Northern men's basketball signs NABC NWAC All-American player

The recruiting season continues for the Montana State University-Northern men’s basketball team.

MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse has announced the signing of impact forward, 6-foot-7 Onwaja “JJ” Thomas of Southwestern Oregon Community College. The Lakers, of Coos Bay, Oregon, coached by Riley Grandinetti, compete in the South Region of the Northwest Athletic Conference. This season, Thomas, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, led his team in scoring, rebounding, and shot blocks. He was also second in assists. Overall, he averaged 14.5 points, 8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.4 blocks, while shooting 56.1 percent from the field. For his efforts he was recently tabbed NABC NWAC All-American, after earlier being named in the South Region as a First Team All-Region player and the Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

“Southwestern Oregon earned a trip to the Elite 8 for the first time in 11 years this season, and JJ was a huge reason for that,” said coach Huse. “His squad plays great together, is well-coached by Coach G. and his staff, and while he put up great individual numbers, he did it within the framework of the team. He is a great person who was raised well and has a high work ethic both on and off the court. He has continually improved his game every year he has played, and we feel like his best basketball even lies ahead.

“Considering who we graduate, our returners, and others we have signed, he fits perfectly who we need, to be on another level. Most importantly, though, he fits who we are as people. A versatile competitor on the court, Onwaja is a great person who is very likeable and will enhance everything we are about here at MSU-Northern. We are nothing short of excited about him and cannot wait to work with him, with our team.”

The Lights are coming off another very good season, winning 19 games, advancing to the conference semifinals, and narrowly missing the championship game in a two-point loss. They were just short of an NAIA at-large bid. They return a great deal of experience from the 2022-23 team, after graduating two starters and four seniors. For more Northern recruiting news, see next week’s Havre Daily News sports section.