Top 250 Expo: Elite talent who impressed

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>‘Elite' is one of the most over-used terms in youth basketball. Just look at the lineup of teams at any big AAU tournament and there will be at least a dozen or more teams with ‘elite' in the name of their squad. According to Webster's Dictionary, ‘elite' has a number of meanings but in sports it is “the best in class.” For our purposes we usually define ‘elite' as prospects who have the basketball chops to earn a full-ride college scholarship. By that count there were quite a few ‘elite' prospects at last weekend's Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota Top 250 Expo. In our multitude of evaluation stories over the past week we have already chronicled a number of them in various categories. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For example, [player_tooltip player_id='205298' first='Jordan' last='Ode'] of Maple Grove, the third-ranked prospect in Minnesota's sophomore class, topped our 2025 All-Star team and was part of our colleague Tony Ragulen's “Lights Out Shooters” story. Really you could include a player of Ode's caliber in just about any story you want. She was the best player in the gym at the Top 250. [player_tooltip player_id='215959' first='Ava' last='Holman'] of Champlin Park was on our 2024 All-Star Team as was [player_tooltip player_id='304892' first='Anna' last='Vaaler'] of Andover and [player_tooltip player_id='302297' first='Alyssa' last='Sand'] of Albany. [player_tooltip player_id='148338' first='Grace' last='Counts'] of Providence Academy was named to our 2023 All-Star Team. [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'] of Eden Prairie, a top 25 prospect in 2025, was also featured among the top shooters. 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='215457' first='London' last='Harris'] of Hopkins made Tony's “All-Grit” team while Top 25 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='337630' first='Brooklynn' last='Holmberg'] is being cited as one of Tony's top rim runners.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a few more elite prospects, however, that we wanted to be sure to include in this final installment of Top 250 recaps. Here they are.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_634ca4f91202b","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["339143"],"_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":522291,"_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":"We don't track individual scoring at the Top 250 Expo but we're told that Dani had 18 points in each of her three games on Saturday. Considering those were running-time exhibition contests that's pretty impressive. Of course, most of what Coleman does on the basketball court is impressive. That's why she is an elite prospect in the state, a Top 25 talent in the Class of 2025 who will have every opportunity to prove that she can play college basketball at the Division 1 level. Now standing 6 feet tall, Dani has tons of length, runs the floor at pace and can finish on the fly. When she is in attack mode Coleman is extremely difficult to contain. She can also shoot the basketball at a high percentage. What we saw from Coleman at the Expo was an emerging confidence. That's the magic ingredient, isn't it? That's the elusive feeling that can take a player's game up two or three notches in a big hurry, which is exactly what we are anticipating from Dani this winter.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["453727"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Elite point guards operate on a different level than average point guards if they can think the game at a high level, if they see the floor better than most, if they have a nice feel for the game that enables them to do what is required when it is required. It helps if their handles are exceptional. A healthy dose of athleticism is a must. A little flair doesn't hurt either. The good news is that Kaitlyn checks each of those boxes. She led her Hancock Owls to the Class A state championship last spring by employing precisely all of those assets in the right way at the right time, earning All-State honors for her efforts, as well. Watching her at the Expo last weekend one got the impression that we are seeing the beginning of an exceptional career. This kid is good.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["215969"],"_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":522267,"_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":"Maenke's got swagger, that elusive confidence that comes when you have put in the work to develop your skills to the point where you just know you've got the chops necessary to get the job done. That's Nicole. She is a crafty floor leader, a cerebral point guard who plays the game with absolutely no fear. She takes risks of the calculated sort. Not rash decisions. Not low-percentage attempts. Not ill-considered fliers. And she can do it all at a very high pace. Great point guards are usually really good at setting the tone for their squad. Teammates follow their lead, gravitate to their ways, feed off their energy. Maenke has all of this and more. When the game's on the line Nicole is most likely going to deliver. She's also going to have fun doing it.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["215981"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":522294,"_player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"There are a lot of assets that put a player into the ‘elite' category. Too often we focus only on scoring, which is true in most sports. What we should really do is hone in on defense, because that's really what wins basketball games. That's why Kylie is on this list. Sure she can put the ball in the basket. With superior size and length that gives her an advantage over most opponents, she's going to score her share around the basket. But Kylie's bread and butter are offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and blocked shots. That's why she competed successfully on the EYBL Circuit with North Tartan. She's not the quickest kid in the gym. She isn't going to make highlight reels with her handles or her finesse. She's just going to do the unglamorous work required to win the game. Isn't that what it's really all about?","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["302300"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_player_featured_image":522286,"_player_evaluations_4_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Every elite player has something that separates them from the pack – from Coleman's length, to Rohloff's intelligence, to Maenke's swagger, to Waytashek's sheer effort on the boards. For Gerads it is her motor. She just keeps going and going and going. When you combine that kind of drive and determination with a package that includes size, athleticism, speed and power you've really got something. Gerads has already garnered a ton of high-level experience thanks to Albany's success at the Class 2A high school state tournament. She's proven herself at a reasonably high level of AAU ball, too. She's not afraid of the big stage. She's not afraid to make the big play. With a really solid mid-range game and a voracious appetite for rebounds, this old-school forward is going to get to the next level and make some serious noise doing it.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /-->