Standout Juniors to Keep Your Eyes On (Class B – Part 1)

Part 1 of our standout juniors to keep your eyes on. We’ll discuss 5 of the top Juniors throughout the state of North Dakota Class B in this article and how each has had an impactful year for their teams and has shaped the making of an elite senior year next winter. [player_tooltip player_id="211419" first="Ellie" last="Braaten"] - Westhope/Newburg - (5’3/PG/2023) - Starting off our list we have one of the most efficient scorers in North Dakota at this moment [player_tooltip player_id="211419" first="Ellie" last="Braaten"]. Braaten is a surprisingly good athlete given her stature at only 5’3. She’s explosive and fearless when attacking the hoop and provides such great versatility to the court. She’s not a true pass-first guard but leads North Dakota in assists at 6.3 a game. Along with passing, she can rebound the ball better than most post players averaging 9.7. Adding to all these traits she’s a walking bucket finishing the year on 34% from the field and averaging 21.5 points a game. If Ellie isn’t already on your watchlist she needs to be added! [player_tooltip player_id="211397" first="Natalie" last="Decoteau"] - St. John - (5’10/SF/2023) - Second on our list is [player_tooltip player_id="211397" first="Natalie" last="Decoteau"]. A player we covered throughout this year and for good reason. Decoteau averaged a double-double this year in 21.3 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. She’s explosive, has good size and speed and reads the court so effortlessly. She’s one of if not the most aware player on the court at all times. She rarely makes mistakes having only 14 turnovers throughout the year and shoots the ball at a high 49%. If she’s not all state worthy then I don’t know who is. [player_tooltip player_id="100453" first="Laikyn" last="Roney"] - Oakes - (5’8/SF/2023) - Roney next on our list has such a great motor. She’s a player that wants too and will play 32 minutes a night and leave everything out on the court. She’s the definition of a junk yard dog player. She won’t hurt you too much from beyond the arc, but isn’t afraid to take that shot if completely open. Laikyn really hurts teams with her physicality and brute force in the paint. She drives to the rim with a purpose and finishes surprisingly well for a bull in a china shop. This year Roney averaged 20.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.3 steals a game. [player_tooltip player_id="211392" first="Genevieve" last="Gruba"] - Enderlin - (5’9/SG/2023) - Genevieve stepped up her game in a big way this year. She transitioned to more of a guard spot and Enderlin realized she needed the ball more. Gruba still plays so physical and crashes hard for offensive boards. She’s more polished this year than last, however still has some work to do on the handles and 3 point consistency. This year she shot the ball 44% from the field and only 27% from beyond the arc. Overall Gruba had a standout junior campaign averaging 17 points and 9.8 rebounds a game having 12 double-doubles this year. [player_tooltip player_id="296311" first="Emma" last="Muggli"] - Oakes - (6’0/C/2023) - Muggli is a bit of a dark horse on this list. She can play so well on nights and not show on others. Her mental game needs to improve for her to have a solid senior year. She put up solid numbers, but nothing to what was expected. Emma finished the season with 9.6 points and 9.2 rebounds with nearly 1 block a game. She shot 44% from the field and mere 56% from the charity line. Emma had 5 double-doubles this year and a monster rebounding clinic against a tough Aberdeen Christian team with 22. Hopeful this summer proves to be fruitful and Muggli comes out with a purpose next winter.