Breakdown Fall League comes to an entertaining conclusion

It's about to get real. After several terrific Sundays of exhibition basketball, the 2017 Breakdown Fall League has reached its conclusion and we are headed for the real deal. Some 239 days will have passed from the time Goodhue, Roseau, Orono, and Elk River cut down the nets at Williams Arena on State Championship Saturday until practice officially begins next Monday, Nov. 13. Regular season games start 11 days later. After a terrific AAU summer, countless camps and showcases, the odd off-season high school event and four Sundays of fall ball, it can't come soon enough. Kudos to the folks from Breakdown Sports for another excellent Fall League. Nobody does high school basketball events any better. By matching opponents correctly, scheduling quick back-to-back games, and making everything run smoothly, Breakdown offers the best opportunity available for teams to reconvene, find a little rhythm, figure out which newcomers might be able to contribute, and offer interested observers a preview of what lies ahead. Over the past four Sundays, I spent two full days at St. Micheal-Albertville and one each at Hopkins and Bloomington Kennedy. In total, I saw 60 schools play at least once. Here are some observations from Sunday's final action at STMA. Might there be magic in Monticello? Other than the nickname, there wasn't a whole lot of Magic in Monticello last winter. The squad won just eight games and wasn't high on my 'Must See' list. Sunday I checked in on the Magic show, however, and liked what I saw. I was particularly impressed with 5'4" point guard Lauren Zwack. The sophomore showed plenty of quickness, and was probably the most athletic player on the floor. She made good decisions and handled the ball well under pressure. That's good because she has a pair of very nice targets inside. One of those targets is Cat Terres, a 6'3" post whose physical size and vast potential has intrigued many coaches for a long time. She played for North Tartan this past summer and will try her luck with Scott Antl's Minnesota Stars in 2018. Cat is definitely a work in progress, but her finish around the rim is improving and she was much more aggressive and physical than what I had seen before. The best big on the floor for Monticello was 6'2" Anna Olson, an athletic 4 who demonstrated plenty of grit and determination, and a rather polished skillset. Olson is plenty mobile, can run the floor at pace, pounds the boards hard and knows how to cash in on the put-back. At #21 in the Class of 2020, Olson is a low-key star on a low-key squad. She and Zwack are teammates on the Minnesota Comets. Are big things brewing in Big Lake? Big Lake finished mid-pack in the Mississippi 8 last year where all of the headlines go to mighty STMA. The only Hornet who regularly makes news is junior Emma Anderson and justifiably so. The 5'10" combo guard from the Minnesota Fury is ranked #61 in her class and has committed to play at Division I North Dakota. On Sunday, Anderson went about her business as usual, excelling defensively, handling and distributing the ball with skill and precision, and doing her share of the scoring. Anderson's skills may prove more valuable now that there are two talented youngsters along for the ride: Caela Tighe and Mia Huberty. Tighe is a super-athletic, 6-foot wing with good size and length. The freshman moves the ball with authority, rebounds hard and can get up in the air. I mean, really get up in the air. Tighe has nice instincts on defense where she is very, very vocal. This kid has barely scratched the surface of her potential. Mia is one of those big kids who got stuck in the paint as a youngster when she really should have had the ball in her hands. That probably hurt her development, but she is quickly making up for lost time. Huberty is a big guard who can definitely shoot the ball. When she gets her feet set, it's a sure-fire bucket. She is a strong ball-handler and an effective rebounder. Both players made minimal contributions a year ago. This is about to change. Both girls play for the Minnesota Suns, who have a reputation for taking lesser-known kids and helping them become solid college prospects. Sheforgen is a Saint in St. Francis On a bitterly cold winter night last season I was introduced to the talents of 2020 guard Amme Sheforgen of St. Francis. She was coming off an ankle injury and wasn't at her best, but a person in the know assured me that Amme was one to watch. That person was right. Over the summer, Sheforgan was the unsung hero of Bill Hinck's impressive Minnesota Heat squad where she played the role of silent assassin. That earned Amme the #43 spot in our most recent Class of 2020 rankings. Sunday in St. Michael she showed why. Sheforgan is a cerebral player with a high basketball IQ and a brain that can process information in a big hurry. She is deceptively quick, surprisingly athletic, and knows how to score the basketball in a number of ways. While defenses tend to focus on senior Sydney Zgutowicz (committed to D-II Concordia-St. Paul), Sheforgan goes about her business on the sly and is the kind of reliable, intelligent player every coach wants. St. Francis has some nice pieces up front, as well. Maggie Winkels is a 5'11" senior forward from the Minnesota Heat. She cracked our rankings for the first time this summer and is now drawing interest from a number of D-III schools. Maggie was good Sunday. Sophomore Emma Goldeman was better. The 6'1" post, another of Hinck's crew, is a sleeper who will likely get wings this winter. Could things be changing in Spring Lake Park? I have been admiring the skillset of Spring Lake Park point guard Joelle Talso for some time now. The 5'7" sophomore, ranked #78 in the class, isn't flashy but she is oh so efficient. Let's face it, Spring Lake Park was awful last year, but when Talso entered the game her calm demeanor and effective decision-making made the Panthers respectable. Talso was one of the top scorers at the AAU State Tournament. On Sunday, she matched up against another talented 2020, speedy Mikayla Kanenwisher of Elk River. Two weeks ago, she had a great battle with the impressive freshman Miah Monahan of Glencoe-Silver Lake. In both cases Talso more than held her own. Talso isn't the only talented youngster in the Spring Lake Park lineup, either. Point guard Averi Dunbar is a gifted 8th grader who has played a couple of years up for a long time. She is small but strong. She distributes the ball with great maturity, and isn't afraid to put the shot up when the opportunity presents itself. What really stands out about Dunbar, however, is her swagger. This girl knows she's got game and does not back down from anyone. She also smiles while she plays, and laughs out loud when her team falls victim to a questionable call. I love that in a player and Miss Dunbar is most definitely going to be a player. One more random thought for the road With so many varsity squads to see, watching the JV and 9th grade teams at Fall League isn't a priority. But sometimes the opportunity presents itself so why not. On Sunday I stumbled across Blaine's 9th graders and was immediately compelled to ask the all-important question: What the heck is that girl doing on this team? The girl in question is Madison Hoehne, and she's a powerful 5'11" forward with guard-like skills. To say she was the best player in the game would be an understatement. Hoehne played for North Tartan Kuppe this summer. She's raw but has some serious upside. I'll check back in a few weeks, but Blaine may have some explaining to do if Hoehne isn't playing quality minutes with the big girls in the very near future.