AAU Weekly Recap #7: State Tournament standouts

Minnesota's AAU State Tournament is a star-studded event, and it's easy to get caught up in watching the best teams and the best players strut their stuff. If you have <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2021/05/aau-state-tournament-a-recap-of-championship-sunday/">read our recap</a> of championship Sunday then you know the stars came out to play in a major way with a virtuoso performance from junior [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] of North Tartan EYBL leading the way. Throughout the weekend, however, we made a concerted effort to watch teams of all descriptions, from the glamor squads like North Tartan and the Minnesota Fury to some of the lesser-known brands and players. We are certainly glad we did, and we're happy to bring you the results of that quest here in our AAU Weekly Recap #7: State Tournament standouts and more. <strong>Mining for Diamonds</strong> We had watched Diamond Elite 2023 Walker-Begin earlier this spring but this weekend offered the first opportunity to see the team in a more focused way. What we saw was a quick, athletic group with a significant amount of next-level potential. We watched DE play a couple of times this weekend, including a close one against a very strong Comets Elite 2023 squad that eventually made it to the Division 1 final four. If you can hang with Comets standouts [player_tooltip player_id="108338" first="Dani" last="Nuest"] and [player_tooltip player_id="186119" first="Ayla" last="Brown"] of Becker that's definitely saying something, and that's exactly what the #12 seed in D1 did. There were four players in particular who stood out for Diamond Elite. <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="148330" first="Ella" last="Pritchard"] is a long, lanky, athletic forward/wing who has already scored over 1,000 points at Cristo Rey Jesuit in Minneapolis, where she averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds per game this past winter. The first time we saw her a couple of years ago we noted that Ella is a D1-level athlete just oozing with potential. It has been fun to watch her game evolve since then. It's going to be even more fun seeing her ascend in the 2023 rankings in the months ahead.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="186130" first="Shawna" last="Bruha"] is a crafty guard who was the second-leading scorer this winter at Burnsville, just behind MSU-Mankato commit [player_tooltip player_id="57110" first="Morgan" last="Krumwiede"]. Bruha is a pure shooter with a nice stroke and the ability to knock down shots while being guarded by much bigger players. She scored 15 points against the Comets and did a nice job of running her team's offense. Shawna has filled out and gotten so much stronger now. Combined with her excellent ball-handling and superior court vision that makes her a solid college prospect.</li> <li><strong>Taleigha Powell</strong> is a skilled, athletic guard who has been a mainstay at Richfield for the past couple of seasons where she averages about 11 points per game. Powell was her team's leading scorer as a freshman after being in the top three in 8th grade. Taleigha is quick, and she has nice lateral movement. Her length enables her to defend opposing ball handlers effectively, and her energy makes their life difficult. Powell's game is maturing nicely and her ceiling is quite high.</li> <li><strong>Shyla Moore</strong> is a standout defender from Shakopee, who impressed us with her ability to guard the Comets' best. We had not seen Moore before but we will most certainly be watching her again. It's not easy to guard Nuest, but Shyla proved that she has the kind of smarts, speed and quickness to go up against a player of that caliber and do more than just hold her own. We would expect to see Moore make a varsity splash for the Sabers in the not too distant future.</li> </ul> <strong>The Minnesota Ice are Minnesota Nice</strong> I don't know about you but any team coached by Tanysha Scott is a team I'm going to pay attention to. Scott, who coached DeLaSalle to a state championship and now hopes to do the same at Roseville, brought her Minnesota Ice/Team Sorella 2024 squad to the AAU State Tournament and led them to a top four finish in Division 1. The Ice had the best results of any independent club in the event. Not surprisingly, the Ice were quick, athletic and intense, which pretty much describes any team Tanysha coaches. Although they were missing 2024 top-10 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="178268" first="Anisa" last="Longs"] of Minnehaha Academy this weekend, there were several other players who stood out. <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215968" first="Kendall" last="Barnes"] is a gifted guard from Roseville who just happens to be Coach Scott's daughter. She has a solid frame and isn't afraid to use it to make contact with opponents on a regular basis. Currently ranked in the top 25, Barnes has an excellent understanding of the game and a skill set to match.</li> <li><strong>Jaelyn Choi</strong> of Osseo is a quality point guard who makes up for her lack of size with a well-developed skill set and the ability to execute under pressure. She is also a terrific shooter. Choi averaged 10 points per game in the tournament and made it obvious why she is such a big part of Osseo's plans.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178266" first="Angel" last="Hill"] of Minneapolis South is a highly-decorated guard who averaged 17 points per game this winter for the Tigers and 12 per game in the tournament. Currently ranked 13th in the Class of 2024, she is deadly one-on-one and has the ability to put the ball in the basket in all manner of circumstances.