Top 250 Expo: Top 2021 Defenders

There was a lot of talent in the building for the Minnesota Top 250 and with over 190 players it was tough to stand out. However, there were quite a few players in the 2021 class who shot the ball very well. Below I take a look at the five players who I saw shoot the ball the best. Next up we will take a look at the top scorers that I saw at the event. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57078" first="Nora" last="Francois"] - 6’ F - Minnetonka HS</strong> I have watched Francois in the past and have thought that she was a solid defender when she wanted to defend. At the Expo, I thought that she stepped it up a level and showed me that when she wants to defend the ball at a high level she can. She was poking the ball away and she was also blocking shots very well. Francois has good anticipation skills and was able to lock her man down for most of the day at the Expo. <img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-209191" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/132_Nora-Francois_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109780" first="Lucia" last="Hauge"] - 6’ F - St. Croix Lutheran Academy HS</strong> Hauge is a solid body on the inside and stood her ground well at the Expo. She was able to defend out on the wing well and showed some versatility on the defensive end of the floor. Hauge showed a lot of basketball IQ at the event as she was able to help her teammates on the defensive end and at times was a great communicator on that end as well. <img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-209201" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/145_Lucia-Hauge_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Delaney" last="Hoke"] - 6’1 F - Eagan HS</strong> Hoke is a long and lengthy forward who has the ability to be in the paint and swat shots. She was able to thwart most players away from getting inside the lane and scoring because she was moving so well on the inside. She did a very good job of defending the ball without fouling and for a player on the inside that is huge. Hoke is a player who plays well on both ends but really stood out defensively at the Expo. <img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-209230" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/152_Delaney-Hoke_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="2098" first="Katie" last="Borowicz"] - 5’7 PG - Roseau HS</strong> Borowicz was one of the top performers at the event as we have detailed and one of the best parts of her game was her defense. She is able to reach in and pickpocket her man without fouling and that led to a lot of very easy baskets for her on the other end. Borowicz is a player who you can tell wants to defend better than anyone on the floor. She is likely one of the top defenders in the state and has no problem stealing the ball. <img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-208579" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/24_Katie-Borowicz_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> <strong>Bianca Benson - 5’4 PG - Totino-Grace HS</strong> Benson is a quick point guard who is solid on the offensive end but at the Expo, I thought her defensive prowess really stood out. She has fast hands that allow her to poke the ball away and she is willing to dive on the floor for any 50-50 ball. Besides forcing turnovers I thought that throughout the entire day she made life tough on whoever she was tasked with defending. <img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-209105" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/3_Bianca-Benson_1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> Photo above: [player_tooltip player_id="57078" first="Nora" last="Francois"] handles the ball