Prospects Who’ve Helped Themselves This Summer

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that we have a week after the second live period of the AAU season, I want to talk about a few kids who've helped themselves the most over the past two months. Some of these kids I haven't seen yet this AAU season, but they've made some waves at the events they've attended.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='266998' first='McKenna' last='Johnson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Without watching the Wisconsin Flight 17U EYBL team, I can explain what makes Johnson stand out with that group. Everyone knows who [player_tooltip player_id='189502' first='Allie' last='Ziebell'], [player_tooltip player_id='209617' first='Kayl' last='Petersen'], and [player_tooltip player_id='209595' first='Taylor' last='Stremlow'] are. Those kids have been around each other with Flight and have found significant success individually and as part of winning teams in EYBL and at their high schools. However, Johnson has not been a part of a state-contending program at Wilmot, and the coaches in her state who vote on things like All-State teams look past her. That said, I believe Johnson's a kid who raises the level of talent around her because of how prolific of a scorer she is. If the other teams only show Johnson one body defensively, and I don't care if you put a future power five kid on her, Johnson will pick them apart. Now that teams can only commit one defender to her, and she gets to work on an island with kids who have played at a high level in EYBL, she shines.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448243' first='Katelyn' last='McGinnis']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If I were ranking kids within Wisconsin who've helped themselves the most thus far in AAU, Johnson, and McGinnis would be one and two, and for similar reasons. McGinnis spent a short stint playing 17U with the 2023 Flight EYBL team a year ago if my memory serves correctly. That should tell you how highly that program has thought of her over the past few seasons. In high school, you'd see flashes of McGinnis being this lethal off-ball wing that spaces the floor at an elite level, and in big spots, she did just that by helping her team reach a sectional final as a No. 7 seed in their sectional, which is unheard of. Now she isn't this kid who'll break ankles, make highlight reel plays, or take over by scoring 12 in a row for her team. McGinnis knows her game better than anyone and gets in spots where McGinnis knows she can succeed. For instance, she likes these little 10-foot turnaround jumpers. That's where the 5-9 wing will go. Her 3-pointers mostly come from catch-and-shoot situations, so she'll use a pump fake to punish overly aggressive closeouts. I don't think of her as a kid who'll jump out as some other kids in the conference do offensively, but she fits on every team, and all the little things she does add up throughout a game, and college coaches like that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='533057' first='Natalie' last='Kussow']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season at Arrowhead, I saw Kussow a few times against some talented groups, and as a first-year kid, those results weren't always perfect, but those games helped her grow as a player. Playing against kids two or three years older than you at the high school level isn't easy. However, in some of those games against teams who went to sectionals or groups with that talent level, you could see how gifted she was, especially in the Homestead game on the road. That said, watching her play this summer, you see all the physical tools that power five schools would be looking for. Kussow runs the floor well, can take contact at the rim and power through it, and has the length to handle opposing guards defensively. The Arrowhead rising sophomore has the quiet confidence to her game, and the second you see her playing, you can see she's a cut above most kids in her class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='474774' first='Leah' last='Nordin']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Continuing onto another uber-talented 2026 prospect, Nordin has the athleticism, skill, size, motor, and length to be the best 2026 out of Wisconsin, and it wouldn't shock me if that's what happens. The main reason most probably don't see her in that tier as of now is just that they don't see her. Honestly, it's forgivable that most people aren't like me from the Milwaukee area and are willing to drive up to a place like New London on a Tuesday night in December to see kids from the Bay Conference. That said, you don't find 6-1 kids that are elite-level athletes that can play on the wing that often, let alone one from Shawano, Wisconsin. She pops athletically, even when playing at the 17U level with [program_tooltip program_id='713038' first='Wisconsin' last='Blaze']. Over the next few years, people will learn who she is, and at some point, schools will start offering her scholarships in bunches, and that could start at anytime now that she already has one good scholarship offer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->