Mimi Thiero could become the first WPIAL girls basketball player to dunk in a game before her high school career is said and done.
Heck, the Quaker Valley sophomore might do it as soon as next season.
“I’m getting pretty close,” she said. “I can grab the rim. I feel like before the end of summer I’ll be able to.”
As if Thiero’s box of basketball tools wasn’t loaded enough already.
Thiero, a 6-foot-4 guard-forward, is a unicorn of a player locally, as her combination of height, talent, production and bloodlines is unique and possibly unprecedented around these parts. Thiero is having one of the most productive seasons of any WPIAL player and is expected to be a hot commodity for college coaches on the recruiting trail this spring.
“She can be a dominant player, even if she’s getting the attention of two or three people at a time, which she does sometimes,” said Quaker Valley coach Ken Johns. “I just love the fact that she does not force things. She looks for opportunities and goes and gets them.”
Thiero averages 20.1 points, 14.9 rebounds, 4.9 blocks, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game for Quaker Valley (5-14, 5-4), which has clinched a playoff spot in Class 4A Section 2. Thiero does a lot for a young Quakers team that has just one senior and a total of seven freshmen and sophomores on the 10-player roster. The team averages 33.1 points a game, with Thiero accounting for nearly two-thirds of that scoring production.
“Being a sophomore who runs well, shoots well, and can put the ball on the floor, I think the sky’s the limit,” said Mimi’s father, Al.
Al Thiero and his wife, Mariam, are natives of Mali. Al played Division I college basketball at Memphis and Duquesne, while Mariam was NAIA All-American at Oklahoma City University and was selected in the 2006 WNBA draft. Al is 6-10 and Mariam 6-2. The oldest of the couple’s four children, Adou, is a former Quaker Valley star who now plays at the University of Kentucky. Mimi, whose actual name is Oumou, also has two younger sisters — Yassa, 8, and Nadiya, 4.
Mimi Thiero was excellent as a freshman when she averaged a double-double (12.8 points and 10.4 rebounds) on her way to all-section honors, but this 16-year-old who lives in the Quaker Heights neighborhood of Sewickley has been even better this season. She has registered double-doubles in all but two games and has had some sublime stat lines. Thiero went for 41 points, 20 rebounds and 11 blocks in a win against Ambridge on Jan. 3 and collected 26 points and 27 rebounds in a win against Beaver last week.
“She’s very well rounded and she does not force things,” Johns said. “It’s very easy for somebody that talented to just feel like they need to take the game over. She has settled into a game. She facilitates. Her having four or five assists in a game makes a big difference. That is probably the biggest improvement. Her understanding of the game has always been good. It was really good last year, but now I think she’s seeing a lot of things and she’s understanding stuff. She’s making calls on the floor before we do sometimes based on what she’s seeing.”
Watching Thiero and Quaker Valley play is something to see. Despite being 6 inches taller than any of her teammates, Thiero is one of the team’s primary ball-handlers. At this point, her guard skills are more advanced than her post skills, which turns out is by design.
“I think that’s the key for her,” Al said. “Early on, most people feel that taller kids should be under the hoop and be post players, but with her we focused on ball handling and ball skill. We didn’t teach her any post moves yet, but know it’s coming in the offseason.”
Along with an improved handle has come a refined stroke from the perimeter. Thiero drilled four 3-pointers in a recent loss to Lincoln Park and followed that up by knocking down three the following game against Beaver. They came on a combined 12 attempts.
And remember, this is a 6-foot-4 16-year-old girl.
“She doesn’t force them. She takes them in the rhythm of the offense, which I think makes a big difference,” Johns said.
Thiero also impacts the game heavily with her defense. And the 4.9 blocks a game doesn’t even tell the whole story. Her length and wingspan gives players on opposing teams fits and likely leads a lot of shooters to think twice before firing up a shot when Mimi is bearing down.
Mimi’s recruitment figures to be much different than her brother’s. Growth is the reason why. Adou Thiero was 5-8 his freshman year at Quaker Valley before hitting a giant growth spurt late in high school. And he’s apparently still growing, as he is nearly the same height as his dad (6-10), Al said. Kentucky didn’t offer Adou a scholarship until two days after his senior season came to a close. Meanwhile, Mimi has always been tall, and for about six months in 2019 was actually taller than her brother. Dad said that Mimi is expected to eventually grow to 6-5 or 6-6.
“It’s 100% different,” Al Thiero said. “Most people had questioned if Adou was going to grow, which to me was silly because they must have not gotten a good look at his parents.”
Duquesne extended Mimi her first scholarship offer back in September. That remains her lone offer.
“I was really shocked,” she said. “I didn’t know it was going to happen. I thought I was going for an unofficial visit and then [Duquesne coach Dan Burt] told me in the room. I was so excited.”
Mimi said that a coach from Michigan attended one of Quaker Valley’s games this season and that Columbia, Syracuse and Ohio State have been among the teams that have shown interest.
The upcoming AAU season will be a big one for Thiero, who said she plans on playing for both her mom’s College Basketball Prospects of America team and SLAAM.
“If you’re a Division I coach and you see her and you don’t go after her, I don’t know what your recruiting plan is,” Al Thiero said.
Added Johns, “I’m confident that she’ll be able to go and play wherever she wants to play.”
Mimi and her dad drove to Lexington, Ky., last Saturday to watch Adou and Kentucky take on Tennessee in a matchup of Top 25 teams. It was Adou’s third game back after missing about a month with a back injury.
“He’s managing it. Growing isn’t easy,” Al said of his son, who averages 7.2 points and 5.4 points per game for the No. 17-ranked Wildcats.
Mimi said she has also been to Kentucky’s games against North Carolina and at Louisville, and is planning on attending the Wildcats’ game against Gonzaga on Saturday, as well.
“I love going to his games,” she said. “It’s been really fun watching him play. Sadly he’s been out recently because of his back, but now that he’s back I can watch and learn from him.”
Big brother may be performing well at college basketball’s highest level, but it might not be long before little sis is doing the same thing.
“I don’t think she’s scratched the surface of her ability yet,” Johns said. “I think she’s starting to understand, but I think that the ceiling is pretty high for her and I think that you’re going to see a lot of growth over the next couple of years, too.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.