Chase Thompson, middle, poses for a photo with his grandparents, Bill and Judy French and Joyce and Richard Thompson (from left), after signing a letter of intent to play at Clemson during a ceremony at Alexandria Area High School in Alexandria, Minn., on Wednesday. Both grandfathers played basketball. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

MN high school basketball recruiting

ALEXANDRIA, MINN. – Decades before three-pointers entered the world of high school basketball, Chase Thompson’s grandfathers competed in the hardwood sport that’s engrained in his DNA.

Thompson, 18, officially signed his scholarship acceptance and financial package documents to play basketball at Clemson University on Wednesday inside the gymnasium at Alexandria Area High School. He sat front and center in a long row of tables, flanked by 17 other student-athletes committing to college teams on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period, when all high school seniors in sports other than football can begin signing with Division I and Division II athletic programs.

The brief ceremony on a rainy November morning before the first school bell rang marked a special moment for Thompson’s family, full of pride but no surprise.

For more on Thompson and his family's basketball DNA, click here to read this story on startribune.com.