2028 Stars

It is the fall season for high school sports but we are still thinking about basketball!   Who are some of the young guns and youthful stars to watch in North Dakota?   See below for a rundown on 5 of the top ballers in ND...   2028 Stars   [player_tooltip player_id='555488' first='Lakyn' last='Donnelly'] |5'6 G| Horace   Lakyn plays with high energy on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. She has a high hoops IQ for her age, she is a great decision-maker, is an elite ball handler, and scores at all three levels. She does everything very well, especially when you consider her young age. The part of her game that a lot of people seem to ask about, and comment on is her ball-handling ability. This allows her to work her way through traffic in the full-court/half-court, and it is a big part of her growth as a point guard. Horace is fortunate to be able to play two point guards together on the floor. This is a luxury very few teams have. Lakyn will be one of those starting point guards for the Hawks. She showed tremendous growth as a player, and specifically as a point guard, in the final two months of last season. She is starting to balance her game and is understanding the important role a point guard. Donnelly is learning that she must get the team into the offense, make sure she is distributing the ball to the proper players at the correct time, find the teammate with the hot hand, and she is developing a feel for when she needs to be more aggressive offensively. While doing all that, she has to take care of the basketball and play high-level defense. The Hawks have a high amount of trust and faith in Lakyn, and they show that by putting a ton of responsibility on her to make the right plays. Donnelly has shown tremendous growth as a player, a person, and Horace expects that growth to continue. She is still only a freshman, which is exciting because that means she still has a lot of time to continue to grow, develop, and improve even more. The ultimate gauge of success for point guards is, does their team win? The Hawks have high expectations and they expect Lakyn to do the things a point guard does to make the team successful. Donnelly has crazy potential.   [player_tooltip player_id='1004420' first='Rylee' last='Seavert'] |6'1 G/F| Shanley   Rylee is a talented player who can play multiple positions on the floor, she is a versatile baller. At 6'1", she has the strength to defend and score in the paint and the quickness and length to defend on the perimeter. Seavert can often be found at the top of a zone or press with her ability to get deflections. Rylee can also protect the rim and has had some monster blocks in her young career. Her defensive versatility cannot be complimented enough. Offensively, she's a three-level scorer. She can shoot the three and put it on the floor for a midrange jumper or take it all the way to the rack. Rylee also has the ability to post up and play with her back to the basket. Seavert has a knack for getting to the free-throw line and does a great job converting. Rylee played for the IA national team that played up a year in the Nike EYCL circuit. Playing against that level of competition has helped her hone some of her offensive skills and made her more confident with the ball in her hands. Seavert will have a huge role at Shanley this year, especially with the departure of 4 seniors from last season's team. Her teammates voted her one of the captains, which is a testament to the leadership skills she possess as only a freshman. The Deacons are looking forward to seeing her flourish this season and expect her to, rightfully, be considered one of the best players in the state.   [player_tooltip player_id='1004419' first='Siera' last='Nipstad'] |5'10 G| Kindred   Siera plays for a talented and historically successful Viking program. Nipstad is earmarked as one of the top ballers in North Dakota and we expect her to have a breakout season as a freshman at Kindred. Siera is a solid, talented, skilled, and emerging ball player. Look out for her as a shooter, Nipstad has a soft, accurate, and fluid shot from beyond the arc. After watching some film, Siera looking to be an in-rhythm cash shooter. Her role should be increased this season and we expect impressive results. Nipsatd is also a sneaky and stealthy defender who creates turnovers and disrupts the offense. This frosh has talent and it will be evident in a few months. Get to know the name [player_tooltip player_id='1004419' first='Siera' last='Nipstad'].   [player_tooltip player_id='1000498' first='Suri' last='Gourd'] |5'8 G| Fours Winds-Minnewaukan   Suri is very unselfish, competitive, has a high hoops IQ, and has great court vision. Gourd is an offensive threat who knocks down the deep 3, hits the midrange jumpers, and finishes well in the paint. She is a sniper from beyond the 3-point arc. Suri can hit from deep and she made an impressive 60 triples last season as an 8th grader. She also loves to play defense, Gourd prefers to defend the top opposing player in high school and club basketball. She is a thief on defense with excellent instincts and reaction time. Gourd makes others around her better, she shares the ball, and sets up teammates for easy buckets. She is also a 4.0 student! Gourd as in the weight room most of the offseason and has become stronger. She has also grown a couple of inches. has gotten a lot stronger as she has been in the weight room most of the off-season. She also has grown a couple of inches. This young star has worked on hr middy game and now scores the rock from all 3 levels. In the past few years, Suri has played with the very talented [program_tooltip program_id='715344' first='Inspired' last='Athletics'] 2028 AAU National team. This past summer they played up a division and won the Nike 15U EYCL National Championship in Chicago, Illinois! Suri is a back-to-back (2023, 2024) All-Region player who will demand a lot of attention this upcoming season. She is playing in arguably the toughest Region in Class A against high-quality teams. Gourd averaged 17.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.6 apg, 121 steals, and 60 triples last season as an 8th grader. 4Winds will be expecting leadership from Suri this season as a 2-year varsity veteran.    [player_tooltip player_id='935273' first='Violet' last='Richman'] |5'8 G| Maple River   She is a high-talent player who was named All-District last season as an 8th grader and she helped the Raiders get to the State Tournament (21 win season). She is a dedicated worker, Richman is in the gym every morning working on the Dr. Dish getting up shots. Violet will be the number 1 offensive option for Maple River this season and they should be elite in B. Richman is the primary ballhandler but with the improvement of her teammates over the summer, she could be playing off the ball a bit more. Violet is a basketball junkie who is always working on her craft. She is young but is a leader. Richman is a super-skilled player, she gets noticed because of her impressive offensive play but she is also an emerging defender. Big things are coming for the young Raider.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/04/NorthDakota.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-889728" /></figure>

It is the fall season for high school sports but we are still thinking about basketball!