Players who stood out at the Minnesota Suns Showcase

Defense wins. Even in AAU. Although the focus in spring and summer events tends to be at the other end of the floor, AAU basketball is also a great opportunity for prospects to show what they can do defensively. When that happens we have to be sure to shine a light on this much-coveted skillset. Therefore we bring you the first two players in our recap of players who stood out at the Suns Spring Showcase: sophomores [player_tooltip player_id="220829" first="Aubrey" last="Akervik"] and [player_tooltip player_id="220835" first="Taylor" last="Hill"] of Minnesota Stars 2023 Desart. Hill has earned a couple of mentions here over the past few weeks, mostly for her tenacity and grit. The Rochester Mayo sophomore has offensive skill, too, along with quick feet and a high degree of athleticism. But it is her ability to get up in the kitchen of opposing ball-handlers in order to cause no end of frustration that is fast becoming her trademark. Akervik, too, is establishing a reputation for her defensive intensity. The Byron guard is very long, and has excellent feet with nice lateral movement. What she mostly needs now is experience. This was Akervik’s first-ever weekend of AAU action and I suspect we’ll see some strong improvement over the course of the summer. At the conclusion of their game Sunday morning against Wisconsin Playmakers Premier Driggs, Akervik and Hill put the clamps on their opponents in a major way, stifling every last-gasp effort to draw even. The Stars won 49-46. In our first AAU weekly recap on Monday we already handed out the hardware for our Player of the Week to [player_tooltip player_id="215956" first="Claire" last="Stern"], the #18-rated freshman from Minnesota Suns 2024 Blue Star (Maple Grove). We could just as easily have given it to her teammate [player_tooltip player_id="205310" first="Tori" last="Oehrlein"] of Crosby-Ironton, the 2026 phenom who does so much in so many ways that we could pencil her in for the award most weeks. Much like we used to do with [player_tooltip player_id="1915" first="Paige" last="Bueckers"], we may have to revive the “asterisk rule” or we’ll be writing about Tori every single week. Let’s just say she was  really, really good. Here are more top performers at the Suns Spring Showcase. <strong>Evie Schmitz – Suns 2024 Blue Star (St. Louis Park)</strong> Evie needed to get quicker and she has. When Schmitz strode onto the court Saturday morning it was obvious that she has put the work in to do just that. She just looks different – leaner, stronger, faster. After working for months to transform her conditioning, the extra effort has clearly paid off. Evie was attacking the rim, moving up and down the court at pace, and demonstrating the superior ball-handling skills has had for a long time. Evie has always been crafty, but suddenly Schmitz’s possibilities seem a whole lot brighter. [player_tooltip player_id="108330" first="Karlee" last="Fisher"] <strong>– Suns 2023 Blue Star (Robbinsdale Armstrong)</strong> Speaking of transformations, we were pleased to see over the weekend that Karlee has filled out and gotten a whole lot stronger, as well. It was only a few minutes into her first game on Saturday when it became obvious that the extra size and strength is an asset, as she was able to bump off defenders with more certainty and finish through contact more easily. Fisher is a 5’7 combo guard rated in the top 30 of the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2023. This winter the scholarship-level prospect averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and nearly 5 assists per game. She has skill and intelligence, and always delivers a solid effort. [player_tooltip player_id="109156" first="Natalie" last="Mikrot"] <strong>– Playmakers 2022 Blue Star (Moose Lake-Willow River)</strong> We wrote yesterday about the Wisconsin Playmakers squads on hand and the quality of the Minnesota talent on their rosters. Although it wouldn’t be hard to write about Mikrot’s teammakes on 2022 Showcase Blue Star – [player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"] and [player_tooltip player_id="109142" first="Lilly" last="Meincke"] of Lake City are the real deal – it was Mikrot’s play that really caught our attention over the weekend. Nobody attacks the basket harder than Mikrot, a 5’5 fireplug with speed, quickness and strength. People have been underestimating her for years, but you don’t score nearly 2,000 points in high school if you don’t know what’s up. Mikrot has the goods to be successful at the next level. Coaches just need to take a serious look. <strong>Sidney Klauer – Stars 2024 Amundson (East Ridge)</strong> It has been a terrific few months for Sidney. After making a nice impression last summer with the Minnesota Stars, the 5’7 combo guard entered her freshman campaign at East Ridge with no clear expectations. Suddenly the expectations are much higher, because Klauer knocked it out of the park all winter. She averaged nearly 10 ppg and became a key piece for a Raptors squad that came within five points of ousting powerhouse Stillwater. Over the weekend it was obvious that Klauer’s confidence level is sky high. With the game on the line Sunday morning against Suns 2024 Blue Star, Stars coach Greg Amundson called Sidney’s number and she made no mistake, driving to the hoop to score as time expired. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id="220835" first="Taylor" last="Hill"] (Rochester Mayo) and [player_tooltip player_id="220829" first="Aubrey" last="Akervik"] (Byron) stood out for Stars 2023 Desart at the Suns Spring Showcase.</em></span>