Catching up on college commits

<p>We have been collecting college commitments for a long while and have been very much remiss in reporting them and in sending our congrats to all of these very deserving young ladies</p> <p><strong>Centennial duo heading west.</strong> Centennial’s 2018, Syd Stapleton (North Tartan) and Claire Orth (Stars Hersch), have announced their college choices. Syd, the streak-shooting wing, is headed to South Dakota State, while Orth, the whippet 1, is headed to North Dakota. Congrats to both.</p> <p>Syd’s key is to get her shooting percentage up. She’s a shooter and a scorer. Yes, she’s a gym rat who knows how to play the game but at the next level she’s going to put dinner on the table with her shot and her scoring. When she’s hot, she’s hot. She needs to be hot a little more often.</p> <p>Orth reminds me of Danielle Gitzen. Both are super-quick and yet have some length. Orth does it all except score. Is North Dakota going to be looking for some scoring, or not? That is the question. She has always had teammates—at Centennial and in the summer—who can score, so that pressure hasn’t been there for her. She has hit the occasional 3, but can she make a mid-range jumper a reliable part of her game? That is her door to another level.</p> <p><strong>Make that a Centennial trio.</strong> Meanwhile, 2017 Nikki Clark (Fury), also of Centennial, is headed to Washington (St. Louis), which is a nationally prominent D3, comparable, say, to St. Thomas. Way to go, Nikki. She’s a great defender, a solid rebounder and a good ball handler. Like Orth, the jump shot has not been a big part of her game. If she were to add that, look out.</p> <p><strong>Fairfield gets Rachel Hakes. </strong>Scorer in winter, defender in summer. Will the real Rachel Hakes please stand up? Just kidding. The real Rachel Hakes (Metro Stars) plays both sides of the ball with passion and determination. The mid-major is probably the right level for her, and the fact that there is no hole anywhere in her game should make her a big success.</p> <p><strong>One-two punch at Nebraska.</strong> Returning to news of college commits: The Nebraska Cornhuskers will have a one-two, inside-outside Minnesota punch for the next four years.</p> <p>Guard Sam Haiby of Moorhead and North Tartan, our #1 rated 2018, recently announced her commitment to the Cornhuskers. As our #1 2018, you will not be surprised to learn, unless of course you already know, that she is an all-purpose guard who shoots it from downtown and also gets to the rim with ease. She also handles and protects and distributes the ball with aplomb. She compares favorably with Carlie Wagner, T.T. Starks and Nia Hollie because she shoots it better from long range. She’s stronger than Gabi Haack or Madi Guebert. More than any of these—and not to put on too much pressure here, but more than any of these—she reminds me of Rachel Banham.</p> <p>In Lincoln, she’ll rejoin Tartan teammate 6-3 Kayla Mershon of Minnetonka. There’s no question she’s got a big-time college body. She just needs to play more north-south and a little less east-west, as we see it, but the sky remains the limit.</p> <p><strong>Jordan Ferrand also goes SDSU. </strong>Seems like SDSU always has a Minnesota big or two on their roster but it’s hard to be sure that Ferrand (Fury) goes on that particular list. She’s 6-2 and has always been listed as a post—except, well, it’s true that the Fury is now listing her as a forward. Her game always included running the floor and, if you’ve seen her this summer, you know that she has slimmed down quite a bit. So, I would have to surmise that the Jacks are maybe looking at Ferrand as a big 3. The mobility is there.</p> <p><strong>UW Milwaukee scores again.</strong> UWM scored with Lizzie Odegard last year. Now, Megan Walstad of Eastview and Tartan, maybe a half-inch shorter than Mershon, has committed to UWM. She’s pretty comparable to Mershon though Mershon is maybe a psi or two stronger. But Walstad has a quicker first step. The real key for both will be to stay injury free, and to get that shooting percentage as well as the shooting range up a notch or two. But, don’t get me wrong, both are great gets for their programs. I frankly thought of Walstad as a Big 10 prospect, too.</p> <p><strong>The commits just keep on coming.</strong> These just in. Jaclyn Jarnot (Stars) is headed to Monmouth; Angie Hammond (Tartan) of Hopkins is headed to Siena; and Gabby Mocchi and Kenzie Stumne (Fury) are both headed to Montana State. Mocchi is of course a 2018, Stumne is a 2019. Stumne is the 4th 2019 with a D1 deal, joining Tori Nelson, Olivia Lane and Emma Anderson.</p> <p><strong>Just a few more. </strong>Kristi Fett of Lyle-Pacelli and the Stars is headed to MSU Mankato. She’s 6-4, she’s strong, she’s got a nice touch around the rim. She should do well at that level. And, Elise Moore of Maranatha will be attending and playing basketball at Johns Hopkins. I don’t know, maybe she’ll be Dr. Moore to you someday.</p> <p>Then, Shea Oman of New London-Spicer and the Comets is headed to Bemidji State. She should do well, she is a very creative playmaker with great handles.</p> <p>And, we have been told that Maesyn Thiesen (Sauk Centre and Tartan) is headed to UMD but we have not been able to confirm that just yet. If true, she will do very well in Duluth, for sure.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>