Class of 2022: “Have you seen the girl from Rogers?”

“Have you seen the girl from Rogers?” It was a question I heard several times back in March and April when we were first starting to pay close attention to the class of 2022. It was usually followed by something like, “She’s going to be special.” That girl is 5’9 wing Ellie Buzzelle, an athletic anomaly with advanced skills and the kind of swagger that catches your attention immediately. I watched Ellie play more than a dozen times this summer and on every occasion I found myself agreeing with those assessments from back in the spring. Yes, she is going to be special. [caption id="attachment_15251" align="alignleft" width="214"] Ellie Buzzelle is one of the most gifted players in the 2022 class. (Photo courtesy of Hometown Source)[/caption] Nobody watches Ellie play more these days than Rogers coach Greg Amundson, who has seen a superior athlete or two in a lifetime of coaching high school basketball. “She has got raw talent,” he said of Buzzelle. “She just floats. I just don’t know how else to say it. I have had a couple of kids like that in 40 years of coaching but she is magical. She is effortless with the basketball in her hands, so we are going to try to give her the basketball a little bit more. We’re going to make her a point guard, and everybody on the floor had better be ready because when she throws a pass it is a rocket ship.” Buzzelle has a potent combination of athleticism, grace and pizzazz that is rare. She’s long and quick, she’s fast and smart, and she can flat out shoot the basketball. To put it simply, the lefty possesses all of the things that you cannot teach. Perhaps most importantly, Buzzelle has that inner drive to be the best. Some girls play basketball; some are basketball players. And then there are girls like Ellie who are all in. “She is constantly striving to work on her skills to get better. Very few kids do that,” Amundson said. “They just come in the gym and shoot. She’s working on her ball skills, faking, backing up, shooting. It’s just the intangible things.” In an age when few girls actually watch basketball, Buzzelle is an addict. “Every day she comes into the gym and says, ‘Coach, did you watch the game last night?’” Amundson said. “She’s up late watching the West Coast games or whatever. She is just a basketball junkie.” It’s true, Buzzelle admits. And she doesn’t just watch. “When I watch an NBA game I get my laptop and I do notes on every player. What they do is what I want to do. I get a lot of moves from them,” she said, citing LeBron James as her go-to instructor. “He has eyes in the back of his head. He does crazy passes all the time. That’s where I learned my passes from. I’m trying to get his post moves down, too. The way he posts up is huge, the turnaround Js, everything.” Buzzelle has extended her range significantly over the past couple of years. She has honed her ball handling skills and is now equally adept right or left. She’s also trying to get to the basket more often and in more creative ways. “I’ve had several coaches tell me that I’m only a shooter,” she said. “That was definitely motivation to me this summer to work on driving and work on the moves that I need to work on.” [caption id="attachment_15253" align="alignleft" width="214"] Ellie Buzzelle is entering her third season of high school basketball. (Photo by Ally McGinnis)[/caption] Those late night study sessions with LeBron are beginning to pay off. Last winter, Buzzelle made a case for herself as a player to watch in the pre-Christmas period, chipping in a few points here and there and offering a glimpse of what might lie ahead. Then January came and Ellie arrived. She had 16 points against powerhouse rival St. Michael-Albertville, 19 each against Monticello and Zimmerman and 16 in a one-bucket win over Big Lake. On more than one occasion she was the Royals best player on the night. The fact that she had the opportunity to do all that as an 8th grader is a story in itself. The exodus from Rogers is no more Rogers has a long history of producing nice players who knew how to win. The problem is, they did their winning somewhere else. STMA has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of that exodus. Megan Walker, who now plays D1 ball at Lehigh, helped lead Minnetonka to a state championship in 2016. One reason kids left Rogers is that the program did not allow younger players to play up in junior high, even if their abilities warranted a promotion. Talented kids had to look elsewhere if they wanted to advance quickly. Buzzelle almost did the same. “When I was in 7th grade I definitely was thinking about it,” she said. “When we had the other coach she didn’t want younger players playing up. That was definitely a thought. But when Chuck (Thompson) came in he gave me the opportunity to play JV and varsity which was amazing and I took it. I decided ever since then that Rogers gave me this opportunity and I’m going to finish it here.” Thompson deserves a lot of the credit for the turnaround at Rogers that is starting to become more evident. He only coached there for a brief period of time before stepping away due to health concerns, but his impact cannot be understated. He made the game fun again for the girls, emphasizing a positive team culture and freeing them up to play more creative basketball. That laid the ground work for Amundson. “My philosophy is you play your best kids. I don’t care what grade they are,” said Amundson, who came to Minnesota after establishing a record of success in North Dakota that may never be duplicated. “If you are the best trumpet player in the school, you are sitting first chair in the band. That’s the way I look at it. If you are the best player you have got to play. I think I’ve had six or seven 8th graders play up for me over the years and every one of those kids went on to be Miss Basketball in North Dakota. You are always going to have the jealousy and that sort of thing, but if you want to get mad at me you’re going to have to stand in line!” As a result, Rogers now appears to have a very bright future. That was on full display during scrimmages last Saturday at Minnetonka when 8th graders Clara Glad and Katelyn Maciej combined with Buzzelle to form a potent attack for the Royals. At 5’10, Glad is also an elite athlete and gifted scorer who was probably the most consistent performer this summer for North Tartan’s top 2023 team. The talented guard is super long and shares many of the same characteristics as Buzzelle. Maciej is a lanky post who burst onto the scene this summer playing for Josh Hersch’s Minnesota Stars squad. She’s north of 6 feet already and has all the makings of a D1 prospect. Combined with returning veterans like senior Ashley Hanauska, and juniors Ali Karels and Alaina Brenning, the Royals are in transformation. Being moved to point guard two years into your high school basketball career can be a bit daunting, even for accomplished varsity players. Asked for her thoughts on the change, Ellie’s response just made me chuckle. “I think I’m going to get a lot of assists!” she said with the kind of confidence that lets you know that she knows just how good she can be. Buzzelle is headed to the Minnesota Fury next summer, but after watching her play over the past couple of years her former Stars coach Jake Kolden knows full well what Ellie is capable of. When we spoke about his team this summer, Jake was effusive in his praise. “She’s probably the one on the team who hates to lose the most,” he said. “She is super competitive…She is the one who wants to be the team leader, wants to be the star. She is going to go places for sure.” Top Photo: Freshman Ellie Buzzelle is on the fly for Rogers. She is ranked #7 in the class of 2022. (Photo by Ally McGinnis)