AAU Week 2: News and notes at the Midwest Kickoff
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The 2022 AAU season saw us ease into action with a modest, manageable tournament on the first weekend in April. That was Week #1. Then came the Midwest Kickoff Classic, a gargantuan event with well over 200 teams playing in…
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Continue ReadingThe 2022 AAU season saw us ease into action with a modest, manageable tournament on the first weekend in April. That was Week #1. Then came the Midwest Kickoff Classic, a gargantuan event with well over 200 teams playing in 29 girls divisions at three sites. Added to the mix this year was an affiliation with the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit that turned the tournament into a spectacle. We’ve had plenty of coverage from our PGH colleagues already with more to come throughout the week. Right now let’s recap AAU Week #2 with a look at some of the top squads we witnessed.
5 TEAMS TO WATCH
Even with limited practice time, and some coaches struggling to remember their players’ names (never mind running complicated stuff), there were some really good performances at the Midwest Kickoff Classic. I spent the weekend at Bloomington Jefferson which seemed to offer the most bang for the buck from an evaluator’s perspective, but even there I didn’t see everyone who excelled. I did see Minnesota Fury 2025 UAA win a title but missed out on division championships by Minnesota Diamond Elite 2024, Minnesota Stars Hill 2026, Metro Stars 2024 and more. Among the more than 30 teams I did watch play at least one game, here are five squads that really stood out.
Metro Stars 2023 Pryor – Without a doubt the most impressive group of the weekend over the course of three games. Now coached by Matt Pryor of Minnehaha Academy, the Metro Stars top group scored impressive wins over Fury 2024 UAA, North Tartan 2023 Elite and Cy Select 2023 from Iowa. Their big three was nothing short of outstanding as the Hopkins trio of Michigan commit Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN , Stanford commit Nunu Agara Nunu Agara 6'1" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #32 Nation MN and 2024 #2 Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN lit it up all weekend. Nunu’s 30-point performance against North Tartan was particularly impressive, as was McGill’s pressure defense which is always worth the price of admission. The supporting cast is intriguing, too, including newcomers Ja’Kahla Craft Ja’Kahla Craft 5'9" | CG STMA | 2024 State MN of St. Michael-Albertville, Nicole Lillard Nicole Lillard 5'6" | CG Champlin Park | 2023 State MN of Champlin Park and Amy Thompson Amy Thompson 5'10" | SG Stillwater | 2024 State MN of Stillwater.
North Tartan 2023 EYBL – Much like last year at this event, North Tartan split duties between teams at the older ages meaning we only got to see the best incoming seniors play once. It was a memorable performance, however, as North Tartan’s EYBL circuit juniors steamrolled Cy Select on Saturday morning by a score of 55-31. That shouldn’t be surprising given the fact that the team has four of Minnesota’s top 10 2023 prospects in #1 Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN of St. Micheal-Albertville, #5 Molly Lenz Molly Lenz 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN of Eden Prairie (Illinois State), #6 Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN of Maple Grove and #10 Clara Glad Clara Glad 6'0" | SF Rogers | 2023 State MN of Rogers (UC-Davis). They also have #14 Ella Johnson Ella Johnson 6'2" | SF Elk River | 2023 State MN of Elk River along with three standout imports in North Dakota #1 Logan Nissley of Bismarck (Nebraska) and #12 Maya Metcalf of Fargo along with South Dakota #2 Reese Ross of Rapid City. It’s a formidable group and they were in fine form early.
Minnesota Rise 2023 Wolfe – Gustavus assistant coach Dan Wolfe always manages to put together a good group of Southern Minnesota seniors on behalf of the Minnesota Rise. This year’s team features seven players in the Prep Girls Hoops 2023 Top 100, including #49, Southwest Minnesota State commit Allison Milbrandt Allison Milbrandt 5'10" | SF Buffalo Lake-H-S | 2023 State MN of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, and #51 Olivia Harazin Olivia Harazin 5'8" | PG LCWM | 2023 State MN of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial. Brynn Busse Brynn Busse 5'6" | CG G-F-W | 2023 State MN of Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop had an outstanding weekend as did Tori Miller Tori Miller 5'10" | SF Goodhue | 2023 State MN of Goodhue and Peyton Stevermer Peyton Stevermer 5'5" | CG Mankato East | 2023 State MN of Mankato East, who was a state tournament standout in Class 3A. The real eye-opener, however, was 6’2 power forward Abigail O’Reilly Abigail O’Reilly 6'1" | PF PEM | 2023 State MN of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, a new addition to the group. O’Reilly is one of the most improved players in the state since last summer and her rather substantial inside presence is a game-changer for the Rise.
