Kids Who Could Outperform Expectations in 23-24

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season begins next week, and I'm eager to get things going, but there are a few more days before we tip the season. Today, I'll talk about some players you should keep tabs on. Sunday will be sleeper teams, and on Monday, I'll have my official state picks as we head into the season. Let's talk about some kids who might be better than you expect today.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='767790' first='Violet' last='Otto']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Everything about Otto's offensive game stems from how well she can shoot the ball. She's a knockdown perimeter shooter, and teams have to respect that. However, she does a solid job reading hard closeouts and attacking when defenders are committing to contesting her shot. Otto's strong enough to power through contact and finish through traffic but also does well to keep her head up and drop some dump-off passes to kids for layups if that opportunity arises.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209605' first='Claire' last='Bjorge']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's always uncertainty after a significant injury over how a kid returns to the floor. However, Bjorge played some games last summer and played well. She's still an excellent scorer who can put the ball in the basket from any angle with multiple kids in front of her. The future Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog proved she's the kid we all remember from De Pere's run to the state tournament in 2021-22. Don't be surprised if the Red Birds are better than we expect. The Red Birds nearly beat a team that won a Regional Title without Bjorge. Now that she's back, they could make another run at some hardware.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='844208' first='Princess' last='Nwachukwu']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got familiar with Nwachukwu over the summer at the Wisconsin Varsity Invitational. I loved the physicality and energy she played with. The Spartans are guard-heavy and rely heavily on them to score, create, and give them the ball to carry them on the offensive end. Defensively, they rely on Nwachukwu to anchor the backline of their defense. The junior wing/forward has a future at the next level, being an athletic physical backline defender who gives a coach some defensive versatility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Halle Van Horn</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-11 Random Lake native is one of the most intriguing kids left on the board in 2024. Van Horn is an excellent ball handler and is a capable isolation creator. There is a real chance we're talking about someone more than a small-school prospect. However, I would not be shocked if every school in the WIAC kept tabs on her because she's the kind of kid who can win high-level games for you by scoring, rebounding, passing, guarding guards or posts, or making the right reads. I love what she brings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->