Pair of basketball stars reach 1,000 career points

At six years old, Ryan Thissen was already dribbling a basketball on the sidelines of his older brothers’ games.

Now, a senior wing and captain on the Johnnies basketball team, Thissen passed a milestone only a number of Johnnies have accomplished in the program’s history: scoring 1,000 points during their collegiate basketball career.

His 1,000th point occurred in the Dec. 6 game against Concordia-Moorhead. As of Wednesday’s game at Augsburg, Thissen sits at 1,183 points, 17th place in SJU basketball’s 1,000-Point Club.

Scoring 1,000 points was never a specific goal for Thissen. His goal each year has been to win the MIAC championship and get as far into the national tournament as the team can go. Scoring 1,000 points was an added bonus.

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Thissen said. “They trust me scoring the ball, and I really couldn’t have done it without them.”

Throughout his career at St. John’s, Thissen has started in all 79 games he’s played. He’s averaged 30.5 minutes and 15 points per game, and his average career field goal percentage is 51%. He has averaged 4.4 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game and his free throw percentage is 83%.

Thissen was named to the all-MIAC first team in the 22-23 season and the second team the year prior. He also earned academic all-MIAC honors for the past two seasons and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first team last season.

This year, Thissen leads the team in minutes per game (26.2), assists per game (2.5) and points per game (14.3).

As a child, Thissen’s dad coached his and his brothers’ traveling basketball teams, which is where he was first exposed to basketball. Thissen started playing competitively when he was around nine years old and has been playing in leagues and at school ever since.

At Eastview High School, Thissen played football and lacrosse in addition to basketball. He eventually chose to focus on basketball because he felt at home on the court.

“I’m not going to say it came easy, but it just kind of clicked,” he said.

Sports run in the Thissen family. Thissen’s parents, Jon and Michelle, met at college when Jon played football and Michelle was on the dance team. All three of his brothers—Zach, Sean and Derek—have also been involved in sports.

Thissen remembers countless hours of his dad rebounding for him in the backyard and is grateful that his parents were willing to pay for all the lessons, tournaments and traveling that came with the sport.

“I’m really thankful to have them in my corner,” Thissen said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

Thissen is the first in his family to attend SJU. He chose St. John’s because of the coaching staff and CSB+SJU’s tight-knit community. More than anything, he wanted to play for a team that made him feel valued and at home.

“They (St. John’s) did a really good job of just making me feel like I was wanted more than anyone else,” Thissen said.

Pat McKenzie, SJU’s head basketball coach, remembers recruiting Thissen as a high schooler and said he stood out in both athletics and academics.

“He was a really good student, really good kid, really good player from a really good program,” McKenzie said. “It wasn’t that hard to think, ‘hey, this kid’s pretty good—we should try to get him.’”

In the four years since then, McKenzie has seen Thissen grow stronger every year and improve his game through dedicated work in the offseason. He said Thissen is smart enough to see areas of improvement and work on those areas to improve, which has led to great success on the court.

SJU senior forward Connor Schwob has known Thissen since freshman year and noted the changes in Thissen’s strength and confidence. He said Thissen has become more comfortable playing and impacts the rest of the team with his leadership and involvement.

“He works really hard, he leads by example [and] he’s a vocal leader,” Schwob said. “He’ll step in in practice and lead us when he’s needed to.”

Thissen has been a team captain for two years. The team chooses captains based on who they think are team leaders on and off the court. SJU junior guard Kooper Vaughn, one of the other captains, said Thissen leads by example and is consistent on the court and in the weight room with his hard work and positive energy.

“He’s always just a guy that’s in a positive mood. He’s always trying to bring the team spirit up and hold guys accountable,” Vaughn said.

Thissen said he came in as a freshman very quiet and shy, and this has been one of his biggest areas of growth. He’s learned how to reach out to his teammates and develop great relationships with them, creating trust off the court that is reflected in the team’s performance and their friendships with each other. He cares about his teammates as individuals, not just basketball players.

“As the years have gone by, I’ve had to take more of a leadership role, and now it’s completely different,” Thissen said. “I still enjoy doing stuff on my own, but I’d rather take a few guys with me. I enjoy lifting with my team, and I’ve really seen that aspect grow to becoming more team-oriented instead of just worrying about myself.”

Last summer, Thissen participated in the Twin Cities Pro-Am, a summer basketball league for professional and collegiate athletes in Minnesota. Even when the basketball season is over, he regularly finds time to play with friends on campus and back at home over the summer. Thissen’s favorite part about basketball is the rush of the competition and playing against other people. That competitive nature spills over into academics, too—even if the competition is only himself.

Thissen is a biochemistry major on the pre-med track and has won the MIAC Elite 22 Award twice, an award presented to the student-athlete in the conference with the highest grade point average who also meets high sports-specific requirements.

In addition to playing basketball, Thissen is an RA on campus.

While he hopes to eventually attend med school for either pediatrics or sports medicine, he wants to see where basketball can take him, possibly even overseas after hopefully another year at SJU with his extra year of COVID eligibility.

But first, his eyes are set on the MIAC conference title and a chance in the national tournament, two things he is confident this year’s team can achieve.

“I know we can make a run, so that’s literally my only goal,” Thissen said. “Just hoping we keep it rolling here.