A Look Inside Our Class of 2019 Update

OK, from 2014 to the present time, picking a #1 player in each class—or, worst case, the top 2 players—has been pretty easy. Not with the 2019s. Destinee Oberg, Holy Angels center, has been rated #1 for the past 2 years, but the race for Ms. Basketball 2019 has been tightening for some time as some other players have matured and improved their games. On the other hand, the #1 player at each of 5 positions seems fairly clear, so let’s just look at it by position for the moment. Center At the post, of course, you’ve got Oberg on top, though it is true that 6-3 Sara Stapleton of Centennial is continuing to look better and better—a clear #2 at the position. Oberg remains #1 because of her size, her soft hands and her ability to make plays that draw oohs and aahs from the crowds. But it is sometimes too long between plays. Oberg disappears. A consistent level of effort isn’t always there. Where’s the motor?, people say. In fairness it is also true that most bigs don’t mature as young as the average guard. So of course Oberg remains a work in progress. With a more consistent level of effort, the sky remains the limit. Power Forward Kallie Theisen, 6-1, Wayzata, is the obvious choice at the 4, though Dlayla Chakolis of Hopkins, Elaina Jones of St. Paul Como and Hannah Purcell of Annandale, her summertime teammate, are all breathing down her neck. But I think of Chakolis as more of a 3 (see below). It’s not as obvious that Purcell is a 3 but if you had Theisen and Purcell on the floor together, as the Crossfire do in the summer, you’d have Theisen at the 4 and Purcell at the 3. That leaves Jones, who is a stellar defender, but a work-in-progress on offense. Theisen, meanwhile, is aggressive with a capital AGGRESSIVE going to the rim with the ball, or going to the rim without the ball, for that matter. She is pretty much unstoppable when she is looking for her shot. She is a solid inside defender, and she is at least passable at every other aspect of the game. So, Theisen is the obvious choice at the power forward. Small Forward So, here you’ve got Chakolis of Hopkins, and Purcell of Annandale, though both have more of the look of a 4 at certain times and in certain environments. Chakolis is listed at 5-5 in the Breakdown book but most people think she is 5-7 or 5-8. Still that’s small for an inside player, no doubt. But Chakolis has been particularly effective—an important cog in the state’s #1AAAA team. She is Ashley Bates, sneaking inside to punish opponents, both physically and by putting 2nd chance points on the board. But her size, especially as you look ahead to the next level, fairly screams “3.” Purcell, meanwhile, combines power forward size with point guard ball-handling skills and the ability to score inside and out—but, OK, more inside than out. But, she has more 3-type skills right now than Chakolis. Yet, putting aside position, Chakolis has more ways to hurt you than Purcell does. But, the real threat to Chakolis at the 3 is Tori Nelson of Henry Sibley. She is 6-feet tall but not so physical that you would think of her as a 4. A little more physical would be a good thing. But more than any of the “combo forwards” already mentioned, she is a definite threat to score from the perimeter as well as inside. And, her rebounding numbers say very clearly that she can and does also play inside. Still, Chakolis is our choice among some good options at the 3. Point Guard McKenna Hofschild of Prior Lake is the obvious choice here despite her 5-3 size, which causes many to question her upside potential at the next level. Still, who protects and dishes it better than Hofschild? Well, Paige Bueckers, maybe? Who is quicker? Masengo Matunda (see below)? Who shoots the 3 any better? Erika Bute? Who else does all of those things? And, at this level, her size has been no obstacle to success. So, anybody who wants to be rated ahead of her at the 1-spot is going to have to start producing like she does (23 ppg-5 assists) at this level, as far as I’m concerned. Considering that “you never know,” future upside potential alone isn’t going to win this argument. Shooting Guard Finally, there’s the 2-spot where everybody is looking for the next Michael Jordan or, failing that, the next Taylor Hill. Somebody who is about 5-10 with a silky smooth jump shot and the strength to get to the rim. Well, that is not realistic. The next Michael Jordan or Taylor Hill does not exist among the 2019s, at least not yet. The best jump shot out to the 3-point line and beyond would be Erika Bute or Sara Scalia. The ability to get to the rim off the bounce, well, that would be Chakolis whom I have no doubt could play the 2 as well as the 3. It’s just that she is so good inside—and that is where she is actually playing right now—that I want her that extra step closer to the rim. So that leaves the quickest girl in the class of 2019, another who does a great Ashley Bates impression, sneaking to the rim before anybody knows she’s there. So she scores inside more than out, and a better outside shot is high on her wish list, to be sure. She’s also small at both 5-6 and with a