Minnesota Coaches Create Own Award Amid Mr. Basketball Flap

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota prep basketball coaches are trying to establish a new award to honor the state's top senior.

The move comes after the owner of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball Award caught fire for tweets seen as critical of Muslims

The Minnesota Boys' Basketball Coaches Association on Monday announced the creation of the McDonald Award, named after retired coach Bob McDonald, who amassed 1,012 victories in 59 years at Chisholm High School. The award will be given for the first time following the 2017-18 season.

The announcement comes just days after Ken Lien, owner and chairman of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball Award, drew criticism for a series of tweets about Muslims.

Lien apologized in an interview with the Star Tribune on Saturday. He has since disabled his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Categories: AP Stories, Sports, State/Regional News