The Exclusive: Players to Watch

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">There are four kids left from The Exclusive that I haven’t talked about, whose names I want to be out there. All four of these kids should be monitored by college coaches because they have the potential to play at the next level.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Audrey Norville-Wisconsin Blizzard 16U Hawley</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">I saw Norville play twice, and I hadn’t heard of her before the event. Even a week later, I still vividly remember what she did on the floor. She attacked the basket with aggression repeatedly. There is a lot of room for the 5-foot-10 wing/forward to grow. For instance, she has excellent touch around the rim, especially her off-hand. However, if she’s going to be able to attack from the wing consistently, she’ll need to work on her ball handling. You can tell she wants it badly. Norville played every possession with the same amount of effort. She plays hard on both ends and is a tall wing who can defend against tall forwards. She has a ways to go, but the signs are there. </span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="419332" first="Taylor" last="Schwalenberg"]-Chapman Basketball Academy 2023 Frings</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">I got to see Schwalenberg back in December. The Kettle Moraine Lutheran guard is that she is plug and play kind of kid. Although she’s a slightly shorter guard, she bothers people. On a very talented team, she may not score that many points. For those who don’t take the time to watch and extrapolate the defensive end, you won’t notice Schwalenberg. That’s also a good thing. I watched her play two talented teams and don’t think she made a mistake on defense. Offensively she’s capable of making shots, but with the talent, she plays with, it could be few and far between. The one thing that I suggest anyone reading this does when diving into Schwalenberg is to watch a stream anytime during the high school season and one last weekend. No matter the competition, speed, physicality, or perceived mismatch, she does the same thing in every game she plays. If I had to say three words about Schwalenberg, they’d be "I trust her."</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="329572" first="Mia" last="Sallinen"]-Chapman Basketball Academy 2023</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">The West Bend native looks miles better in an AAU setting than in high school. Sallinen is free to do what she does best. One moment that sticks out in my head that I feel describes her best. Sallinen attacked off the left-wing and got into the paint, navigated the traffic, and flipped up a floater that had no business falling. It seems innocuous just reading, I’m sure. However, Sallinen brings a little magic to the floor. She does these kinds of things where she makes ridiculous solo plays that wow people. I’m not sure what her outlook is recruiting, but she’ll go somewhere and probably earn early minutes. Her ability to make something out of nothing will make it hard to keep her off the floor.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Brooklyn Sarauer-Team Wisconsin 2024 Noll</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">I got to Sarauer’s best game of the weekend late. However, I caught part of the shooting masterclass she put on. I knew it was going well for her when she got space for a wide-open 3-pointer, and the opposing parents had an audible groan before she even shot the ball. It went in, but I’d already gathered how good her shooting had been with that one moment alone. The Bloomer native may not be someone schools look at because she comes from a smaller town, and she isn’t an ideal size, but she can help teams compete. She’s a good player that I think someone will take notice of at some point this summer.</span>