smallish frame even for 5-6. But for all of that, the best 2 is Masengo Matunda of Armstrong, who is averaging 19 ppg with 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. You know: Does it all. So that, my friends, is my list of the top 5 2019s: Center—Destinee Oberg, Holy Angels Power Forward—Kallie Theisen, Wayzata Small Forward—Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins Point Guard—McKenna Hofschild, Prior Lake Shooting Guard—Masengo Matunda, Armstrong But what order do they go in? Well, all 5 of them have work to do. All of them have to get better and, especially, address their weaknesses. And, if that’s the case—and, of course, it is—if you’re really talking about continuing to build a basketball player on the foundation they have today—well, I would opt to build it on the biggest foundation I could. In other words, they are going to rate as follows. 1. Oberg 6-2 2. Theisen 6-0 3. Chakolis 5-7ish 4. Matunda 5-6ish 5. Hofschild 5-3 Why Our Next Five Players Are Also In Our Top Ten Actually, we’ve already talked about them. 6. Sara Stapleton, 6-3, Centennial, is our #2 center with her nice size and reasonable mobility. She is a solid defender, shot blocker and rebounder. Her offensive game is a work in progress, yet she is managing to score 15 ppg. OK, so some of it is junk but it takes good mobility and reactions and instincts to score junk points, and they count just as much as any other kind. 7. Hannah Purcell, 6-0, Annandale, can play either forward spot and maybe the 2 some day. She handles it well enough, even pushing the pace with the ball in transition. She scores mostly inside but has the obvious athletic skills to expand her offensive game out as far as you like. 8. Tori Nelson, 6-0, Sibley, already plays the perimeter as well as inside, but her 11 rebounds and 4 blocks show that she has no hesitation about mixing it up in the paint. But she also has the best shooting range of any 2019 6-footer right now. 9. Elaina Jones, 5-11, St. Paul Como, is a monster on defense, strong, physical. Her offense remains a work in progress, but she is scoring 13 ppg one way or another. Can play the 4 or 5 on offense and defend, well, certainly the 3, 4 and 5. 10. Mimi Schrader, 5-8, Wayzata, is perhaps the best at her position in terms of protecting the ball and getting her team into its offensive sets against elite defenses. Not as quick as some or as likely to push the pace, and not as likely to get to the rim. But she certainly can stop-and-pop. So, here she is at #10, ahead of Kacie Borowicz, Aja Wheeler, Sara Scalia and all the rest—everybody but McKenna Hofschild at the 1. Dropped Out of the Top Ten Peyton Suess, 6-3, forward, Kasson-Mantorville. Overall, the sky remains the limit but her scoring is down right now from 12 ppg a year ago to 6 now. I have no idea why. Biggest Gainers They’re rated “qualitatively,” you might say, not strictly on how many spots they gained. Chakolis, Stapleton and E. Jones only gained 13 spots among them, but when you jump up and/or into the top 10, that’s pretty significant. But we’ve already talked about them, so we’ll talk about some others here. 1. Abigail Groeneweg, 5-10, forward-post, Forest Lake. It pains me to list her as a post though that is where she plays, mostly, especially defending posts like Destinee Oberg. The point is she is Forest Lake’s best inside player at 5-10. She’s strong enough, she jumps like crazy and, overall, simply plays a lot bigger than 5-10. Yet she’s plenty mobile to play the 3 as well, and I hope she gets the chance to do that. Oh, heck, she’s already out there plenty in Forest Lake’s offense. But the bigger question is that she’s a volleyball player and her upside in hoops will depend on coming to her senses and focusing on basketball. I mean, volleyball is just a fad. It will never last! Moved from #127 to #15. 2. Frannie Hottinger, 6-0, forward, Cretin-Derham Hall. A very active and athletic 6-footer, Frannie can post up. But I think she’s even better cutting or crashing to the rim without the ball, assuming that her teammates find her doing so with the ball. But she can catch and finish either off the pass or off the glass. I assume she’ll expand her shooting and scoring range over time. Moved from #36 to #18. 3. Emma Carpenter, 5-11, forward, Eastview. She’s fundamentally solid, not given to anything flashy at the moment, but she seals, she blocks out, she plays defense, she rebounds, she does the things that you need when you’ve got Ranke and Pickrain and others to do the flashier things. Moved from #39 to #23. 4. Zaraya March, 5-9, wing, Bloomington Kennedy. Came over from Cretin, I think it was, and now in her 1st year at Kennedy. Very quick and athletic, actually reminds me of Kennedy teammate Honour Finley. A better athlete than basketball player, inconsistent in applying her basketball skills in different kinds of game settings. But there’s a lot of upside here. Moved from #56 to #37. 5. Hannah DeMars, 5-11, wing, Grand Rapids. Long, lean, very athletic, with terrific form on her jump shot. Learning the team stuff. Aren’t we all. From #101 to #50. 