Recapping My Weekend (Part Two)

I spent my Thursday through Saturday going back and forth from Wisconsin to the Twin Cities. Today, I want to look back and talk about kids who did positive things during the games I watched in Delano, Rice Lake, and the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic.   [player_tooltip player_id='302297' first='Alyssa' last='Sand']   The current AA runner-ups have one of the most versatile post players in the Midwest. St. Thomas committed, and Albany senior [player_tooltip player_id='302297' first='Alyssa' last='Sand'] did everything against Duluth-Marshall. Sand was dominant around the basket, owned the boards on both ends, created in transition, and made everything look easy out there. You won't find many kids with Sand's size and skill in the country.   [player_tooltip player_id='433933' first='Chloe' last='Johnson']   I'll keep it brief about Johnson because everything she does well is out there, which is good because she's one of the most talented kids in her class in America. However, here's what I will say. Johnson is one of the most competitive kids I've ever seen. She's not a kid who shows much emotion on the floor, but you can see on her face how important winning and being the best version of herself is to her. That kid's wired to compete to a level that few others on Earth are, and it's part of why she's as good as she is.   [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway']   Sometimes, you can tell that some people are from a different cloth, and Greenway is one of those. That kid sprints everywhere on the floor and can do it for hours without getting tired. Every time she shoots the ball, it feels like there's an expectation around the gym that the ball should go in the basket, and watching her score 43 points, it's easy to understand why. She could have a slow start, but even if that happens, she always has a 10-0 personal run in her, and that's what makes the Lions so hard to beat. You could play elite defense on Greenway, and sometimes, that won't matter.   [player_tooltip player_id='374227' first='Rainey' last='Welson']   There are times with Welson that you watch her play and smile. She scored 41 points against Providence Academy and did an outstanding job playing with four fouls. I learned more about her after she picked up that fourth foul than I have in years. Everything she did after that foul had a purpose. She made better decisions about when to shoot or drive than she had been in the past. Over the past few seasons, she fell in love with her jumper or attacked with her head down and out of control. On Saturday, she showed everyone at Hopkins why she's one of the top kids in the Midwest.   [player_tooltip player_id='342360' first='Eliana' last='Sheplee']   I made a slight detour on Friday night up to Rice Lake to see the Sheplee sisters in person playing for their high school. Although Ady didn't play, Eli stepped up against Chippewa Falls. The future Northern Iowa Panther recorded 30 points in a convincing win over the Cardinals and showed the athleticism that's led to her winning multiple state track titles and records and that helped the Warriors reach the State Tournament in Volleyball this fall.   [player_tooltip player_id='296515' first='Hope' last='Counts']   As talented as the guards are at Providence Academy, Counts brings an aspect to their team that nobody else has. She's a kid who wants to battle in the paint, defend the basket, and is strong enough to guard talented posts in Minnesota. Counts is an energetic kid who fits the style that the Lions play with, does an excellent job making herself available for drop-off passes on the block, and is skilled enough to finish in creative ways. Although Greenway scored 43, you could argue that the points, defense, and free throws she made were almost as valuable. She was excellent against Hortomville.   [player_tooltip player_id='533074' first='Kardyn' last='Peppler']   Most Hortonville kids weren't at their best against Pewaukee last weekend, and I'll chalk that up to them playing their first game and not at full strength yet. Even though they weren't 100% in Minnesota, everyone played well. Peppler treated the full-court pressure the Lions threw at her like it wasn't anything for her to worry about and made some standout plays finishing around the basket against an athletic and lengthy defense. Everyone who's known her has raved about her game, and the early returns have been outstanding. Guards who don't turn the ball over excel anywhere they play, and Peppler's shown she doesn't turn it over that often against anyone.   [player_tooltip player_id='346165' first='Hadley' last='Thul']   Maybe a month and a half ago, I was going through some notes this summer and came across some things I had on Thul. I thought to myself, I wonder why she doesn't have more Power Five interest, and she may have played herself into some this weekend with how she played against DeLaSalle with multiple Big Ten coaches in the gym. It's uncommon to find 6-2 wings with the skill and athleticism that Thul has, and although her Alexandria team came up short, the coaches in the gym were impressed by what Thul did on the floor.

I spent my Thursday through Saturday going back and forth from Wisconsin to the Twin Cities. Today, I want to look back and talk about kids who did positive things during the games I watched in Delano, Rice Lake, and the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic.