10 Best: Nate’s Tournament Weekend
In three days, I watched 8 basketball games, 16 different teams, at 3 different venues (St. Cloud Tech, Monticello, and Park Center) There was a lot of excellent play in all of those games and I wanted to debut my…
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Continue ReadingIn three days, I watched 8 basketball games, 16 different teams, at 3 different venues (St. Cloud Tech, Monticello, and Park Center) There was a lot of excellent play in all of those games and I wanted to debut my 10 best from this great holiday tournament weekend in Minnesota basketball as we close out the year.
MVP:
Paige Bueckers
Paige
Bueckers
5'11" | CG
Hopkins | 2020
State
MN
(Hopkins)
It shouldn’t be anyone’s surprise that Bueckers won the MVP from her all-around great play against the 3rd ranked Park Center team in 6A. 30 points, a huge amount of team points of assists and steals put Bueckers at MVP as Hopkins won the match against Park Center in their gymnasium at the Park Center Holiday Showcase.
Best Milestones: Kaylee Van Eps Kaylee Van Eps 5'11" | SF Chaska | 2021 State MN and Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN (Chaska)
These two’s milestone of joining the Chaska Hawks 1000 point club happened within minutes of each other and was one of the best things I saw all weekend. The fact that they both played lights out against Lakeville North and came out with a 20 point win makes the Chaska Hawks a probable state contender, not just this year, but years to come.
Best Team Points Player: Izzy Quick Izzy Quick 5'10" | PG Champlin Park | 2020 State MN (Champlin Park)
Quick was at the top of the list as far as the team points category (assists, blocks, steals). This 5’9 guard plays extremely hard-nosed and is not afraid of her competition regardless of size and stature. If you are looking for a guard with toughness, Quick is still one of Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota’s top 15 unsigned seniors that could benefit a Division II or Division III program near you.
Best Comeback: St. Louis Park Orioles
In a game that started earlier that the Hub told us, I was only able to watch half of the 1st half of this one but saw the near comeback the Orioles got in the 2nd half. With a 17 point deficit at the half, I had the gut feeling that it would be one of those games that could turn into a 30 point lead real quick. That was not at all so, as the St. Louis Park Orioles led by Jordyn Turek Jordyn Turek 5'9" | PG St. Louis Park | 2020 MN , Raegan Alexander Raegan Alexander 5'11" | PF St. Louis Park | 2021 State MN , and Shayla Miller Shayla Miller 5'10" | SF St. Louis Park | 2020 State MN got back in it and got the lead 50-49 towards the middle of the 2nd half. This game would have many lead changes between the Orioles and the Eagles, in which the Eagles would be victorious, but head coach Arsenio Richardson has to be proud of the way his girls battled in the 2nd half to almost winning it.
Runner Up: St. Cloud Tech Tigers
Basketball tournaments are a lot like fishing, you need to find the spot to find the fish and it make take you a few spots. Tournaments you usually need to watch a few games to find the good one. That wasn’t the case in St. Cloud on Thursday night when Annandale battled the feisty St. Cloud Tech Tigers. In a half that was led by Annandale by a good-sized margin, St. Cloud Tech went into halftime trailing by quite a bit to come back from, then the 2nd half happened. The play of Genaya Murray, Rachael Kaczor and the hot three-point stroke of 5’2 guard Sarah Harris was the main reason the Tigers got the game within 4 points almost had Annandale in their tracks. They may be a 2-8 team, but their effort will be watched this season as a high note.
Best Under the Radar Player: Lauren Bjurman Lauren Bjurman 5'11" | CG Princeton | 2020 State MN (Princeton)
Bjurman may have upped her stock a bit after her 22 point game against one of the best teams in the Northwoods region, the Proctor Rails. Bjurman is a forward that plays very elusive down low. She’s not your typical forward that crashes boards like crazy, but her shiftiness in the paint will make even a more sturdy defender lose sight of her real quick.
Runner Up: Liz Frase Liz Frase 5'11" | PF Proctor | 2020 State MN (Proctor)
Frase is a player that is not in our 2020 rankings currently, but if she keeps up her game as she had at the Monticello Invitational, she’ll be on that list for sure. She is averaging just under 12 points per game and shooting 47% from the field and 50% from three in ten games. Her ability to shoot consistently from mid-range makes her a great 2nd punch to this Rail’s offense as we saw in their victory against Princeton. Also can dribble-drive with a mission of getting to the bucket. Frase would be a solid Division II or III product, as she is still is an unsigned 2020 prospect from a Rails program that already has three signees in Katelyn Marunich Katelyn Marunich 6'2" | C Proctor | 2020 State MN (SMSU), Sam Pogatchnik Sam Pogatchnik 5'9" | CG Proctor | 2020 State MN (Bemidji State) and Sam Parendo Sam Parendo 5'9" | CG Proctor | 2020 State MN (Wisconsin-Superior) in the 2020 class.
Best Game Performance: Adalia McKenzie Adalia McKenzie 5'10" | CG Park Center | 2021 State #39 Nation MN (Park Center)
I’ve never seen a true game takeover this year until I watched McKenzie play Hopkins on Saturday night. Her 42 points weren’t enough to lead the Pirates to victory, but oh boy is she a playmaker that is quick, drives the bucket like nothings in front of her and can shoot from darn near anywhere on the floor. If you are in the 763 or anywhere in the Twin Cities and want to watch a superstar in the making, go to the border of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center to watch Adalia McKenzie Adalia McKenzie 5'10" | CG Park Center | 2021 State #39 Nation MN play, you won’t be disappointed.
Best 8th Grader: Emma Dasovich (Minnetonka)
Dasovich proved again why she is going to be a dominant figure in our class of 2024. The 6’1 forward ran the floor extremely well against Champlin Park and had 16 points to show for it. She has the size to be an elusive rebounder too, as I look to continue watching for the “Tonka Towers” of Dasovich and Haydon for the next two years.
Best Under Pressure Player: Myra Moorjani Myra Moorjani 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN (Eden Prairie)
Not to reference the song “Under Pressure” by Queen, but Myra Moorjani Myra Moorjani 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN held in the victory for Eden Prairie with St. Louis Park so close to victory they could almost have it. Her ability to maintain possession even with getting swarmed by Orioles defenders with a few seconds left on the clock and to make key free throws to with the game for the Eagles gives her my “best under pressure” award.
Best Freshmen Guards: Kennedy Sanders Kennedy Sanders 5'8" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN and Ashley Schuelke Ashley Schuelke 5'10" | SF Chaska | 2023 State MN (Chaska)
Sanders and Schuelke were the best young guards I watched this weekend. Sanders struck me for two reasons, her ability to rebound efficiently as a 5’8 guard was exceptional as well as her drives to the bucket, getting contact and making the key free throws. Schuelke has a deep shot and mid-range shot that’s definitely worth watching especially when you know she’s got three more years to develop it even more.
Best Senior Duo: Lauren Jensen Lauren Jensen 5'10" | CG Lakeville North | 2020 State MN and Sarah Kuma Sarah Kuma 5'7" | CG Lakeville North | 2020 State MN (Lakeville North)
This duo was very good at bouncing off of each other. The game started with Kuma leading the charge with Jensen struggling from deep. Then Lauren Jensen Lauren Jensen 5'10" | CG Lakeville North | 2020 State MN started hitting her deep ball and Kuma was already in full swing of playing exceptionally well in this one. They were my favorite senior guard combo to watch as they piled up 47 of Lakeville North’s 65 total points. Those two will be a tough replacement at both guard positions next year for the Panthers.