The Expo: Team 6 evaluations

Team 6 brings our coverage of The Expo to a close, wrapping up an event that gave juniors and seniors another valuable opportunity to compete, gain exposure and show they have what it takes to play at the next level. Throughout our coverage, we highlighted prospects from North Dakota, Sauk Centre, Rochester, Brainerd and several communities in between. With scholarships and roster spots still available, these players approached the day with urgency and left us with plenty of names worth remembering.    Elmer was strong attacking the basket and played bigger than her size would indicate. What stood out was how well she understood spacing, especially in transition. She ran her lanes hard, forcing the defense to make a decision. Stay with her and she opened up a path for a teammate to attack the basket. Collapse inside and Elmer was ready on the perimeter for an open look. She brought that same activity to the defensive end, consistently getting her hands on passes and disrupting the offense. Those deflections created opportunities for her team to get out and run, where she was right back to filling lanes and putting pressure on the defense. Elmer didn't need the ball in her hands to impact the game. She stayed active, understood where to be and found different ways to help her team.     The way Determan approaches the game is exactly how you'd want any player to do it. She doesn't give up on plays and keeps going until she hears a whistle. The Sauk Centre guard has a motor that simply doesn't turn off. She puts pressure on you on both ends, giving up her body diving for loose balls, battling for rebounds or attacking the body of a bigger defender. During The Expo, you could almost see unsuspecting opponents thinking they had a second to exhale, only to look up and see Paige heading the other way with the ball. She doesn't mind mixing it up and will do whatever it takes to win. Add in a reliable outside shot and you've got one heck of a teammate. When she's not riding opponents all over the court, she's competing and riding horses. Talk about versatility.     Sampson has good size and length. She's listed at 5'8, but looked a little taller on the floor. She defended, rebounded and kept the ball moving, often getting it to teammates who were a little more aggressive offensively. She's a ball of clay with plenty to work with. Sampson set solid screens, played with consistent effort and seemed to gain confidence as The Expo went on. One play that stood out came when she attacked a defender off the dribble and finished with a nice right-handed scoop around the basket. Those flashes became more frequent as she got comfortable. There's still plenty of skill development ahead, but you can work with size, effort and a willingness to compete. Pair those tools with more time in the gym, and Sampson has the makings of a prospect worth keeping an eye on.     The lefty has a nice stroke from beyond the arc and rewarded her teammates by knocking down open shots when they broke the defense down and kicked it her way. As the day went on, you could see her confidence from the outside continue to grow. Lewis (pictured above) is more than just a shooter, though. She has a strong, compact frame that defenders tend to bounce off when she gets downhill, allowing her to stay on her line and finish through contact. That same strength shows up on the defensive end. She held her own against bigger offensive players, battled for position and never backed down from a physical matchup. Once the outside shot started falling, everything else seemed to open up. Kennedy is ranked 76th in the Class of 2028 and is drawing D2 recruiting interest.     Castle was one of the most consistent and productive players to compete Sunday at The Expo. She was explosive on the offensive end, getting downhill and finishing around the basket with an impressive array of moves. Give her space and she could knock it down from the outside. Crowd her and she was going right by you. Once Castle got rolling, there wasn't much the defense could do to keep her from getting where she wanted. She brought that same energy defensively, flying around blocking shots, picking up steals and just being a disruptive presence. What stood out was how consistently she impacted the game on both ends throughout the day. Castle was extremely fun to watch and put together one of the better performances I saw at The Expo. The event may have been free to watch, but Castle was worth the price of admission.

Team 6 brings our coverage of The Expo to a close, wrapping up an event that gave juniors and seniors another valuable opportunity to compete, gain exposure and show they have what it takes to play at the next level. Throughout our coverage, we highlighted prospects from North Dakota, Sauk Centre, Rochester, Brainerd and several communities in between. With scholarships and roster spots still available, these players approached the day with urgency and left us with plenty of names worth remembering.