AAU recap: Best of the Battle For Mom, part 2

Every year it takes us a good while to work our way through the rather lengthy list of teams that compete in the 8th grade divisions at the various AAU tournaments. Although we try and see as many of the incoming freshmen as possible, there is definitely a pecking order and it can be some time before we get through the elite squads and onto the smaller independent teams as well as the secondary units from the bigger clubs. We had the opportunity to do that first thing Sunday morning in Bloomington when we saw Crossfire 2024 Pearson for the first time. There we discovered guard [player_tooltip player_id="191923" first="Estelle" last="Atkinson"], who leads our list today of the Best of the Battle for Mom, part 2. We had been tipped off about Atkinson earlier in the week so we made sure to get the Pearson team on our weekend schedule. This group is coached by Bethel University’s Makenna Pearson, an incoming senior who played high school basketball at Blaine. Best we can tell, this unit is likely third in the 2024 pecking order at Crossfire – the club which may have surpassed the Minnesota Stars as the largest AAU organization in the state – behind the Robertson squad representing the northwestern part of the Twin Cities and the Corley team from the South Metro. Both of those teams include significant prospects in the 2024 class, and we’re told that Atkinson was the last player cut from the Robertson squad. Watching her on Sunday we’ll have to assume that Estelle has improved a ton in recent weeks because she looked like she would fit in nicely a little higher up the ladder. She is definitely the top prospect on this team. Although Coach Pearson doled out the minutes on a relatively equitable basis, if I was coaching Estelle would most likely never leave the floor. Listed at 5’9, with a large wingspan, Atkinson is plenty long. She is fast and athletic and has light feet. Those are attributes we always look for in a prospect, of course, and they serve her well. We have learned that mom stands nearly 6 feet tall and was a state high school hurdles champion in Iowa. When it comes to evaluating basketball prospects there is no question that familial DNA matters. Atkinson does a nice job of using that length on defense. Although she has a lot to learn in the technique department, Estelle is a determined defender who is very good at getting a hand in the lane, anticipating the pass and executing the tip or steal. She’s got nice handles, quality shooting mechanics and a scorer’s touch. At the Summer Eclipse two weeks ago Atkinson was the second-leading point producer in her division. At the Battle for Mom she put up 47 points in three games to lead her division by four points over Meghan Pryzbilla of Minnesota Heat 2024 Pratt. Estelle still has a long ways to go in her development, both physically and skill-wise. Like most incoming freshmen she needs to get a lot stronger and we would like her to be more physical, as well. Having now seen a good portion of the 2024 prospects, however, it is clear that Atkinson deserves consideration for the 2024 rankings when we sort out this class for the first time in the fall. Sister Act 2 Basketball runs in families. It’s not at all unusual to see the same sets of parents popping up on the sidelines watching multiple teams over the course of an AAU weekend. When one prominent sister makes a name for herself in girls basketball, it’s quite common to see a little sister or two follow in their footsteps. In part one of this recap we mentioned incoming freshman [player_tooltip player_id="178266" first="Angel" last="Hill"] of Minneapolis South, who is one of the top prospects in her class and latest in a long line of talented Hills that includes Tayler, Morgan and Jade. We have also been watching a prominent pair of sisters from Becker a lot lately – [player_tooltip player_id="109774" first="Courtney" last="Nuest"] and her younger sister [player_tooltip player_id="108338" first="Dani" last="Nuest"] – and now we’re paying attention to Stillwater’s [player_tooltip player_id="148318" first="Lexi" last="Karlen"], who is following in the footsteps of the just-graduated [player_tooltip player_id="28784" first="Liza" last="Karlen"] of Marquette University. This weekend we also saw some familiar faces on the roster of Fury 2024 Yellow which features prospects Aubrey Heyer and Allie Guyer. Aubrey, as you might guess, is the younger sibling of [player_tooltip player_id="12714" first="Mallory" last="Heyer"], the uber-talented Chaska forward who is the target of multiple high-major college programs and a top 5 prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2022. Allie is the younger sister of Centennial forward [player_tooltip player_id="29521" first="Jenna" last="Guyer"] of North Tartan 2021 EYBL, a top 25 player among Minnesota seniors who has committed to the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay. Comparing the younger sisters to the older sisters is admittedly unfair, especially when the elder Heyer and the elder Guyer are both such accomplished players. But, hey, it’s what we do! Allie is not nearly as big as Jenna, who tops the 6’2 mark. Although she has a similar frame, which is definitely of the bigger variety, Allie is well under 6 feet and is more suited to playing as a small forward or big guard. Like Jenna she is an intense competitor, particularly on defense. Truth be told Allie is probably farther along in the development cycle than Jenna was at the same age and we’re excited about what might be possible. The facial resemblance between the Heyer girls is quite obvious; The similarities of their games not quite so much. Mallory is a power forward with a big frame and an overpowering presence. Aubrey is more lean and plenty long. Many of her skills are similar, though. She can handle the basketball, gets up and down the floor at pace, and has a quick first step – especially when she’s facing a defender one-on-one within 15 feet of the basket. Aubrey has nice mechanics and a quick release and can knock down pretty-looking threes. She also scored on a sweet floater when we were watching. It’s too soon to tell just how high their ceilings are but there is no doubt that the latest Heyer and the newest Guyer will be prospects to watch among the 2024s. Turning up the Heat Just a month into the action, it looks like this will be a shorter AAU season than most. It isn’t too late, however, for teams to make a solid roster addition or two who just might be a difference maker next week at the Minnesota AAU state tournament. Minnesota Heat Vang did just that last week when the team added Rochester Mayo point guard Mullk Hammadelniel to its lineup. It is a move that injects a healthy dose of athleticism into the Heat, a team whose lineup includes Hopkins guard [player_tooltip player_id="57136" first="Audrey" last="Ensminger"], Andover forward [player_tooltip player_id="146174" first="Annie" last="Feine"] and South St. Paul guard [player_tooltip player_id="109812" first="Brynn" last="Bauer"]. Mullk is a 5’6 combo guard who has pretty much all of the assets small guards need to have: quick feet, plenty of range, the ability to create her own shot, a nice floater and no fear. She is an excellent distributor with good court vision who makes all of her teammates better. She has a nice mid-range game but really excels from three-point range as was amply demonstrated with her 6-for-11 performance this winter against Northfield. Hammadelniel finished with 22 points in that game, a season high during a year in which she averaged just under 10 points per game for the Spartans. She scored a dozen in a section encounter with mighty Farmington, which is saying something. Bottom line: Mullk is a veteran floor leader who brings a lot to the table for the Heat. Top photo: Orono’s [player_tooltip player_id="191923" first="Estelle" last="Atkinson"] is the leading scorer for Crossfire 2024 Pearson.