Nate’s Sunday Standouts from Bloomington Jefferson

<strong>BLOOMINGTON--</strong><strong> </strong>Day 2 in Bloomington was 7 hours of basketball versus the 14 hours of basketball on Saturday, in which I loved every minute of it wherever I was at both Bloomington Kennedy and Jefferson all weekend. These are the names of those that caught my eye late morning thru early evening at Bloomington Jefferson, home of newly ranked crafty outside shooter [player_tooltip player_id="147467" first="Emily" last="Roach"]. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="148338" first="Grace" last="Counts"], MN Metro Stars Ruffin/Providence Academy (2023)</strong> In two games I watched out of [player_tooltip player_id="148338" first="Grace" last="Counts"] she was an outstanding board gobbler for MN Metro Stars Ruffin 2023. She also showed off an unexpected mid-range game that I hadn’t seen when I watched her at St. Michael-Albertville during sectional play last season. From a development standpoint as a 6’0 forward, Counts needs to work on her stamina as you could tell late in their game against Crossfire that her mobility in the post was not what I saw in the early morning game. <strong>Ava Haus, Minnesota Hustle/St. Michael-Albertville (2024)</strong> Are you surprised to see another young prospect from the STMA Knights on our list? I can’t say that I am at all! Haus, as just a freshman has already an outstanding build and is a very long prospect who will be a great asset to Kent Hamre’s program in the coming years at St. Michael-Albertville. Has a consistent outside shot and has the strong will to drive to the bucket on any player regardless of size with one goal in mind. She had my favorite "and one" from Saturday, when she drove to the bucket, got fouled extremely hard and still put the basket in the hoop like it was a walk in the park. Look for her name to blossom for the Knights over the coming years at St. Michael-Albertville. <strong>Kari Matejka, Minnesota Nice Brook-Bryant/Martin County West (2023)</strong> Matejka was almost a prospect I could have missed on early Sunday afternoon due to the lack of caffeine I didn’t have on Sunday. Matejka showed herself off as a terrific outside shooter and made it almost look too easy in their defeat of TC Takeover on Sunday afternoon. After her 21 point performance, I found out that Matejka gets limited varsity minutes for the Mavericks of Martin County West out of little Sherburn, Minnesota located on I-90 right in between Fairmont and Jackson which should look to change in the coming season. She needs to develop as a prospect defensively as far as being physical, as at times it seemed she didn’t want to provide that lockdown defense us scouts love to see. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="186135" first="Braziel" last="Fairbanks"], MN Metro Stars Ruffin/Edina (2023)</strong> Fairbanks, a 5’5 guard from the Edina Hornets showed off her natural outside shooting ability on Sunday afternoon in the big gym at Bloomington Jefferson. Fairbanks was one of a few driving forces that tried so hard to keep Rudy Ruffin’s bunch in the game in the second half. Unfortunately, they came out with a loss, but Fairbanks is a nice prospect that could help the struggling Hornets compete better in the Lake Conference. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="148332" first="Ashley" last="Burchette"], Minnesota Stars Turner/Bloomington Kennedy (2023)</strong> Burchette is a prospect I got a glimpse of earlier during high school season in the MLK Shootout at Augsburg this winter. In both her games on Sunday she was a fine scorer, but also can be credited as a strong playmaker. Her passing ability and her strength of seeing the floor is what stood out to me in the Stars win over Minnesota Impact as she made some clutch, hard passes that turned a low percentage pass into a score at the basket. Kennedy is a program that is rebuilding but has some young talent such as [player_tooltip player_id="148332" first="Ashley" last="Burchette"], that could blossom into a nice prospect in the comings year. <strong>Anna Rynkiewich, Minnesota Stars Turner/St. Paul Central (2023</strong>) Rynkiewich is a prospect that has used her late-season splurge during the high school season to put together an impressive start to her AAU season in her game against Minnesota Impact on Sunday. The 5’8 guard played with a chip on her shoulder late Sunday afternoon and with her and Burchette’s efforts, wore down a less athletic Minnesota Impact team. She was the definition of a workhorse getting to the basket with her strong poise to score. A prospect that could be one to watch in the Class of 2023 in the St. Paul City Conference if she keeps this momentum going into midsummer for Minnesota Stars Turner. <strong>DOUBLE DAY STANDOUT</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="148341" first="Sammi" last="Chandler"], Minnesota Stars/Red Wing (2023)</strong> Watching Sammi in the last game of day one on Saturday got her a nod on my standout list for Saturday but then in the first game of Sunday morning games I witnessed, she decided to impress Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota for a second time within 12 hours. Most importantly her ability to create turnovers against a strong Metro Star Ruffin team kept me on the edge of my seat and although a defeat, she proved that this summer could be a stock rising summer for her on the AAU circuit. &nbsp; &nbsp;