Crunching the numbers at the Jr All-Star Featured 40

Analytics is a big deal in today's sports environment, and the ‘Moneyball' point of view is being applied to just about every imaginable aspect of every sport. Right here in Minnesota, our friend Kevin Anderson has been crunching the numbers forever, and his advanced statistical analysis of girls basketball has always intrigued me. But I'm not a numbers guy. Heck I barely passed basic algebra, and advanced statistics is way beyond my comprehension. In all honesty I have never understood what Kevin's numbers mean but what I do know is this: When I scout a game and then read Kevin's numerical analysis of the players I have watched, it's almost always the same kids who come out on top. Math test or eye test, there are so many different ways to evaluate players. That's one of the reasons I really enjoyed the Minnesota Jr All-Star Featured 40 event on Oct. 16. Not only does the Featured 40 offer the opportunity to evaluate some of the top young players in the state using my normal eye test as they get up and down the basketball court, the JAS folks also use an NFL-style combine approach. They test kids in a number of different ways and have been kind enough to share their data with us. It's fascinating stuff offered up here for your perusal. <strong>VERTICAL REACH</strong> The vertical reach measurement is simple: the players stand against a wall and measure how high they can reach with the tips of their fingers. There were seven players who topped the 95-inch mark: <ul> <li><strong>Carmen Kadlec</strong> – 2025 forward, Rochester Century (98 inches)</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="350094" first="Mariah" last="Pates"]</strong> – 2024 forward, Champlin Park (96.5)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="296528" first="Sam" last="Wills"] – 2025 forward, Visitation (95)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="302256" first="Avery" last="Koenen"] – 2023 forward, Montevideo (95)</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339138" first="Ella" last="Kadlec"]</strong> – 2023 forward, Rochester Century (95)</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339160" first="Maya" last="Sampy"]</strong> – 2025 forward, Osseo (95)</li> <li><strong>Raina Hartman</strong> – 2024 forward, Mounds View (95)</li> </ul> I guess these results aren't all that surprising when you consider how tall these girls are. As measured at the event in shoes, the shortest is Wills at 6'1 and a half. Koenen, at 6'3, was the tallest. As for Carmen Kadlec's reach of 98 inches? That's impressive. <strong>WINGSPAN</strong> I have always said I should carry a tailor's tape measure. We're never really sure if the heights listed are accurate. Girls are certainly more honest about this than boys – it's not even close in that regard!! – but it's not a science. Not only did Jr All-Star measure everyone's height, they tallied wingspans, too. The results are interesting. Twelve players tested had a wingspan of 72 inches or more. Freshman <strong>Bella Brustuen</strong> of Blaine topped the list at 76 inches followed by Pates (74.5), Koenen (74.1) and Sampy (74.1). Very few of them had a wingspan greater than their height, but Brustuen exceed hers by a whopping 4 inches! 5'5 guard <strong>Emalee Fisher</strong> of Robbinsdale Armstrong exceeded her height by 3 inches. And 2023 point guard [player_tooltip player_id="148316" first="Grace" last="Knupp"] of East Ridge measured at 73 inches, a full two inches longer than her height in shoes. Others among the very longest included [player_tooltip player_id="304899" first="Abby" last="Maloney"] (2023, St. Peter), [player_tooltip player_id="108317" first="Shantell" last="Harden"] (2023, St. Louis Park), 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="148330" first="Ella" last="Pritchard"] of Cristo-Rey and Edina sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="215991" first="Abby" last="Richter"]. <strong>VERTICAL JUMP</strong> It's a little more difficult to get vertical measured down to the fractions which is why there were seven players who tied at the top by hitting the 24-inch mark: <ul> <li>2023s [player_tooltip player_id="148316" first="Grace" last="Knupp"] (East Ridge) and [player_tooltip player_id="108341" first="Anna" last="Lenzen"] (Chaska)</li> <li>2024 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339098" first="Audrey" last="Whitney"]</strong> (Rochester Century)</li> <li>2025s [player_tooltip player_id="296528" first="Sam" last="Wills"] (Visitation) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339097" first="Ella" last="Mullenbach"]</strong> (Minnesota Valley Lutheran)</li> <li>2027s <strong>Erma Walker</strong> (Hopkins) and <strong>Naijiona Shaw</strong> (Athlos Academy)</li> </ul> Two players came in at 23 inches: 2023s [player_tooltip player_id="302256" first="Avery" last="Koenen"] of Montevideo and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339138" first="Ella" last="Kadlec"]</strong> of Rochester Century. There were six more who reached the 22-inch peg: <ul> <li>2023s [player_tooltip