Fall Exclusive Week 1: Seeing familiar faces in a new light

You can learn a lot about a player by watching her in a different setting than usual. That was certainly the case Friday night at Bloomington Kennedy as the Minnesota Fall Exclusive presented by Prep Girls Hoops and Jr All Star made its debut. Unlike the high-stakes intensity of high school basketball or AAU competition, this new fall league is basically an exhibition – a throwback to the days of pickup ball, which is something girls rarely have the opportunity participate in. The pace was high as was the compete level, and there was plenty of talent on hand as nearly 160 players in grades 6 through 12 suited up for 18 teams in three divisions. Here are some of the standouts who took advantage of the opportunity to show what they could do in a different environment than usual. Kimori Morris – 2022, Irondale (Liberty) We first watched Kimori at the Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Expo in 2019 where she made it rather obvious that she is super quick, loves to push the pace and plays with passion. We didn’t get to see her last winter at Irondale where she was a top-6 player on a team that struggled to find the win column. We watched Morris several times this summer with Start Strong AAU, both in the Twin Cities and down in Iowa. We liked her improvement then but what we witnessed on Friday night from the 5’2 guard was even more exciting. In the time that we watched, it appeared that Kimori was able to raise her game to the level of the elite prospects around her, including the very talented [player_tooltip player_id="57914" first="Ronnie" last="Porter"] of St. Paul Como Park whose size, stature and style of play are very similar. The Liberty lineup also includes quality guards like [player_tooltip player_id="108328" first="Priyanka" last="Satish"] (Eden Prairie), [player_tooltip player_id="148335" first="Camryn" last="Smith"] (Spring Lake Park) and [player_tooltip player_id="57908" first="Kaylynn" last="Asberry"] (Como Park), and Morris looked right at home. The Liberty beat the Mystics 56-50 in their opening game before falling to the Sky in the nightcap. [player_tooltip player_id="147455" first="Alyssa" last="Stamer"] – 2022, Hutchinson (Sun) Our reaction to seeing Alyssa in a new setting was similar to how we felt about Morris. We have watched Stamer in the tight defensive schemes used in Hutchinson and we have watched her play for the Minnesota Rise in AAU. On Friday, she suited up alongside some elite talent including [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] of St. Michael-Albertville, the number 1 freshman in the state, and her speedy STMA teammate [player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"]. After a brief period of adjustment, the 5’7 guard looked right at home on a team that includes the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="108323" first="Ashley" last="Fritz"] (Eden Prairie), [player_tooltip player_id="109145" first="Hannah" last="Herzig"] (Centennial) and [player_tooltip player_id="108336" first="Audrey" last="Kormann"] (Maple Grove). Stamer is sneaky good. She’s a great ball handler, a quality shooter with plenty of range, and she’s not afraid to take it to the hoop, either. Alyssa is also a walking hustle play which is a nice item to have on your resume if you desire to play college basketball. Alyssa already has a spot in the PGH Top 150 but she is a player trending in the right direction. [player_tooltip player_id="178413" first="Haley" last="Hawkinson"] – 2021, Hibbing (Sky) Like Stamer we have seen Hawkinson play in high school and we watched her this summer with the Wisconsin Playmakers. The 5’8 senior from Hibbing consistently puts up good numbers, including a 31-point game against Princeton and 32 vs Chisago Lakes in section play last spring. What we saw up close and personal at the Fall Exclusive on Friday was a player who appeared to be more versatile and more athletic than we have been giving her credit for. Hawkinson did some nice stuff at both ends of the floor. She has super long arms which she utilizes well defensively. She gets up and down the court in a hurry, has a nice overall skill set and plays the game with intensity. She entered the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2021 rankings in June and is hovering right around the 100 mark. Hawkinson was impressive enough Friday to get a scholarship offer immediately following the game. Exposure matters and Haley made the most of her opportunity. [player_tooltip player_id="109800" first="Amaya" last="Doree"] – 2021, Champlin Park (Fever) The 5’7 senior guard does so many things well on a fairly consistent basis. Then every once in a while Amaya cranks it up a notch or three and looks like she is going to set the world on fire. Last fall at the Check Me Out Showcase in Minneapolis Doree had one of those weekends where she lit it up and turned a lot of heads. In high school, playing on a team with a very balanced attack, Amaya averaged 7 points per game, including an impressive 15-point performance against Eden Prairie. It is the little things that will get her to the next level, though. She is plenty quick with nice speed in the open court as well as the ability to play fast and think fast. She works hard and is driven to get better, meaning that her best basketball is going to come in the future. Doree is ranked #115 in the class of 2021. On Friday night she showed us a much higher ceiling as her Fever squad went 2-0 with wins over the Sun and Mystics. [player_tooltip player_id="205310" first="Tori" last="Oehrlein"] – 2026, Crosby-Ironton (UCONN) We have watched Tori all summer playing two years up for Suns 2024 Blue Star and, like pretty much everyone who watches Oehrlein play, have been very impressed. The 7th grader is so smooth, with superb skills and the ability to think the game at a level that is way beyond her years. We thought it would be interesting to see what Tori would do against players closer to her own age at the Fall Experience. It didn’t take long to find out. Despite suffering a groin injury in her opening game Friday night, Oehrlein came back in the second game to demonstrate clearly that she is the real deal. Although there were no official stats recorded, Tori scored well over 40 points in the running-time game. Tori will be at a showcase event in Texas next weekend but when she comes back in two weeks I suspect you’ll find her playing with the older girls which is where she clearly belongs. 5 MORE STANDOUTS [player_tooltip player_id="57917" first="Ally" last="Schultz"] – The 6’0 guard from Lakeville South (Sky) is no stranger to the limelight and Friday was par for the course as the top 20 junior knocked down 5 three-point baskets and scored 19 points in the Sky’s opener. [player_tooltip player_id="108345" first="Brynn" last="Senden"] – The 5’6 guard from Wayzata (Sky) can flat out handle the basketball. She is a top 40 prospect in the class of 2023, a strong defender with a warrior’s mentality and a compete level that is off the charts. [player_tooltip player_id="205281" first="Paige" last="Ford"] – After watching her on the tryout circuit, Friday was the first time we have seen the 5’9 freshman guard from Randolph (Dream) in game action and we were impressed. She is athletic and aggressive and has a shooter’s touch as her 11 ppg high school average will attest. [player_tooltip player_id="186135" first="Braziel" last="Fairbanks"] – The 5’6 guard from Edina (Mercury) is very quick and very athletic and she put both of those attributes to good use on opening night. The top 100 sophomore was very assertive and played with increased confidence which is always great to see. Bella Sutch – The 5’11 freshman from Spring Lake Park (Storm) is big and strong and skilled. She can play multiple positions and goes hard all the time. The Storm also had nice contributions from Gabby Betton (Lakeville North) and [player_tooltip player_id="178273" first="Taylor" last="Tool"] (Delano.) Top photo: Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="205281" first="Paige" last="Ford"] of Randolph was among the players who stood out Friday.