Minnesota’s top freshmen impress in their collegiate debuts

When the Minnesota Gophers took to the court Friday night at Williams Arena in Lindsay Whalen’s coaching debut, they were nervous. Most would deny it, of course, but who wouldn’t be a little shaky playing in those circumstances, especially the freshmen. Although the situation at UM was a bit more of a hype-fest than most of the college openers over the past week, there were plenty of first-year players feeling the nerves, including some of Minnesota’s best in the class of 2018. It’s interesting to me how some players start fast in college ball and others take time to find their way. Of course nerves might have nothing to do with it because it depends a lot on the circumstances of the team, and who is ahead of the freshmen in the pecking order. Among last year’s quickest starters were three of the best overall talents: Rachel Ranke, Annika Jank and Gabi Haack. Ranke, a gifted forward from Eastview who was ranked third by Prep Girls Hoops in the 2017 class, was among Kansas State top players and the Big 12’s most impactful newcomers. She started 27 of 31 games for the Wildcats, averaging 34 minutes, 11 points and 4 rebounds. Jank, ranked #6, did likewise for Colorado. The Edina graduate had an outstanding season for the Buffaloes at forward, starting 29 of 31 games, averaging 29 minutes and recording season averages of 9 points and 7 rebounds. And then there was Haack, Minnesota’s 2017 Ms. Basketball from Elk River and the #5 player in the class. She was Bradley’s leading scorer as a freshmen, averaging 10.5 points per game. She did it in the same way she steered Elk River to the 2017 4A state championship – by shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. This year she’s off to an equally great start, playing 35 minutes and scoring 19 points in Bradley’s 85-79 win over Southeast Missouri. So how did the top players from Minnesota’s class of 2018 fare in opening week? We perused some box scores Sunday morning and this is what we found out. Players are listed in the order of their Prep Girls Hoops final prospect ranking. #1 Sam Haiby, G, Nebraska (Moorhead) Sam Haiby stepped right into the lineup for Nebraska and turned in an impressive performance against Nebraska-Kearney. She did the same against Drake, playing nearly 20 minutes, shooting 4 for 7 for 13 points, and adding 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Meanwhile, her fellow freshman Kayla Mershon of Minnetonka is off to a good start at Nebraska, too. The #14 player in the 2018 class is averaging 19 minutes, 6 points and 5 rebounds. #2 Carmen Backes, F, Wisconsin (Chisago Lakes) The Badgers opened their season with an impressive win over Winthrop but you won’t find Carmen Backes’ in the box score. She is rehabbing a knee injury and isn’t expected to play any time soon. Backes has had an injury-plagued basketball career, but when she’s healthy she is a force. Wisconsin’s Courtney Fredrickson (Minnetonka) isn’t a freshman but she had 11 points and 10 rebounds in the game. #3 Megan Walstad, F, Milwaukee (Eastview) Megan Walstad finished her high school career in March by winning a state championship with Eastview. Her college career is off to a pretty good start, too. The freshman forward for the Milwaukee Panthers played 19 minutes in their D1 opener, a tough 68-66 loss to Indiana. She had 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting plus 7 rebounds. That was two points better than her teammate Lizzie Odegard who is a junior from Minnetonka. #4 Ayoka Lee, C, Kansas State (Byron) Ayoka Lee of Bryon has yet to suit up for Kansas State. The 6’6 center is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last spring in the high school tournament. She could return this season or she may end up being red-shirted. Chrissie Carr, who is sort of from Minnesota, scored 27 in her collegiate debut against D2 Pittsburg State. The former Eden Prairie and Minnetonka star was the #1 player in the Minnesota rankings at one point before relocating to Kansas where her dad Chris Carr is an assistant coach at K-State. [caption id="attachment_17419" align="alignnone" width="300"] Morgan Hill of Minneapolis made her debut for Tennessee-Chattanooga against #4 Louisville. (Photo courtesy of Chatanooga Times Free Press)[/caption] #5 Morgan Hill, W, Tennessee-Chattanooga (Mpls South) Talking about starting at the top! Morgan Hill made her college debut for UT-Chattanooga against Asia Durr and the #4 Louisville Cardinals. Durr is projected as the #1 pick in next year’s WNBA draft and Louisville is loaded. Hill, the silky smooth wing from Minneapolis, played 13 minutes in the loss, scoring 4 points. #6 Emma Grothaus, F, Lehigh (Mahtomedi) Emma Grothaus is part of a trainload of Minnesota players who are already playing at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., or are headed there soon. The Mountain Hawks opened with an 88-62 win over Monmouth in which Grothaus played 21 minutes. She shot 3 for 8, scored 6 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Point guard Hannah Hedstrom of Minnetonka, who is a senior at Lehigh, had 5 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the game. Forward Mariah Sexe of East Ridge played 14 mins and made 7 of 8 free throws. #7 Monika Czinano, C, Iowa (Watertown-Mayer) Monika Czinano of Watertown-Mayer made a statement in her first game, a 102-54 pasting of NAIA squad Dakota Wesleyan. Czinano played 22 minutes, shot 8 for 14 for 16 points, and pulled down 5 rebounds. Against Oral Roberts she wasn’t quite as dominant as Iowa went with a more veteran lineup, but Monika is off to a great start. #8 Heaven Hamling, PG, Stephen F. Austin (Grand Rapids) Heaven Hamling of Grand Rapids made her college debut in the preseason WNIT tournament, an 81-60 loss to #25 Miami. Heaven was her usual scoring self, accumulating 15 points. Hamling was first off the bench, played 21 minutes, shot 3 for 7 from three-point range and made 4 of 4 at the free throw line. Hamling made herself an instant fan favorite in Nacogdoches, Texas by making 11 of 15 three-pointers at the Jack Madness event to kick off the season. #9 Megan Walker, G, Lehigh (Minnetonka) Megan Walker of Minnetonka is another of Lehigh’s Minnesota imports. The scrappy guard was on the floor just 11 minutes in her collegiate debut and scored 3 points. She’ll be joined at Lehigh next year by Frannie Hottinger of Cretin-Derham Hall and Anna Harvey of Lakeville South. Another big-name Minnesota talent is expected to make a commitment there in the near future. #10 Krystal Carlson, F, Sioux Falls (Hastings) Krystal Carlson is easing her way into action for the University of Sioux Falls, which is the pre-season favorite in the D2 Northern Sun Conference. The smooth forward from Hastings is averaging just under 9 minutes of action so far. Her teammate, Kiara James of Lakeville North, hasn’t played a lot but has certainly been efficient. In the opener, James played only 6 minutes but made 3 of 5 shots for 6 points and added a pair of rebounds. [caption id="attachment_17420" align="alignnone" width="300"] Kylie Post of Maranatha is off to a hot start at D2 Minnesota-Crookston.[/caption] One more for the road I’m sure there are plenty of other Minnesotans whose college careers are off to a great start but we can’t go through every box score. If you know of one, please add the details in a comment below. One we do know of, however, was turned in by Kylie Post (Maranantha) at D2 Minnesota-Crookston. In an exhibition game against D1 North Dakota, which includes her former Maranatha teammates junior Alaina Jarnot and freshman Jaclyn Jarnot, Post started, played 30 minutes, shot 3 of 6 for 10 points and added 4 rebounds. In the Eagles’ next two games she averaged 33 minutes and 15.5 points per game. Her teammate Mary Burke of Mountain-Iron Buhl, the #15 player in the class of 2018, is averaging 23 minutes off the bench. Top photo: Sam Haiby of Moorhead (Photo courtesy of University of Nebraska)