More new faces we liked at the Freshman Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All across the state there are these random pockets of girls basketball excellence, those special communities with a history of developing talented kids who excel in high school and, in many cases, go on to have nice careers at the collegiate level. New London-Spicer, Goodhue and Albany come to mind immediately. One locale that has to be in this conversation is Perham, which not only has the premier gym in the state but continues to consistently churn out quality prospects up on U.S. Highway 10 in Otter Tail County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Take Yellowjackets senior [player_tooltip player_id='220846' first='Mya' last='Morris'], for example. Just last Saturday she captured top spot in the Nickle Dickle 3-point shooting competition that featured a stellar field of Minnesota bombers. She's among our biggest stock risers of 2022. Her former teammate <strong>Katie Johnson</strong> (Valley City State) lit it up at the same competition a couple of years ago. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='178271' first='Willow' last='Thiel'], coming off an exceptional summer on the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit with West Central United, is among the best power forwards in the Class of 2024. And now we bring you the next Perham standout – 2026 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='502604' first='Kaia' last='Anderson'] pictured above. She was on hand Sunday for the Prep Girls Hoops Freshman Showcase which offered our first in-person look at the 9th grader. She tops our compilation today of new faces we liked at the Freshman Showcase.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A secret no more</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Until now Kaia has been one of the best-kept secrets in the Class of 2026. There wasn't a lot of varsity playing time available for an 8th grader last winter on a veteran squad that racked up more than 20 wins. When she did play with the older girls, however, Anderson was very, very good. At the junior varsity level she was dominant. In the spring she participated on a local AAU team that didn't generate a lot of notice. This summer, however, Anderson has turned a lot of heads with the Perham varsity.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Sunday at the Showcase, the 5'10 guard demonstrated that she has nice handles and knows how to use her long strides and elusive agility to get to the rim frequently. She also showed that she has the ability to make threes at a pretty nice clip. This summer, according to Perham coach T.J. Super, she shot 43% from beyond the arc on more than 100 attempts. Defensively she took on some of the toughest assignments and did a nice job on some high-profile prospects from across the state. She started most of the games for varsity and may do the same when high school ball tips off for real at Thanksgiving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaia has invested a ton of time on her game and it's paying off. That was obvious on Sunday. Next spring we'll be seeing a lot more of Anderson as she joins West Central United on the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit. College coaches will want to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are three more fresh faces who stood out on Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_632a3534c5bef","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["502577"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":507820,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Kylee was one of the first newbies who jumped out at us Sunday morning. It was her aggressiveness that was most evident. Kylee was very active defensively, putting pressure on ballhandlers and communicating clearly with her teammates. We loved her focus and intensity. She was always ready and dialed in for what was about to happen next and played with a complete lack of fear. Binkley also has a nice pull-up jump shot and the athleticism to beat defenders one-on-one to get to the basket. Kylee is from Kelliher, population 258, just east of Red Lake. She'll play next summer for Starks Elite out of Duluth where her game is sure to grow substantially.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["502559"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":507826,"_player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Amber is pushing 6 feet with long arms and long legs, dimensional attributes that tend to draw your attention if the goal is to find quality basketball prospects. She gets up and down the floor at pace and moves with ease. She's got good hands, pretty good feet and a skill set that has come a long way in recent months. When Mahal goes into attack mode she's very dangerous and represents a difficult matchup for defenders of all shapes and sizes. At times right now she can seem a little bit passive, relying on her natural tools to do the job. It's not difficult, however, to picture the possibilities that will come to fruition as her focus, consistency and physical presence take root. Amber will be a key piece once again next summer for the Minnesota Bobcats.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["498662"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":507834,"_player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"We had our first close-up view of Jaydyn's game 10 days ago at the Minnesota Rise Fall League. We were certainly impressed. Our plan on Sunday was to see if what we had witnessed on the courts of Bethany Lutheran College was a one-off or would we see more high-level productivity at the Freshman Showcase. Turns out we did. She looked good on a Rise-heavy team that included the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='280354' first='Tucker' last='Downs'], [player_tooltip player_id='502551' first='Brooklin' last='Hinze'] and [player_tooltip player_id='502534' first='Riley' last='Wilson']. Jadyn is athletic. Like Mahal, she moves with ease and grace. Her strides are long and her first move is explosive. We love the way she defends, and the fact that she is agile enough and quick enough and versatile enough to handle defensive assignments that many 5'8 guards aren't capable of managing. Kor isn't flashy but she is really effective.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /-->