Class of 2025: AAU Sleepers
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We’re still looking at some players who could excel this summer. The kids I’m talking about today would classify as sleepers in the 25 class heading into April and May’s Spring Season. Grace Zortman Grace Zortman 5'6" | CG Homestead…
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Continue ReadingWe’re still looking at some players who could excel this summer. The kids I’m talking about today would classify as sleepers in the 25 class heading into April and May’s Spring Season.
Grace Zortman Grace Zortman 5'6" | CG Homestead | 2025 State WI
Zortman is an excellent gadget player. She can do a little of everything and doesn’t need the ball to make winning plays. I love her aggression in rebounding the ball, which sets the tone for everything else she does on the floor. Zortman flies all over the place on the defensive end in Homestead’s pressure defense and does a solid job of playing in the passing lanes and generating live-ball turnovers. Zortman can sell out for steals a little too much, but I’m sure coaches would prefer to reign her in than pump her up. On the offensive end of the floor, Zortman does an excellent job cutting off her teammate’s drives and finishes with her left hand around the basket. I also think she can be a solid shooter at the next level. She doesn’t take too many threes due to the shooting talent around her, but it looks good out of her hands, and I trust her to make open shots.
Princess Nwachukwu Princess Nwachukwu 5'11" | C Vel Phillips Memorial | 2025 State WI
Nwachukwu is a kid who I’ve continued to raise my opinion on over the past year. I saw her at a summer league at Center Court and was impressed by her athleticism and ability to control the paint on both ends of the floor. She has excellent shot-blocking instincts, and even when she doesn’t block them, she either deters kids from driving to the basket or forces them to alter their shot. I feel that Nwachukwu is among the best rim defenders in Wisconsin, and she still has things to learn on that end of the floor. Offensively, she finishes strongly around the rim and is comfortable playing through contact. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a handful of scholarship schools take a look at her this summer with Illinois Legends.
There wasn’t a more productive post player in Wisconsin this past year. Welsch had one of the rare 30-point and 20-rebound games for the Old Abes to drive that point home. Welsch is powerful, has elite touch around the basket, plays through contact, and does an excellent job getting post position. Watching her seal defenders is one of the most entertaining niche things to watch. Welsch gets her seals done quickly and then demands the ball from her guards, and her guards gladly throw her the ball so she can get two easy points. She’s a little smaller than 6-0, but if her production continues to be as good as it’s been the past year, there will be plenty of schools who’ll take a look at a kid with her ability in the post.
Ella Hamacher Ella Hamacher 5'9" | SF Stoughton | 2025 State WI
The Stoughton wing just finished up her first season as a focal point of the Vikings offense, and in a conference as deep as the Badger, results varied. However, there is plenty to like about Hamacher’s game and how it translates to the next level. The lefty had to be a go-to scorer, and I thought she did as well as anyone could expect, given the volume she needed to score with and the attention that defenses gave her on a nightly basis. Hamacher showed plenty of skill scoring in half-court settings. She’ll be a better shooter at the next level than at the high school level due to the quality of her shot that she’ll get by playing with more talent at the college level. For smaller schools, Hamacher could be a steal.