Dakotas Top 250 Expo - 2nd Team Standouts

The Top 250 Expo held in Sioux Falls, SD was loaded with talent and left me feeling great about the quality of basketball to be played this season in both North and South Dakota. Here are my 2nd Team Standouts who played well enough to stand out from the crowd on Saturday.   [player_tooltip player_id='391251' first='Reagan' last='Rus'] - Mount Vernon/Plankinton - 5'8" - Class of 2025   Reagan is a gift to South Dakota basketball. She is very humble and plays the game with great composure, making positive plays and always leaving her team in a better position on both ends with her play. One of the best athlets in the Dakotas attacking off the bounce, if this young lady could start knocking down threes with consistency she could find herself in conversations as the best player in her class. At the expo, she attacked the rim effectively, knocked down FTs and demonstrated great shot selection on offense. On defense, she always seems to be in the right position at the right time and plays mistake-free defense allowing her squad to worry about their own assignment as she never requires help. A really solid overall perimeter prospect, Reagan solidified her position in the top five of the Class of 2025.   [player_tooltip player_id='343332' first='Sloane' last='Keszler'] - St. Thomas More - 5'6" - Class of 2025   Sloane is a gamer! She operates the point guard position well and plays with composure and high IQ ability well beyond her age. On defense, she's a competitor and pressures ball handlers relentlessly while staying in a great position to not get beat. She sprints up and down the court all game long and never takes a play off. High IQ handle and passing skills, a nice perimeter jump shot, and a knack for picking passes and weak dribbles make Keszler a really intriguing perimeter prospect. [player_tooltip player_id='154266' first='Reese' last='Ross'] (deservedly) gets a lot of attention at St. Thomas More but [player_tooltip player_id='343332' first='Sloane' last='Keszler'] will be a vital piece of what they do.   [player_tooltip player_id='342456' first='Jenna' last='Miller'] - Dell Rapids - 5'6" - Class of 2026   Jenna did what she does, knocking down shots from deep, attacking the basket with aggression, and pushing the tempo on offense. She controls tempo really well and can speed up the play of other guards with pressure and force mistakes. On offense, she has the same level of control as she can increase the pace of the game all by herself. She has shooting ability well beyond many in her class and with building maturity and composure she has the potential to be one of the top prospects in the Sioux Falls area.   [player_tooltip player_id='241312' first='Sawyer' last='Stoebner'] - Mitchell - 5'10" - Class of 2024   Sawyer has a very balanced offensive game. She knocked down shots from the perimeter, showed off a variety of moves to finish off the dribble, and took great care of the basketball. She ran the floor hard in transition and helped her team with early offense. Defensively she was physical, taking away cutting lanes, boxing out, and securing boards. Stoebner looks to be poised for a breakout season for her Mitchell squad and is another name to keep your eye on during the 2022-23 season.   [player_tooltip player_id='488325' first='Ava' last='Kellenberger'] - Brandon Valley - 5'8" - Class of 2026   Ava is another young prospect to keep your eye on in South Dakota. To start the day there was some inconsistency in her offensive play as she appeared to be rushing things and settling on offensive shots. However, as the day went on this kid just got stronger and stronger and she nearly cracked my 1st team list. She showed off her endurance and work ethic down the stretch as other players started to get fatigued. She never lost a step and played with high intensity every single game of the day. She knocked down threes, attacked well from the perimeter, and handled point guard duties the majority of the day for her team. She is an intense defender and on offense, she is in 100% attack mode and finds herself in effective places to score often.   [player_tooltip player_id='100442' first='Arden' last='Faulkner'] - Fargo North - 5'10" - Class of 2023   Arden was a very solid player on both ends. One of the most consistent players on the day she was effective for her group on both ends. She plays really solid gap defense and was a vocal leader in the help side for her team. She had a strong mix of attacking the rim and knocking down the three. Offensive analysts love her as she plays with phenomenal spacing and understands the need for player movement in a motion offense. Mostly playing in a 5 out motion on the day she did a great job of moving without the ball, spotting up, and cutting to create open shots for herself as well as others.   [player_tooltip player_id='342171' first='Addison' last='Sage'] - Thompson - 5' 3" - Class of 2026   This young lady has an extremely high ceiling. She has room for improvement in her shooting consistency and defensive capabilities, but her ball-handling abilities and basketball IQ were one of the highest of the group and she's only going to be a freshman. She has really great handles and operates the 1 position with ease. She sets up teammates for shots and picks her moments when she needs to get her own. Every time down the floor you can see her give a little shoulder shake to her opponent, testing the gaps, and seeing if there is an opportunity to attack the basket. This early offense improves her group as a whole as she can get to the rack and create for others.   [player_tooltip player_id='404951' first='Grace' last='Peterson'] - Sioux Falls Washington - 5'11" - Class of 2025   Grace had a very solid day at the Top 250 expo, knocking down threes, using her impressive length to disrupt possessions on defense, and attacking off the dribble to get to the front of the rim to score. She attacks the middle very effectively and is so long and tall that once she gets in there, she is really tough to stop. Pair that with a really solid shooting range from outside and you have the makings of a very complete offensive player. She was one of the most intriguing prospects for me as I wanted to see her playing against high-level competition and she answered the call. Stock is up on [player_tooltip player_id='404951' first='Grace' last='Peterson']! Look for her to play a much larger role this season for her Warrior squad.

The Top 250 Expo held in Sioux Falls, SD was loaded with talent and left me feeling great about the quality of basketball to be played this season in both North and South Dakota. Here are my 2nd Team Standouts who played well enough to stand out from the crowd on Saturday.