</li> <li><strong>Itoro Etuko</strong> is a crafty little guard from Totino-Grace who is long, lean and athletic. Itoro is very aggressive on offense and knows how to take advantage of her quick first step to beat defenders one-on-one. Etuko still needs to fill out and get stronger, but look out when she does.</li> <li><strong>Isabella Sanneh</strong> is a big guard whose game has grown rapidly over the past year or so. Bella earned her way into the rotation last winter on Ashley Ellis-Milan's very strong East Ridge squad and it's not difficult to see why. She is composed and mature. Her skills are much-improved and she has a solid frame that will serve her well at the next level.</li> </ul> <strong>More Tournament Standouts</strong> Here are a few of this weekend's other standout performers selected from teams that did not play in one of Sunday's championship games. <strong>Reana Schmitt – forward, Air Minnesota 2022</strong> The big forward from Austin has been making a name for herself this summer on the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit. At the AAU State Tournament she did more of the same. In high school this season Reana scored in double figures on a regular basis and pulled down rebounds by the bushel. She was the second-leading scorer this weekend among D2 juniors while displaying the strength and power that separate her from many others. <strong>Keiara Anderson – guard, Comets 2022 Berskow</strong> We watched Comets Berskow slip past Air Minnesota in Saturday's first game of the day and then saw them score another one-point win over E1T1 on their way to a berth in Sunday's Division 2 championship game. Although we are definitely fans of Monticello's [player_tooltip player_id="223916" first="Katelyn" last="Lindberg"] and [player_tooltip player_id="147466" first="Madisyn" last="Grudem"] of Foley, the player who captured our attention the most on Saturday was Keiara. She led St. Cloud Apollo in scoring this winter and it's not hard to see why. Anderson is long, active and athletic. She has nice handles, good court vision and can rebound it very, very well. <strong>Alex McNeil – guard, E1T1 2022</strong> It seems like we have been watching Alex forever. That's because she has been an impact player at the varsity level since 7th grade. Now heading into her senior season at Minneapolis North, McNeil demonstrated over the weekend that she can still put the ball in the basket. She isn't huge but Alex has always been quick and very, very crafty. She led the Polars in scoring at 16 points per game this season, and averaged in double figures over the weekend as coach Michael Swann's squad earned a third-place finish in D2. [player_tooltip player_id="109137" first="Tori" last="Ratz"] <strong>– guard, Minnesota Rise 2022 Wolfe</strong> Tori is part of an elite backcourt at Fergus Falls where she shares the ball with South Dakota State commit [player_tooltip player_id="30148" first="Ellie" last="Colbeck"], whose North Tartan EYBL team captured the D1 title at Shakopee on Sunday. From the time we first watched her in junior high with DTA Academy to her current role with the Rise, Ratz has always been an elite shooter. She certainly showed that again this weekend, but she was also much more aggressive in getting to the rim and far more assertive one-on-one. She's ranked 60th in the class. [player_tooltip player_id="220824" first="Piper" last="Carlson"] <strong>– forward, Metro Stars 2023 3SSB</strong> Piper is a big, physical forward from St. Michael-Albertville who is currently ranked #61 among Minnesota sophomores. At the State Tournament she showed us once again why she is a player on the rise. Besides her lunch-pail mentality and willingness to inject her physical presence from start to finish in every game, Carlson also showed that she can score with an impressive 18-point performance in a neck-and-neck battle with Minnesota Stars Hersch. <strong>Sophie Mareck – guard, Crossfire 2024 Schuck</strong> Sophie did some great stuff in the trenches last summer for Crossfire. This spring the Wayzata freshman picked up right where she left off. Mareck was particularly impressive this weekend in a 17-point performance against North Tartan Tinjum, a game in which she made four three-pointers and did all of her scoring in the second half. Sophie followed that up with a 15-point game against Comets Elite on Sunday. Wayzata is very deep, and it might be some time before we see Mareck on varsity. When the time comes we suspect this gym rat will be ready. [player_tooltip player_id="108341" first="Anna" last="Lenzen"] <strong>– guard, Fury 2023 Premier</strong> Anna is one of the most-gifted, least-known, most under-appreciated talents in the state of Minnesota. That's because she plays at Chaska, where the lineup is loaded and it has been difficult to get playing time. In AAU the dynamic, aggressive combo guard continues to show week after week why she is ranked #41 in the state and why she will be an impact player in college. Lenzen was the leading scorer in 2023 D1 at the State Tournament, averaging 15 points per game including a 22-point performance against North Tartan Elite. [player_tooltip player_id="108314" first="Katelyn" last="Maciej"] <strong>– forward, Stars 2023</strong> <strong>Hersch</strong> Katelyn currently holds the #21 position in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023 prospect rankings. That tells you how highly we think of the 6'2 forward from Rogers. Katelyn has made steady progress in her development over the past couple of seasons, offering plenty of glimpses into her very bright future. This weekend she was performing at a high level as the Hersch crew earned a third-place finish in 10th grade Division 1. Katelyn was physical and active on the glass, and she scored in double figures in a nail-biter semifinal against Fury 2023 UAA. Maciej's ceiling remains very, very high.