AAU Week #2: Legacy Region Kick Off in Milwaukee

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're just days into the 2023 AAU season and we hit the road to Milwaukee in week #2 for the first PGH Circuit event of the season in this part of the country – the Legacy Region Kick Off. The tournament featured more than 70 teams from across the Midwest and it was a blast… but also a grind. I only cover a couple of the PGH Circuit events each spring, mostly because we have so many great tournaments in Minnesota that we don't want to miss. Truth be told it's a grueling task more suited for my twenty-something colleagues than an old guy like me.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A PGH Circuit event goes something like this: It began with a half day in the office on Friday morning followed by 300+ miles of driving for a 5 p.m. arrival in the gym. The games ran until about 10:30. After a hot meal and a cold beer with PGH Wisconsin writer Brady Peterson on the way back to the hotel, it took me ‘til about 3 a.m. to write and post my Friday night recap. Following a couple of hours of sleep we were back in the gym for an 8 a.m. start on Saturday and another 12 hours of watching, talking and Tweeting about basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was up Sunday morning at 6 to sift through evaluation notes on over 100 players to determine which ones to write about, followed by a few hours of writing and six hours of windshield time back to Minneapolis. We also managed to squeeze in a couple of hours watching Jon Rahm win The Masters. As I write this it's 5:30 a.m. on Monday, we're on coffee #2, and I'm trying to do two or three hours of writing before heading to the office to put in a day's work at my actual job. Like I said, it's a grind. It's also a ton of fun. Getting paid to watch basketball is a privilege and one I do not take for granted. Ever. How else would we be able to bring you our recap of AAU Week #2? Here goes…</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TEAMS OF THE WEEK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='714562' first='FBC' last='North'] 2024 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This squad (banner photo) has no shortage of talent with gifted guards [player_tooltip player_id='178268' first='Anisa' last='Longs'] and [player_tooltip player_id='350439' first='Janiya' last='Wright'] on the roster. But two major additions have given the team a whole new look. St. Charles point guard [player_tooltip player_id='304917' first='Makadyn' last='Gust'] is highly decorated multi-sport athlete and a Top 100 prospect in the Class of 2024 who is coming off a stellar high school season. She made an immediate impact this weekend. Ditto for 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='296516' first='Regan' last='Juenemann'] of Duluth Marshall. She is a Top 15 prospect in the sophomore class and was flying on the weekend. Regan is a dynamic performer who has drawn a ton of D1 interest. Our colleague Brady Peterson wrote about Juenemann's play this weekend. <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2023/04/more-17u-standouts-from-the-legacy-region-kick-off/">Click here</a></strong> to read his evaluation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":633969,"width":768,"height":488,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/04/Air-MN-2026-team.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-633969" width="768" height="488" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/airminnesota</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota'] 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota'] freshmen went 3-1 at the event, a nice start to the spring and summer season and good for a second-place finish. It was Top 50 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='478374' first='Betsy' last='Gillette'] of Hayfield who drew the most notice from those gathered but #64-rated [player_tooltip player_id='502533' first='Jensyn' last='Storhoff'] of Lanesboro turned some heads, too. That's not surprising given the wonderful high school season she had. Our colleague Jeremy Brooks was suitably impressed. You can <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2023/04/legacy-region-kick-off-15u-saturday-morning-standouts/">read his evaluation</a></strong> of Gillette.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NEWCOMERS OF THE WEEK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most interesting aspects of covering a Prep Girls Hoops Circuit event is seeing a large number of players we haven't watched before. They don't exactly fall into the “newcomers” category though. We loved evaluating <strong>Kaidyn King</strong> of Illinois Elite, for example, only discovering later that she is highly-ranked in her home state. Ditto for Wisconsin prospects <strong>Autumn Dibb</strong> of 24:UP,<strong> Julia Wolf</strong> of Let it Rain, <strong>Faith Walder</strong> of 1848 Legends and more. Among the legitimate newcomers from Minnesota – players we haven't scouted before – we really liked sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='632543' first='Jade' last='Severson'] of [program_tooltip program_id='714562' first='FBC' last='North'] and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='633286' first='Siri' last='Konkel'] of [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota']. We published an <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2023/04/pgh-legacy-region-kick-off-the-best-of-friday-in-16u/">evaluation of Jade</a></strong> in our Friday night highlights. We did an <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2023/04/game-changers-at-the-pgh-legacy-region-kick-off/">evaluation of Siri</a></strong> on Sunday in our Game Changers story. Click the links to read those articles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We'll circle back to watch a couple of others including:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Anilya Johnson </strong>and <strong>Zarihana Rennie</strong> of [program_tooltip program_id='713420' first='Minnesota' last='Diamond Elite'] 2025 and Richfield High School.