the event, however, and will be honored for being chosen.

Selections for the All-Star Series were made from nominations provided by each athlete’s coach, who must be a member of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association. The athletes also had to be available to participate in the event.

The All-Star Series begins with two games being played at 12:20 p.m. at the Fieldhouse at Anoka-Ramsey. Two more games, depending on the outcome of the first round, will then be played at 1:30 and 3:05 p.m.

Tickets online will be $8 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students. Admission at the door on the day of the event will be $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Click here for tickets online.