Class A Dark Horses to Watch

So often do we get caught up talking about the "top tier" players in sports that often there are some athletes that completely go unnoticed. In this article, we’ll go over some "top tier" dark horseplayers that basketball fans should keep an eye on for next year. [player_tooltip player_id="100442" first="Arden" last="Faulkner"] - Fargo North - (5’9/SG/2023) - Arden is a versatile scorer that excels in the open court and provides Fargo North with great spacing for hitting the 3 ball, ripping to the rim, or purely outworking her opposition in grabbing rebounds for easy put backs. At 5’9 Arden stands towards the top half of guards in the EDC in terms of size. She has great body control in driving to the rim and such a smooth finish. Faulkner this year averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and nearly 2 assists. [player_tooltip player_id="100444" first="Maci" last="Wheeldon"] - Fargo Davies - (6’2/C/2023) - A true big that got solid minutes this year for the Davies. She needs to improve her footwork a bit more in the offseason, but her size and strength will surely blossom for a solid senior year. Multiple times she came up big for the Davies dropping 14, 10, and 16 points in triple-stacked games. On the year Wheeldon averaged 5.2 points, and 3.9 rebounds per game. With a solid summer, those numbers will look to grow by 50%. [player_tooltip player_id="240255" first="Lidia" last="Motl"] - Wahpeton - (5’5/PG/2023) - A talented guard that doesn’t get the praise she’s deserved. Lidia is explosive, quick, and versatile in the ways she can score the ball. This year her season-high was 23 shooting 5/8 from the 3. The other impressive stat line is that even though Motl is 5’5 she’s aggressive against the trees in the post averaging nearly 5 rebounds a contest. On the year Motl averaged nearly 10 points a game 2 assists and 2.5 steals. As one could expect, Lidia is one of the better feistier defenders in the EDC with that low sense of gravity not a long of players get by her easily. [player_tooltip player_id="196880" first="Brooke" last="Eggermont"] - Valley City - (6’0/PF/2023) -  Eggermont can really hurt teams that don’t box out well. Eggermont uses her long athletic frame to wiggle around defenders and use her prime positioning to snag offensive rebounds for quick putbacks. Eggermont also has the capabilities to knock down the 3pt shot. Brooke carries a solid set of ball-handling skills in her bag and finishes around the rim like a true post. On the year Eggermont averaged 13.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1 block a game. [player_tooltip player_id="100433" first="Karson" last="Sanders"] - West Fargo Sheyenne - (6’0/SF/2023) - Sanders is a player that really found her spot on this Sheyenne squad. She’s not a post, but not necessarily a guard either. A true wing player that has a junkyard dog mentality for attacking the rim and grabbing rebounds like it’s no one’s business. Sanders had 2 double-doubles on the year that could’ve turned into 9 quickly had she scored a few more points. On the year Karson averaged 9.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game.