6. Alyssa Daugherty, 5-6, shooting guard, Zimmerman. Part of a renaissance at Zimmerman, Daugherty is the shooter among an impressive collection of players with varied but complementary skills. You may see them—and Daugherty—in the state tournament. Increased her scoring from 17 to 19 this year, but is also going 3-5-4 in boards, assists and steals. Moved from #88 to #49. 7. Lily Pearson, 6-0, center, Fergus Falls. One of several 6-footers, 4s and 5s, in the frozen north of the state, and it’s too early to tell if she’s really the best of the lot. Detroit Lakes’ Breanna Price is another. And Pearson may not be a post forever, she is athletic enough to move around a bit. Raised her scoring average from 2 ppg last year to 11, and moved from #129 to #77. 8. Kendra Ekereke, 5-11, forward, Tartan. A combo forward, strong enough to play inside, mobile enough to play on the wing. She has doubled her scoring from 4 to 8, and increased her rebounding from 7 to 9, and moved from #128 to #83. 9. Foney Marcellino, 5-9, wing, Rochester Mayo. Brett called her “a lanky lefty with a quick first step” after watching her in the Rotary Classic down there during the holidays. I don’t see any downside to any of that. From #136 to #99. 10. Alyssa Peterson, 5-6, combo guard, Menahga. Her scoring has leveled off but her overall skills and value are reflected in a 9-3 record, compared to 15-14 a year ago. Newcomers Finally, who are these mysterious newcomers? Well, they’re not mysterious at all. They are: 1. Mykel Parham, 6-2, post, Apple Valley. but very, very quick. She is scoring about 10 ppg and she is a total pest as an on-ball defender. She is rated #21. 2. Lizzy Tuomi, 6-1, forward, Hibbing. Long, lean, athletic. Strong enough around the rim and hits the mid-range out to 15 feet. #41. 3. Meara Beighley, Grand Rapids, 6-0, post, power forward but she has become a force so far this year. She is the Panthers leading scorer and rebounder off the bench, and enters the rankings at #50. 4. Grace Conroy, 6-0, forward, Holy Family. fault of Sowada’s. The junior is averaging 18 ppg and 10 boards, and recently outscored Becker’s Kerzman 16-8 in a head-to-head matchup. #54. 5. Megan Baer, 5-9, combo guard, Apple Valley. ho has gotten the opportunity to play now with Alex Johnson graduating, and she has responded with 16 ppg and 10 rebounds in the early going. She is rated at #62. 5. Abby Leach, 6-0, wing, Forest lake. The tallest of the Rangers’ great sophomores, but she is essentially the 3-point shooter among ‘em. #67. 6. Erin O’Brien, 6-2, post, Kimball. O’Brien is heir-apparent to big sister Caitlin as the Cubs post. She is already scoring 11 ppg, and enters our ratings at #79. 7. Courtney Freeburg, 6-3, post, Waconia. A big strong post with a nice feel for the game. She tends to be where she should be and, often, that means around the ball. Enters our ratings at #80. 8. Kae Seana Bath-Lofton, 5-10, power forward, Minnehaha. One of 4 blue-chip sophomores at Minnehaha and the latest bloomer of the 4. Barth-Lofton, who is listed at 5-10 while Avery New, listed at 5-11, is also listed as a power forward. Meanwhile—get this—6-2 Navaeh Galloway is listed as a small forward. Mia Curtis and Taytum Rhoades are sophomore guards. These 5 players could win a Class AAAA state title 2 years from now. Of course, they won’t because they’re not in Class AAAA, they in Class AA. But my point is they may have the state’s best sophomore class—they and Forest Lake, anyway. But, returning to Barth-Lofton, among this wealth of talent, coach Josh Thurow highlights her rebounding. She, herself, highlights her passing, her mid-range shot and her post defense. 9. Abby Mackenthun, 5-10, wing, Norwood Young America. Listed as a point guard, I have seen Mackenthun mostly on the wing, mostly up top on offense but defensively guarding whoever the opponent’s top perimeter threat may be. Her length combined with point guard quickness makes her a solid defender. Her scoring offense is a work in progress, and her scoring average has increased just from 6 to 7 this year. Of course, this is for a state champion caliber team that is now 15-0, and so she is no more than the 3rd or 4th option and does take many shots. But, she’s plenty athletic and has no obvious weaknesses. 10. Ellie Norling, 5-6, combo guard, Delano. The little sister of 6-0 senior guard Erin Norling, who is going to Wayne State. Ellie is a different kind of player, a half a foot shorter, at least for now. So her upside depends a lot on whether she gets a growth spurt and gets into sister Erin’s whereabouts for her size. If not, she is still a multi-talented player who is almost surely destined to be the Tigers point guard next year. For now, she is already the #2 scorer at 9 ppg, averages 3 boards per game, yet somehow manages to block some shots. She enters our ratings for the 1st time at #94, one of 15 newcomers in the top 100. 11-15. The next 5 newcomers, all rated in our top 100, include: • McKenzie Maki, Hibbing, #88. • Grace Prokosch and Delaney Runyon, Hill-Murray, tied at #95 • 6-foters Jamie Guptill and Shawna Mell of Rush City, tied at #97. • Sam Salmen, a long, speedy wing from Cretin at #9