With colleges in hot pursuit, 6-5 guard Mimi Thiero leads Quaker Valley girls into season

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Mimi Thiero’s basketball credentials are well grounded.

Thiero is an awe-inspiring 6-foot-5 junior guard/forward on the Quaker Valley girls basketball team and a third-year starter.

As a freshman, the athletic hoopster was QV’s leading scorer (13.2 points per game) and rebounder (10.4 per game). She also led the team in field-goal percentage (47%) and blocks (3.5 per game) and ranked second in steals (50).

She was an all-section selection.

Thiero was named by Trib HSSN back then as a Class 4A player to watch “who has perhaps the highest ceiling of any player in WPIAL girls basketball.”

In her sophomore season, Thiero again paced QV in almost every statistical category including points (19.2 ppg), field goal percentage (40%), rebounds (14.1 rpg), blocked shots (4.7 avg), steals (1.6 avg), free throws (70%), 3-point field goals and 3-point field goal percentage.

Thiero racked up 14 double-doubles along with a triple-double Jan. 3 in a 63-37 section win against Ambridge. The dynamic athlete scored a career-high 41 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked 11 shots.

Thiero averaged 19.4 points and 14.9 rebounds last year and earned all-section, all-WPIAL and third team all-state honors in Class 4A.

This season, Thiero has been lauded as the Class 3A Preseason Player of the Year by Trib HSSN.

“It is hard to just pick one thing that Mimi does well. There are so many,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “I would start with her competitiveness and her general understanding of the game. If you layer in her work ethic and how hard she plays, I think that captures the foundation. However, there’s a lot more.

“She makes the players around her better, not just with her presence on the floor but her understanding of the game and how to set them up for success. I’ve said this from her freshmen year: She is an excellent passer and she sees the floor very well. My expectations for her are the same as everyone else: Show up every day and work to make the team and yourself better. She definitely embraces that.”

Thiero is one of three returning starters at QV this season along with backcourt players Lucy Roig, a 5-5 junior, and Anna Campbell, a 5-7 sophomore.

“My expectation for this year is a section championship,” Thiero said. “We definitely have some (tough) opponents, but I feel like if we focus and continue to progress, it’s definitely within reach.

“Our chemistry and being able to make that second pass are our team’s strengths. That will definitely help us in a lot of games.”

Roig agreed with her teammate; the Quakers are aiming to wear section crowns in 2024-25.

“We are expecting a successful season and are reaching for a section title,” Roig said. “We work hard each day during practice to get better. Our ability to work together and help each other get better every day are our team’s strengths.

“We are very lucky to have Mimi as our team leader. We all look up to her and are able to learn from her. She is a great teammate and definitely a huge strength that we have on our team.”

Thiero’s combination of height, talent, production, education and bloodlines is exceptional.

Despite being the tallest player on the floor, Thiero is one of QV’s primary ball-handlers. It’s a task she handles smoothly and confidently.

She can also shoot from long range and normally impacts a game with her defense thanks to her length and wingspan.

“Mimi has worked on all aspects of her game,” Johns said. “Her shooting has improved; her ballhandling has continued to get better. She’s worked on her strength and conditioning, and you can see that early in the season.”

The svelte high school hoopster is a coveted commodity for college coaches on the recruiting trail.

Theiro, a 4.0 student, has received nearly 50 NCAA Division I college offers, including from North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Penn State, Texas A&M, Northwestern, Clemson, Miami, Boston College, Providence and Kent State, along with Pitt, Duquesne, Robert Morris and many more.

She also has garnered interest from Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Penn.

“It is a who’s who of big-time programs,” Johns said. “It might be easier to list the schools that have not been recruiting Mimi.

“One thing that is arguably most impressive about her is that she cares. She cares about her team and teammates, she cares about improving herself and making her team better, and she cares about helping us be the best version of ourselves. That approach and attitude has not changed since she walked into the gym with us three years ago.

“I tell her that her attitude and her work ethic will take her far no matter where she goes and what she does. Those are things that make an impact and lead to success.”

Mimi Thiero’s given name is Oumou. She is the daughter of Almamy and Mariam, both Mali natives. Al, who is 6-10, played Division I college basketball at Memphis and Duquesne, while the 6-2 Mariam was an NAIA All-American at Oklahoma City and was selected in the 2006 WNBA draft.

Thiero is the younger sister of former QV hoops star Adou Thiero, a starting guard at Kentucky who transferred to Arkansas in May to play for his old coach with the Wildcats, John Calipari. Mimi Thiero landed an offer from Arkansas this summer.

“You asked if she is or will be the best female basketball player in Quaker Valley history,” Johns said. “I have seen a lot of girls basketball at QV over the years. We have had a number of really good players dating back to when the program started in the late ’70s.

“I’ll let other people debate who is the best. I know that she’s in the discussion; I’m just glad she’s here now.”

Tags: Quaker Valley