AAU Prelim Preview, Part 2

<p>There are 31 teams entered in the 2020 division of the AAU Prelims. The top 8 seeds are in Pool A and Pool B, as always.</p> <p><strong>Pool A</strong></p> <p>Pool A consists of #1 seed Tartan 9th, otherwise known as Paige Bueckers’ team, #3 Tartan 9 West, #5 Crossfire 9th Jorgenson and #7 Stars Antl. The top 3 in this pool and the top 6 overall are seeded based on their finish in last year’s tournament. Stars Antl played their way in based on their play so far this year.</p> <p>The news here is that Paige Bueckers’ team is not going to lose, not in the Prelim, not in the Tournament. In addition to the state’s best 9th grader and one of its top 5 players of any age, Tartan also has bigs Vanessa Alexander and TeTe Danso, point guards Mackenzie Kramer, Mia Curtis and Kahla Adams and wings Mallory Brake and Lauren Jensen. The wild card is Grace Kirk from Duluth Marshall, new to the program this year.</p> <p>So, who don’t they have? Well, there’s #6 and #7 Ysareia Chevre and Kaylee Van Der Werf, both with the Fury, and #9 Jayda Johnsyon of the Crossfire. Other than Tartan has the rest of the top 10 (7 players) and 8 of the top 15.</p> <p>Tartan West counters with a small team led by Lydia Haack, Kendal Cox and Lily Tennyson. Crossfire is led by point guard Alaina Brenning. Stars Antl is led by Emily Russo and Lily Wilson. All 3 teams together would not beat Tartan 9.</p> <p><strong>Pool B</strong></p> <p>Pool B is #2 seed Fury 2020 Blue, #4 E1T1 Premiere, #6 So Minn Fury 2020 Blue and #8 Heat Hinck. Fury Blue may be Fury’s best team relative to age class, perhaps by the end of the year or just perhaps by the time they’re seniors. It’s a big, strong, mobile, versatile roster starting with Chevre and Van Der Werf. Point guards are Molly Mogenson and Lauren Frost. The wings include Alyssa Ustby, Ravyn Miles, Sydney Stensgard and Annie Guentzel.</p> <p>E1T1 has center Patience Williams, forward Jasmine Smiley, and guards Zhane Thompson, Isabel and Emma Henry and more. So Minn Fury 2020 Blue is led by Ali Hunstad and Colie Justice. The dark horse is Heat Hinck, They’re led by Amme Sheforgen, Anica Thomas, Grace Johnson, Ella Janicki, Cianna Selbitschka, and some size in Lindsey Becher. Pool B will be a dogfight—for 2nd place. Not for 1st.</p> <p><strong>#1 Seed</strong></p> <p>Again, Tartan is not going to lose to Fury 2020 Blue or anybody else, but Fury Blue is a formidable obstacle for the rest of the merely mortal entrants. It will be fun, however, to see perhaps how Molly Mogenson or Alyssa Ustby match up with Bueckers. Of course, considering that older girls could not slow her down too much at the state tournament, it may be expecting too much to think that anybody can play her even-steven.</p> <p><strong>D1</strong></p> <p>Elsewhere I would look for Fury 2020 Gold (Pool C), Comets 9th Select (Pool D), Comets 9th Elite (Pool E), Stars McAlpine (Pool F), High Impact Briski (Pool G) and Lady Hawks (Poly H) to emerge from each of the pools and into D1 at the AAU Tournament itself. But F, G and H look pretty wide open right now with Heat Dineen challenging in Pool F, MN Energy 2019 in G and So Minn Fury in Pool H.</p> <p>Can anybody here challenge Pool A and Pool B teams in the actual AAU Tournament later this month? Don’t forget that the better of Pool C and Pool D will be #9 and thus would have to get through Paige Bueckers’ team in the quarter-finals, so in Pool C and Pool D, no.  In E. F and G, you’d have to say Comets Elite. How did they seed lower than Comets Select? I have no idea, but it’s actually a good break for the Elites if they can play maybe a #6 then a #3 or a #5 and a #4 rather than #8 and #1.</p> <p>Players to watch in Pools C through H would include Morgan Ebel (Fury 2020 Gold), Ava Hill and Riley Polomny of Comets 9th Elite, Jersi McAlpine (Stars McAlpine) and Jaelynn Kudis of High Impact Briski.</p>