AAU Preview: MN Fury to Host Mill City Invitational This Weekend

The Mill City Invitational, co-hosted by the Minnesota Fury and Wisconsin Flight Elite, is in its 3rd year, and will include over 110 teams in 2018. It will feature some of the best AAU clubs in the state, as well as squads from across the country. Mill City's top division includes clubs from Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Each year, the NCAA allows Division 1 college coaches 5 “live” periods, to evaluate potential prospects. In addition to 2 weekends in April, coaches are allowed to evaluate players for 3 consecutive weekends during July. The April live periods are often when coaches are truly evaluating/scouting, but in general don't make as many decisions. July is particularly exciting because it is when Division 1 coaches make the majority of their decisions about who to offer with their available scholarships. The Mill City Invite is many coaches' first opportunity to see some of Minnesota's most talented players during the July open period. There is expected to be around 150 college coaches taking in games throughout the weekend.  It's also a great opportunity for players' talent to catch the eye of a potential future coach. Games throughout the weekend will provide the excitement of having baselines filled with college coaches, along with the likelihood of players' dreams to play college basketball becoming reality. Games will be played at Chanhassen and Chaska high schools. The tournament tips off at 9:10 a.m. on Friday and finishes up Sunday evening. Here are 5 of the best pool play games featuring teams from Minnesota. <strong>THE BEST OF FRIDAY</strong> <strong>North Tartan 9th Sinn vs South Dakota Attack 2020 (11:30 a.m. @ Chan H.S. - Court 3)</strong> This will be a great battle to start the tournament as North Tartan's top 2021 group will square off against South Dakota Attack's 2020 team. Sinn's squad has a 1-2 punch from Wayzata that will be making noise in the Lake Conference come November. Forward <strong>Jenna Johnson </strong>is a<span style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px">s polished as any freshman post that you will find. And </span><strong style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px">Mara Braun</strong><span style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px"> (class of 2022) is a long, versatile player with a fantastic outside shot. North Tartan will need to bring their "A" game against S.D. Attack, whose roster includes some of the top players in the state of South Dakota. The Attack comes into Mill City with a record of 14-1.</span> <strong>Ballin Pretty 8th Elite vs Metro Stars 2022 (8:50 p.m. @ Chan H.S. - Court 5)</strong> These teams played for third place at the AAU Minnesota State Championships in May, with Ballin Pretty taking down the Stars 58-44. More recently, the Metro Stars are coming off of a 3rd place finish at The Cheesehead Challenge. The Stars' balanced roster includes <strong>Nia Holloway</strong> (Eden Prairie), <strong>Grace &amp; Maria Counts</strong> (Providence Academy), and <strong>Kara Hoag</strong> (Maple Grove), among others. Ballin Pretty Elite is led by their star guard <strong>Kaylynn Asberry</strong> (St. Paul Como Park). Kaylynn is one of the top prospects in the class of 2022. Expect Ballin Pretty to pressure the Stars' guards and look to push the pace whenever possible. This game is likely to come down to which team is able to seize control the tempo. <strong>SATURDAY GAMES TO WATCH</strong> <strong>Minnesota Fury 2019 Gauntlet vs ALL IN Gauntlet Truding (1:50 p.m. @ Chan H.S. - Court 2)</strong> The Fury's 2019 Gauntlet squad features point guard <strong>McKenna Hofschild</strong> (Prior Lake). McKenna is Prep Girls Hoops' 6th ranked player in the class of 2019, and is the 2nd highest ranked unsigned player in the state. What McKenna lacks in height, the lefty more than makes up for with her outstanding vision, quick-release shot, and devastating handles. She plays with consistent energy, and is one of my favorite players to watch in the 2019 class. <strong>Emma Carpenter</strong> (Eastview) and <strong>Carly Krsul</strong> (Robbinsdale Armstrong) are also top 20 players who have yet to make a college commitment. The Fury will match up against combo guard <strong>Emily Klaczek</strong> and ALL IN Gauntlet from Illinois. Klaczek is a terrific point guard who has great vision and can score from all over the court. She is a Prep Girls Hoops Illinois top 30 player in the 2020 class. <strong>Minnesota Fury 2020 Gauntlet vs WI Flight Elite 11th Gauntlet (3:00 p.m. @ Chan H.S. - Court 2)</strong> Playing in a division made up mainly of 17U teams will be a great test for the Fury's top 2020 group. This match-up will be no exception as WI Flight Elite features 4 players committed to Division I colleges. I always come away impressed with Fury 2020's tremendous defense after watching them play. <strong>Molly Morgensen</strong> (Farmington), <strong>Zareia Chevre </strong>(Tartan), and <strong>Alyssa Ustby </strong>(Rochester Lourdes) are all fantastic on-ball defenders, while <strong>Kaylie VanDerWerf </strong>(Holy Angels) and <strong>Natalie Mazurek </strong>(Eden Prairie) provide solid rim protection inside. Look for the Fury's depth to make a difference in this one, as they rotate 2 strong platoons of 5 players. <strong>North Tartan 9th Dickman vs ND Pro 2021 (5:20 p.m. @ Chaska H.S. - Court 3)</strong> North Tartan Dickman squared off with ND Pro at the Summer Jam tournament earlier this spring and pulled out a 1 point victory, winning 38-37. I asked Coach Grace Dickman what needed to happen in order to secure another win this weekend. She said, "we need to minimize our turnovers, be patient in the half court, limit their second chance opportunities and outwork them every possession - the same focus we have coming into every game." Wings <strong>Peyton Blandin</strong> (Farmington) and <strong>Gianna Kneepkens</strong> (Duluth Marshall) are 2 of Dickman's players to keep an eye on throughout the weekend. Look for Minnesota native <strong>Samantha Zimmerman</strong>, who played solid varsity minutes for Moorhead last season, to make an impact for ND Pro. This should be another tightly contested match-up between two solid teams.