High School Previews: 2023 candidates ready to break out

Some players burst onto the scene with a big bang, making everyone stand up and take notice immediately. Others ease their way into our consciousness. It’s more of an evolution, a slow build to greatness, a journey that takes some time with a destination that’s well worth waiting for. That’s been the story of [player_tooltip player_id="108317" first="Shantell" last="Harden"] who is, it would appear, about to bust loose. It is for that reason that the junior guard/wing/forward from St. Louis Park tops the list today in part two of our series on potential breakout players in the upcoming high school basketball season. Who knows who might win Prep Girls Hoops High School Breakout Player of the Year honors for 2021-22? Here are five members of the Class of 2023 who have as a good a chance as anyone. [player_tooltip player_id="108317" first="Shantell" last="Harden"] – forward, St. Louis Park Smoooooooth. That has always been my favorite adjective to describe the way Shantell plays the game. At 5’11, with long arms and long legs, Harden has that natural grace and ease of movement we love. She makes it all look so easy at times. When Harden is in the groove it is a thing of beauty to behold. She’s got light feet, long strides and flat out speed. Her body control is impressive. The soft touch is nice, too. The potential has always been there; It’s the productivity that’s come a long way. Harden averaged 12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Orioles last season. She can guard all five positions, produce in a variety of ways offensively, and can score in all manner of methods. She gets to the basket frequently, beating defenders off the bounce, often with ease. Shantell has a nice mid-range jump shot and she can score from beyond the arc, as well. Need her to post up, execute a textbook drop step and elevate to the rim over her defender? Yep, that’s also in the playbook. We have patiently waited for all of it to come together for the Top 25 prospect in this year’s junior class, and the show is about to go down. [player_tooltip player_id="148340" first="Shannon" last="Fornshell"] – forward, Wayzata There’s been no shortage of great talent up front for the Trojans of late. 2021 graduate [player_tooltip player_id="2090" first="Jenna" last="Johnson"] is now plying her trade with the University of Utah. 2020 graduate [player_tooltip player_id="28788" first="Annika" last="Stewart"] is doing work with the University of Nebraska. 2019 standout [player_tooltip player_id="1709" first="Kallie" last="Theisen"] is at South Dakota State. And there have been others, too. That’s a heckuva legacy to live up to, isn’t it? Now Shannon’s got next. At 6 feet tall, with tons of length and athleticism, Shannon isn’t as big as those others – she's more of a 3-4 than a 4-5 – and she seems to like lurking in the shadows at the moment. But if Wayzata is to enhance its status as one of Minnesota’s elite programs under new coach Julie Stewart, Fornshell will have to produce. At 7.7 points per game, Fornshell was among the Trojans’ five leading scorers one year ago. She is strong defensively, too. Over time Shannon has become more confident, more assertive, more self-assured. That’s why she earned an 18-spot jump to #42 in the 2023 rankings this summer. But we think she is capable of a whole lot more and this is the year we expect to see it. [player_tooltip player_id="108326" first="Emy" last="Wolkow"] – guard, Lakeville North Lakeville North has been a Minnesota girls basketball contender for a long time now. After a brief respite to reload the rockets, the Panthers would appear poised to return to the upper echelon. Despite the graduation of floor general [player_tooltip player_id="109755" first="Lizzie" last="Berkvam"] (MSU-Moorhead) and her fellow senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="109813" first="Ashleigh" last="Fossey"], North is chock-full of exciting college-level talent that includes [player_tooltip player_id="215957" first="Gabby" last="Betton"], [player_tooltip player_id="108334" first="Haley" last="Bryant"], Trinity Wilson, and [player_tooltip player_id="296530" first="Gracie" last="Winge"]. Count Wolkow among them. Currently ranked #33 in the 2023 class, the 5’11 combo guard figures to take a big jump in productivity this winter and will no doubt earn her share of introductions as a member of the starting lineup. Emy is best-known for her three-point shooting, and why not. She’s really, really good in that department. Of late, however, we have seen use her extensive bag of tricks in a variety of ways. She has gotten stronger, is attacking the basket more, knows how to employ her length at both ends of the court, and plays the game with fire. [player_tooltip player_id="186115" first="Jordan" last="Langbehn"] – guard, Elk River I suppose last season could be considered a breakout year for Jordan. She certainly made a much bigger impact on a veteran-laden Elk River team than we were expecting. That performance, along with an exceptional beginning to the spring and summer season, enabled Langbehn to catapult 32 spots up the Prep Girls Hoops rankings and into the Top 50 in the Class of 2023. We believe there may be more where that came from. The 5’11 guard was a top-three scorer on a 19-2 team last season. With the graduation of guards [player_tooltip player_id="109794" first="Elly" last="Bahr"] (UW-River Falls) and Ellie Maass, that’s a 21-ppg gap the Elks will need to make up for. We’re thinking Jordan will do her fair share of that. She’s strong and feisty and plays the game with passion. Jordan is versatile, and contributes hustle plays to the equation in mass quantities. With a big motor, a willingness to be physical, a penchant for making key plays at the right time, and a strong desire to get better, Langbehn is ready to take it up another notch or two. [player_tooltip player_id="220824" first="Piper" last="Carlson"] – forward, St. Michael-Albertville Speaking of big motors, how about Piper’s roaring V8? The 5’11 power forward, currently ranked #57 in the class, is a rebounding machine who never stops grinding. Going up against taller, quicker opponents, Carlson continues to swat them away like flies and keep on keeping on in her relentless pursuit of another rebound. That’s how she made our AAU Hard Hat All-Star team. She also happened to be the third-leading scorer for the Knights last winter while drawing difficult defensive assignments night after night. This year Carlson joins powerful freshman Abby Hoselton and Spring Lake Park transfer [player_tooltip player_id="186137" first="Kylie" last="Diaz"] in what will no doubt be one of the toughest trios to play against inside. What they lack in height they make up for in bulk and determination. In previous reviews of Piper’s game we have described her as a ‘beast’ and a ‘bulldog’ and a ‘bulldozer’ and all are apt terms. Over the past couple of years she has gone from unknown to intriguing to impactful. Now she is a scholarship-level prospect who is about to live up to that rather lofty standard once again.