Friday Night Lights: The youngsters were hot at the Stars Summer Kickoff

There are a couple of things you can count on by the time the AAU season reaches the first weekend in June. First, it’s going to get hot outside and second, the most talented 8th graders are going to start making a name for themselves. Right on cue, both things happened Friday night at Bloomington Kennedy High School where the Minnesota Stars Summer Kickoff tournament got underway. Outside the mercury was pushing 90 degrees. Inside, the rising stars from the class of 2021 were heating up, as well. One thing is becoming quite clear: next year’s freshman class is good and it’s deep. Actually, it’s very good and very deep. One team that has been making a little noise this spring is Top Flight 2021 Metro. They’re not up there with the big girls just yet, but as a one-point state tournament loss to Minnesota Fury 2021 Blue will attest, they are getting closer. When a relatively unknown team is having some success, you can be pretty sure they have three key ingredients: a solid point guard, a big that can score, and someone who can shoot the three. Friday night I watched Top Flight for the first time and – not surprisingly – they can check all three boxes. The point guard is 5-5 Kate Traschel of Prior Lake. She’s quick and confident and moves the ball with authority. She had a lot of success driving to the basket and dishing it to the perimeter for an open teammate. More often than not, that teammate was 5-7 wing Sydni Olson of Waconia, who has a pretty stroke and a quick release. Olson knocked down four 3-pointers and had 14 points. When Olson wasn’t open, the ball was often in the hands of 5-8 forward Ivory Finley. Of course ‘big’ is a relative term and, truth be told, Finley is probably more of a wing. But on this team she’s the big, and plenty big enough. Finley is long and lean and super athletic. Her skill set is decent but her potential is off the charts. The girl runs like a gazelle, and can get up and down the floor with anyone. If that sounds familiar, it should, because her older sister Honour just finished a nice career at Bloomington Kennedy and is off to Kansas to run track. Good genes never hurt. We should also mention that Ms. Finley has not selected a high school just yet, although the phone has apparently been ringing. Rest assured, at least one coach is going to be happy. On this night, however, the girls from Top Flight were no match for Tayler Hill Elite, which earned a 60-38 win. Jade Hill (Mpls. South) led the way as usual with 14 points, while THE’s two bigs, Kierra Wheeler (Cooper) and Dora Okpara (Irondale), had 12 apiece. Fury 2021 Gold has plenty of options While Tayler Hill Elite was taking care of business on court 1, Fury 2021 Gold were doing the same against Minnesota Suns Porisch on court 2. I wasn’t so much interested in the outcome (67-33 in favor of the Fury) as I was in watching three more very good 8th graders wearing Fury gold. At 5-2, Jayla Reliford isn’t exactly imposing but her impact on the game is huge. As Jayla goes, so goes Fury Gold, and things have gone very well lately with a D2 state championship earned two weeks ago. Reliford suited up for North Tartan Coley last summer and is on the Northstar 2021 watch list. No wonder. She’s quick and athletic. She sees the floor well and knows how to find a teammate in scoring position. More often than not, Reliford puts the ball in the hands of 5-6 guard Marissa Radtke of Lester Prairie. Another watch list member, Radtke has great quickness and agility and can elevate to the hoop with ease. Another option is 5-11 forward Maggie Czinano of Watertown-Mayer, an athletic big whose older sister Monika is going to be an Iowa Hawkeye. On this night, however, the Fury were led by Ella Hronski of Mahtomedi and Jaela Colins of Mankato West with 13 points apiece. It’s nice to have options, and Fury Gold has plenty. Minnesota Stars Hersch 8 has even more The final stop on our whirlwind middle school tour occurred on court 3, where Minnesota Stars Hersch 8 was putting on a clinic, rolling to a 72-17 win over Comets 9 Blue. This Hersch squad is stacked. Most people consider Tayler Hill Elite to be the best in the 2021 class, but Hersch has beaten them twice by a combined 30 points. Hersch has a lot of weapons, even without point guard Katie Borowicz of Roseau who was absent. On this night, the hot hand belonged to Cassidy Carson of Eastview, a 6-footer who can really stroke it. Carson is a streaky shooter who poured home 22 points. Guards Ashleigh Fossey of Lakeville and Tatum Brostrom of Prior Lake filled in nicely for Borowicz, combining for 19 points, while 6-3 post Tamia Ugass of St. Paul added 10 more. The Main Event we missed While we were focused on Generation Next, the marquee matchup of the night featured a long list of talented prospects who have become household names. It was tempting, but we did not watch the juniors from Tayler Hill Elite do battle with the sophomores of Minnesota Stars Nelson. Sounds like we missed a good one. THE came away with a 65-61 victory thanks to 16 points from Ja’Hyia Gaston, the rocket-quick guard from Cooper, and 14 apiece by Morgan Hill (Mpls. South) and Elaina Jones (Como Park). Ninth grader Jaide Pressley of Hopkins led the Stars with 18 points, while her Royals’ teammate D’Layla Chakolis had 13 and Alexis Hultman of Forest Lake added 11.