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Ali Zittle</strong> of [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota'] 2024, a junior from Altura, Minn., who plays across the border at Luther High School in Onalaska, Wisc.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Addison Langlois </strong>of [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota'] 2026, who is from Owatonna.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STOCK RISERS OF THE WEEK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We normally name some players on the upswing who raised their stock during the week. In this case we'll have a deeper dive into that Wednesday in our evaluations that include 2025 power forward [player_tooltip player_id='550023' first='Maya' last='Sampy'] (Osseo) and 2025 wing [player_tooltip player_id='634002' first='Elayna' last='Marinaro'] (Roseville) of [program_tooltip program_id='713420' first='Minnesota' last='Diamond Elite'], and 2025 forward [player_tooltip player_id='550002' first='Carmen' last='Kadlec'] (Rochester) of [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":633964,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/04/Senior-All-Stars.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-633964" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/MNgbballAllStar</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SO LONG TO THE SENIORS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While we were on the road in Milwaukee, one of the season's best events – the Minnesota Girls Basketball Association All-Star Games – took place at Holy Angels. I'm sorry we had to miss it. The games feature 40 of Minnesota's top seniors competing for one last time as high schoolers. I'm told the Kennedy and Kennedy Show, featuring Colorado commit [player_tooltip player_id='108301' first='Kennedy' last='Sanders'] of Chaska and Minnesota signee [player_tooltip player_id='108306' first='Kennedy' last='Klick'] of Maple Grove, was particularly memorable. One of the highlights of the event is always the naming of Minnesota's Miss Basketball which went to – drumroll please – [player_tooltip player_id='108299' first='Tessa' last='Johnson'] of St. Michael-Albertville. There were a lot of great players among this year's seniors, from the Hopkins duo of [player_tooltip player_id='108348' first='Nunu' last='Agara'] (Stanford) and [player_tooltip player_id='108298' first='Taylor' last='Woodson'] (Michigan), to Klick and Sanders and more. Truth be told, though, it would be difficult to make a case for anyone other than Tessa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":634012,"width":563,"height":767,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/04/Tessa-Johnson-award.jpg?w=750" alt="" class="wp-image-634012" width="563" height="767" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter/MNgbballAllStar</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was about three years ago when we named Johnson as the top prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023. That certainly turned out to be a prescient choice! Despite missing a full season with a broken femur, Johnson regained her form and more, leading her team to the Class 4A state title last month, earning McDonald's All-American status, the Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year Award, and a scholarship to collegiate powerhouse South Carolina. Throughout her journey, Tessa has always been more focused on her teammates and the scores of admiring youngsters who worship the ground she walks on than on her own accomplisments. We had the pleasure of writing letters of recommendation for her national awards and it wasn't difficult to find nice things to say about Miss Johnson. You won't find a better example of class and selflessness anywhere.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COMING UP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've got plenty more coverage of the PGH Circuit Legacy Region Kick Off. Be sure to read the many reports on our Wisconsin page, which also include evaluations of Minnesota players. The rest of the week looks like this:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Tuesday we'll do the 16U All-Tournament team with other grades to be handled by our colleagues in Wisconsin.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Wednesday we'll bring you the top stock risers we watched at the Center Court Sports Complex in Waukesha.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Our colleague Tony Ragulen was at the [program_tooltip program_id='712689' first='Minnesota' last='Heat']'s Battle for Mom in Forest Lake over the weekend and he'll have evaluations on a variety of players from there.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>This weekend we'll be at the 10th Annual Midwest Kickoff Classic, which features some 35 girls divisions, 21 of them in 8th grade and up. The field is loaded with the best Minnesota talent including the top teams from Crossfire, Fury, [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'], [program_tooltip program_id='712362' first='Legacy' last='Hoops'], [program_tooltip program_id='712665' first='Metro' last='Stars'], Stars, Minnesota Starks, the Rise and more. <strong><a href="https://aauevents.com/midwest-kick-off-classic">Click here</a></strong> to see the event schedule.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->