Week #2: The 10 best freshmen on our radar

One of the most interesting aspects of the first few weeks of the high school basketball season is seeing which freshmen step up and make an immediate impact. In Minnesota, of course, kids can begin their high school basketball careers as early as 7th grade. The very best of the lot can be established stars by the time they set foot in a high school classroom. In week #2 of the 2021 campaign we saw a few standouts from each category – the familiar names and faces and those making their presence known in school ball for the first time. Here’s a rundown on the top freshmen of week #2. <strong>Freshmen of the Week</strong> If you read our weekly recap on Sunday then you already know how well [player_tooltip player_id="178269" first="Liv" last="McGill"] of Hopkins and [player_tooltip player_id="178277" first="Jordan" last="Zubich"] of Mountain-Iron Buhl played. McGill, the #2-rated prospect in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2024, played a crucial role in Hopkins’ whitewashing of Wayzata. Zubich, ranked 33rd in the class, turned in a solid all-around performance against Cass Lake-Bena. For their efforts they were named our Freshmen of the Week. For more details, read <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2021/01/the-week-that-was-2-the-team-that-cant-be-beat/"><strong>The Week That Was #2</strong></a>. We could just as easily have named [player_tooltip player_id="178263" first="Laura" last="Hauge"] of St. Croix Lutheran. She was another wily veteran who turned in an excellent performance we watched in person. Laura is in the early stages of her third season of varsity competition, and her assets have been well-documented here over the past two years. It will suffice to say that Hauge, the #4-ranked prospect of 2024, is one of the top handful of shooters in the state with an all-around game that is progressing nicely. So far this season Hauge is averaging 28.5 points per game on 44% shooting, including 12-of-27 from 3-point range. SCL lost a nail-biter to Cambridge-Isanti in their opener before posting a convincing 76-55 win over DeLaSalle on Thursday. Hauge had 29 points in that game, including a half dozen threes, and was 9-for-10 at the free throw line. <strong>Exciting debuts</strong> <strong>Aneisha Scott – guard, DeLaSalle</strong> Another standout guard in the SCL vs DLS match-up was diminutive point guard <strong>Aneisha Scott</strong>. Although she’s technically not a freshman, we’ll include the 8th grader here because we watched Scott score her first high school points on Thursday and saw glimpses of what is possible for this crafty floor general. Scott came off the bench for the Islanders and gave her team an immediate injection of much-needed energy. She showed extremely quick feet, elite-level ball handling and a beautiful floater, things that small guards must have in their arsenal to reach higher levels of collegiate basketball. Yes, Scott is tiny. She is smaller than either [player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"] of St. Michael-Albertville or [player_tooltip player_id="57914" first="Ronnie" last="Porter"] of St. Paul Como Park, probably the two most highly-developed little guards in the state. But she has comparable skills and plenty of fire. If you follow local talent on Twitter you have no doubt encountered Scott’s postings (@NBaller05). Aneisha is not shy about getting her name and highlights out there and that’s OK because there is plenty to see and she is a name to remember. <strong>Anna Vaaler – forward, Andover</strong> Andover has a healthy crop of freshmen who are easing their way into the varsity lineup today but are poised to do great things tomorrow. Forward <strong>Anna Vaaler</strong> is probably the least-heralded of that group, which includes three members of the Prep Girls Hoops Freshmen 50: #27 [player_tooltip player_id="178262" first="Emma" last="Frost"], #28 [player_tooltip player_id="215970" first="Morgan" last="Miller"] and #31 [player_tooltip player_id="178261" first="Piper" last="Engelby"]. On Wednesday night against Centennial, however, it was Vaaler who was garnering all of the attention. We arrived in time to see the entire JV game, during which Anna played one half. In that stint she scored 10 points, including a sweet field goal on a rather polished Eurostep. It was Vaaler’s energy that stood out, however. She plays the game with a take-no-prisoners attitude. Anna is physical, aggressive and determined. Vaaler doesn’t say much, but her game says plenty. Standing about 5’9 with a big frame, Vaaler has plenty of speed in the open court with quality ball-handling skills and range out to the three-point line. And she can rebound. Andover was struggling against a strong Cougars squad in the varsity game but Vaaler came off the bench and impressed. She scored 6 points and established that she can play now. Anna didn’t make the top 50 but you can be sure she’ll be on the list when the next 25 are added in a few weeks. <strong>Other notable performances</strong> Here are a few more freshmen who were on our radar last week. [player_tooltip player_id="178266" first="Angel" last="Hill"] – The Minneapolis South guard knows how to put the ball in the basket and certainly demonstrated that as the Tigers opened their season with a pair of victories. Hill, the #13-rated prospect in the class of 2024, had back-to-back 19-point performances. [player_tooltip player_id="178267" first="Rhyan" last="Holmgren"] – The uber-athletic guard from St. Peter is one of the most exciting young prospects of 2024, which is why she has earned the #14 rating. Rhyan’s improvement has been steady, and she has now taken a more prominent role for her team. Holmgren scored 19 points against Hutchinson last week, one of the state’s best defensive squads. [player_tooltip player_id="215959" first="Ava" last="Holman"] – The crafty point guard from Osseo has already made a name for herself at the varsity level for a young Osseo team. Holman scored 18 points Friday against Park Center and is averaging 14 ppg through the Orioles first three contests. [player_tooltip player_id="215984" first="Kiera" last="O’Rourke"] – We weren’t sure just how much impact the Holy Angels guard would make at the varsity level this season, but it didn’t take long to find out. O’Rourke, the #43-rated freshman in the state, scored 17 points in her first game and followed that up with 6 more in game two. Remarkably, she finished the week shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the field. [player_tooltip player_id="215987" first="Daviney" last="Dreckman"] – The stocky guard from New Ulm is a varsity veteran who looks and plays way beyond her years. Dreckman has picked right up where she left off last season as the #46-rated prospect scored 18 points against Sibley East on Tuesday. She leads her team at 13 ppg while shooting 48% from the field. <strong>Taylor Clarey</strong> – The Rochester Century guard didn’t make our Freshmen 50 in the fall, but that’s only because we didn’t get to see her play this summer and she could not be evaluated. The 5’7 9th grader showed what she is capable of on Saturday, putting up 24 points in a win over Albert Lea. She’s averaging 16 ppg so far after being a key factor in Century’s rebuild as an 8th grader.