Top 250 Expo Report: Small school kids with big aspirations

“If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around to hear it does it still make a sound?” That philosophical dilemma has been debated for generations. Its basketball equivalent might go something like this: “If Sally Smith puts up 30 points a game in Smallville and college coaches aren't around to see it, does she still get a scholarship?” No offense to all of the great athletes who ply their trade in Class A and AA but Sally’s odds are enhanced exponentially if she takes her show on the road. There are some excellent small-school prospects and dozens of them in Minnesota are taking the necessary steps to demonstrate their abilities for college coaches. On Saturday we saw a significant number of them opt to attend the Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Expo in Burnsville, which will no doubt turn out to be a sound business decision on their part. Case in point: the 5 athletes described herein who hail from Dover-Eyota, Cleveland, Lake Crystal, the Marshall School of Duluth and Blooming Prairie. Players are listed in alphabetical order by last name. <strong>Olivia Harazin, 5’7 guard, 2023, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial</strong> Olivia is a dynamic combo guard who has impressed us since we first saw her playing up in AAU for Minnesota Nice in 2018. Since then she’s has grown a lot and her game has matured, too. She handles the ball well and moves it effectively on offense. Harazin can score in multiple ways. She attacks the basket assertively and can bomb it from long distance. She has also become rather adept at running an offense while doing a much better job of securing the basketball. Last year Olivia played a major role in LCWM’s 20+ win season during which she made 49 threes and averaged 10 and 5. We’re expecting more of the same from this highly skilled prospect. <strong>Kylie Lacey, 5’11, forward, 2021, Dover-Eyota</strong> Kylie has been a consistent scorer for the Eagles since entering high school basketball as an 8th grader. Last year she put up 14 points per game. Buckets are obviously important but Lacey brings so much more to the table than just her ability to score. She is definitely versatile, playing three different positions at Dover-Eyota and in AAU for Minnesota Nice. She can handle the ball with either hand, can score off the dribble, shoots well from beyond the arc and has some quality post moves. Kylie is also a strong defender and consistent rebounder. Perhaps Lacey’s biggest asset, though, is her mental toughness. We’re told she is a total team player and is very, very coachable. That’s a nice package. <strong>Megan Oswald, 5’9 forward, 2021, Blooming Prairie</strong> Oswald is listed at 5’9 and that sounds about right. The thing is Megan plays way bigger than that. Oswald has one of the biggest motors we have seen in the 2021 class. She rebounds as hard as anyone and will simply not give up on the basketball. Although she doesn’t quite have the length or  athleticism of 2019 graduate Frannie Hottinger (Lehigh), her relentlessness on the boards is so similar. Not surprisingly Megan also has a focused commitment to defense. She is physical, strong and has no qualms about doing the dirty work that wins basketball games. Oswald also happens to be Blooming Prairie’s best scorer and leads her team in rebounding, steals and field goal percentage. We should also note her 4.0 GPA. Oswald is working on getting quicker which will definitely raise her stock in the eyes of recruiters. <strong>Dasia Starks, 5’10 guard/forward, 2022, Duluth Marshall</strong> When you talk about the Hilltoppers the conversation seems to be all Grace Kirk/Gianna Kneepkens all the time. The praise they receive as two of the top players in the state is well deserved, but Duluth Marshall has other quality athletes, as well. We saw one of them do nice work at the Top 250. Dasia Starks is big and strong. She is a quality defender but is also offensively gifted. Dasia scores a ton in transition,  is a nice passer and can deliver in multiple roles. At Marshall she plays the 1 through 4 spots and makes everyone around her better. Dasia can guard bigger players inside or small, quick opponents on the perimeter. Starks averaged 8 points and 8 rebounds per game last season. Look for Dasia to pump those numbers up as her game evolves. <strong>Macey Ziebarth, 5’6 guard, 2021, Cleveland</strong> The PGH Top 250 Expo is the perfect outlet for an athlete like Macey Ziebarth. She’s from Cleveland High School, which has a total enrollment of about 150. Located 17 miles Northeast of Mankato, the town of Cleveland has a population of 717. For perspective, that’s about same number of individuals you’ll find in a single high school grade at Wayzata, Minnetonka or Eden Prairie. At the Expo, however, Ziebarth had the exactly the same opportunity to showcase her skills as the Trojans, Skippers and Eagles. What she demonstrated was some nice ball handling, quality facilitation and the ability to score the basketball. She’s not the biggest player around but Macey is crafty enough to hold her own against more sizeable opponents. She definitely made a case that to be included in our ranking of the top 150 juniors in Minnesota. Ziebarth is working on improving her quickness and foot speed to prepare for college. <span style="font-size: 10pt"><em>Top photo: Pierre Ellis' Minnesota Nice AAU program was well represented at the PGH Top 250 Expo. Among the club's small-school participants were (left to right) Brittney Draeger of Waseca, Lexi Cloyd of Lake Crystal, Macey Ziebarth of Cleveland, Olivia Harazin of Lake Crystal and Kylie Lacey of Dover Eyota. That's PIerre in the background.</em></span>