Minnesota Fury 2026 Blue – We have become accustomed to seeing big-time talent suiting up on the top teams for the Fury over the years and this year’s group of elite 8th graders is no different. The squad, coached by Maddie Wolkow and Blake Nicols, captured the 2026 Red Division with wins over Team Iowa, a strong Minnesota Stars Nilsen group, and 43 Hoops 2027 Elite (see below). The Fury has a nice combination of skilled, athletic guards along with some size and presence up front. Point guard Abbie Pietila of Delano had a very nice weekend. So did dynamic guard Addi Schneider, who is long and athletic and is always on the attack. She could be the next big thing at Chaska and that’s saying something. Aubree Hultman of Forest Lake and Maria Radabaugh of Totino-Grace were also very good. Power forward Callie Oakland Callie Oakland 6'0" | PF St. Croix Lutheran | 2026 State MN of St. Croix Lutheran and lengthy forward Vivian Carter of Holy Angels are high-level prospects with plenty of tools. There are some really good 2026 teams but this is definitely one of the best.
43 Hoops 2027 Elite – We have been well aware of some of the incredible individual talent on Demondi Johnson’s 7th grade squad, a group that has been turning heads for a good while now. This weekend, however, was our first extended look at the sum of the parts. There are not enough superlatives to describe just how much potential this group has. Yesterday we told you about Pressley Watkins of Orono, and we’ve written plenty all winter about varsity standouts Mya Wilson Mya Wilson 6'1" | CG Hill-Murray | 2027 State MN of Mahtomedi and Ava Cupito Ava Cupito 5'10" | CG Hopkins | 2027 State MN of Minnehaha Academy. We watched crafty Jazmin Daing do great work at the PGH Fall Exclusive last year. Now we’ve had a closer look at Alivia Bell of Winona, big Erma Walker of Hopkins and Kaelyn Bjorklund of Lakeville South. The list goes on. If Coach Johnson can keep this squad together long term like he did with his excellent 2021 group there’s no telling just how good they can be.
Welcome back
The early weeks of the AAU season are a reunion of sorts as we get to watch kids up close who we haven’t seen for some time, including those who have been sidelined by injury. That was the case this weekend as two players returned to action after missing a year with ACL injuries.
As we mentioned, Allison Milbrandt Allison Milbrandt 5'10" | SF Buffalo Lake-H-S | 2023 State MN of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (photo above) has already committed to Southwest Minnesota State. The top 50 junior is a 5’11 guard who has been blessed with length, speed and athleticism and, we are pleased to report, all of that appeared to be in tact as Milbrandt took to the floor for her first game in 51 weeks. She moved well (no knee brace), needed very little acclimation time, and was making an impact in short order. SMSU head coach Tom Webb was in the house and he had to be pleased by what he saw.
The same was true for Daviney Dreckman Daviney Dreckman 5'8" | CG New Ulm | 2024 State MN of New Ulm, a Top 75 sophomore who is playing for the Minnesota Rise 2024s coached by Bethany Lutheran assistant Emma Purfeerst. Daviney emerged on the scene in junior high as a physically mature, skillfully advanced player with speed and athleticism to spare. We were eager to see how she looked in her first weekend back, as well, and the verdict was good. Really good. So good that Dreckman earned a big PGH Top Performer shoutout from our colleague Mason Asher and looked right at home once again.
On the sidelines
While Milbrandt and Dreckman were back in action at the Midwest Kickoff, many were not. On our way into the gym we spotted 2024 forward Mattea Henry Mattea Henry 6'1" | SF Woodbury | 2024 State MN of East Ridge on the sidelines for Minnesota Stars Bjorgaard. She’s in a boot courtesy of a stress fracture in her foot. Sophomore Taylor Klement Taylor Klement 5'9" | SG Stewartville | 2024 State MN of Stewartville remains sidelined for Southern Minnesota Fury, still rehabbing an ACL injury that kept her out of the Tigers’ lineup all winter.
Top 10 sophomore Marisa Frost Marisa Frost 5'8" | PG Centennial | 2024 State MN of Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA could only watch, as well, as the Centennial guard nursed a minor ankle injury that kept her out of action. It’s not serious, though, and she’ll likely be back as soon as this week. Unfortunately, the Fury lost their main attraction on Saturday as 2024 #1 Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN suffered a foot injury. She had an MRI done on Tuesday and was waiting on the verdict at dinner time. With Team USA duties coming up shortly let’s hope Olivia will be up and running ASAP.