player_id="108345" first="Brynn" last="Senden"] (Wayzata) and [player_tooltip player_id="148330" first="Ella" last="Pritchard"] (Cristo Rey)</li> <li>2024 [player_tooltip player_id="304894" first="Sidney" last="Klauer"] (East Ridge)</li> <li>2025s [player_tooltip player_id="208185" first="Liana" last="Buckhalton"] (Stillwater), <strong>Chantle Reiland</strong> (Kingsland) and [player_tooltip player_id="339191" first="Kailey" last="Korba"] (Shakopee)</li> </ul> <strong>LANE AGILITY DRILL</strong> The lane agility drill is a test of quickness, lateral quickness and change of direction. These were the six players who did the drill in 11 seconds or less: <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="339117" first="Evyn" last="Eppinga"] – 2024 guard, Anoka (10.79)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="148319" first="Olivia" last="Harazin"] – 2023 guard, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (10.81)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="304892" first="Anna" last="Vaaler"] – 2024 guard, Andover (10.87)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215991" first="Abby" last="Richter"] – 2024 forward, Edina (10.88)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="208184" first="Zahara" last="Bishop"] – 2025 guard, Benilde St. Margaret's (10.94)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="205299" first="Ella" last="Kuhlman"] – 2025 guard, North Branch (10.94)</li> </ul> So how do the number's compare to the eye test? Pretty well, with one exception. We have always described Eppinga as quick and athletic. Ditto for Harazin, Vaaler, Bishop and Kuhlman. But Richter? That surprised us. Abby is a standout player with great skill around the basket, a nice-sized frame, and a solid understanding of how to play the right way. As this one snapshot in time (or stopwatch in time I suppose) demonstrates, she is also quicker than we thought. <strong>SPRINT</strong> We're not sure exactly how much distance was covered in this short sprint but as long as everyone did the same test it doesn't really matter. The numbers give a snapshot of who the fastest players are in a short burst. In all there were nine kids who bettered the 3.5-second mark: <ul> <li><strong>Ashton Safranski</strong> – 2024 guard, Fargo Davies (3.15)</li> <li><strong>Brooke Hohenecker</strong> – 2024 guard, Providence Academy (3.34)</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339098" first="Audrey" last="Whitney"]</strong> – 2024 guard, Rochester Century (3.35)</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339099" first="Sarah" last="Hyde"]</strong> – 2025 guard, Wayzata (3.38)</li> <li><strong>Inarah Nesbit</strong> – 2027 guard, Oak Grove MS (3.41)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="339107" first="Jordyn" last="Schmittdiel"] – 2024 guard, White Bear Lake (3.44)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="148316" first="Grace" last="Knupp"] – 2023 guard, East Ridge (3.46)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="108335" first="Vivica" last="Bretton"] – 2023 guard, Rochester Lourdes (3.47)</li> <li><strong>Erma Walker</strong> – 2027 guard/forward, Hopkins (3.47)</li> </ul> <strong>SUMMARY</strong> When you look at the measurements one thing is certain – [player_tooltip player_id="302256" first="Avery" last="Koenen"] is a specimen. Of course you can walk into the gym and see that immediately, which is one reason why college coaches are so excited about her potential and why she announced her commitment late Tuesday to Division 1 North Dakota State. She was the event's tallest player (75 inches in shoes), had the third-highest vertical reach (95) and third-longest wingspan (74.1) and tied for the second-highest vertical jump (23). [player_tooltip player_id="148316" first="Grace" last="Knupp"] put together some impressive numbers, too, with a big wingspan, strong vertical jump and a great time in the sprint. <strong>THE OLD-FASHIONED EYE TEST</strong> While the numbers are certainly a lot of fun to analyze – thanks again to Jr All-Star for sharing their data – we'll probably be sticking with the good old-fashioned eye test for the foreseeable future. Well, as long as these old eyes hold out, anyway. Using our normal standards of judgment, we focused on younger players at the Featured 40 who we had not seen a lot of – primarily 2026s, 2027s and 2028s. These were among the kids who we liked most. <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339214" first="Jayci" last="Rath"]</strong> – 2026 forward, Stewartville</li> <li><strong>Taylor Klauer</strong> – 2026 guard, East Ridge</li> <li><strong>Sophia Anderson</strong> – 2026 guard. Maple Grove</li> <li><strong>Maggie Fricke</strong> – 2026 guard, Minot ND</li> <li><strong>Mya Wilson</strong> – 2027 guard, Mahtomedi</li> <li><strong>Pressley Watkins</strong> – 2027 guard/wing, Orono</li> <li><strong>Addison Bjorklund</strong> – 2027 forward, Brainerd</li> <li><strong>Erma Walker</strong> – 2027 guard/forward, Hopkins</li> <li><strong>Samira Taylor</strong> – 2027 guard, Brooklyn Park</li> <li><strong>Lakyn Donnelly</strong> – 2028 guard, Horace ND</li> </ul>