Five underclassmen to watch in the A and AAAA semis
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It can be hard when you’re a talented underclassman trying to prove your rank on the basketball court. For the bigger stacked teams, you may have to get in where you fit in or wait your turn to be the…
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Continue ReadingIt can be hard when you’re a talented underclassman trying to prove your rank on the basketball court. For the bigger stacked teams, you may have to get in where you fit in or wait your turn to be the super star. On the smaller teams, you could be responsible as a freshman to put up big numbers on a constant basis. These five have been solid all season, so look for them to take over games and make big contributions to their teams.
Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN – freshman combo guard, Hopkins
The 5’8 freshman will play up-in-your-face defense and pressure you to either pass the ball or turn it over. She comes off the bench and plays a lot, in Hopkins’ usual 6-man rotation. She’s the third-leading scorer on Hopkins and can score in many ways. Liv is really good at using her speed to get around her defender and create the and-1 or she can splash the three in your face. This year in the regular season she averaged 12.6 points, in sections 9.5 and in the first state game knocked down 10.
Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN – freshman point guard, Mountain Iron-Buhl
The 5’11 freshman is the leading scorer on MIB and has led her team to a 19-4 season so far. She’s young but can shoot the ball really well and has range. She is in the top 10 for three pointers made in the state, so beware of her knocking them down from beyond the arc. She averaged 17.2 points on the regular season but went off during sections and averaged 23.3 across three games. She wasn’t quite so productive in the quarterfinals but I don’t see Jordan having back-to-back games in single digits.
Sage Ganyo – sophomore guard, Mountain Iron-Buhl
Ganyo is the other guard from Mountain Iron-Buhl who also leads this team in many ways. Along with Zubich she also puts up big numbers. She only 5’5 but has a strong body to attack the hoop and also has a nice floater down the lane. Ganyo has scored 378 points this season putting her at an average of 17.2, as well. During sections she scored a total of 40 points across the three games. She didn’t produce quite as much in the quarterfinals game putting up 8 against a tough zone defense but look for her to start the semifinal game off aggressive.
Nicole O’Neil Nicole O’Neil 5'10" | SG Rosemount | 2023 State MN – sophomore guard, Rosemount
The 5’10 sophomore forward/guard helped her team beat a really strong undefeated squad in Farmington to move onto the next stage. She starts for the Irish and is their second-leading scorer. Nicole runs the floor very well and stays active on offense. She’s the type of player who makes really good decisions on the floor. She averages 9 points a game on the regular season and put up 20 total in the two section games they played. In the quarterfinals she put up 8 so look for her to stay consistent in the semifinals game.
Ireland Stassen – sophomore forward, Minneota
The 5’8 forward from Minneota comes off the bench and has contributed big in the team’s undefeated season so far. She missed a few games but averaged about 9 points this season. In the big quarterfinal win against Houston she scored 5 points. Look for her to attack the hoop a few times and get put-backs under the rim in the next round.