A Look Inside Our Class of 2018 Player Ranking Update

OK, our current update covers the high school season. It doesn't make any systematic effort to incorporate summer play to date. We looked at every high school roster in Minnesota and scoring stats for 90 percent of them in compiling the list. Why Our Top 10 Players Are Our Top 10 Players I don’t suppose it’s too early to start thinking about Ms. Basketball 2018, and to observe that it looks like a pretty wide open award. If I said that the top contenders, in alpha order, are named Backes, Haiby, Lee, Thiesen and Walstad, you would say…? Hill and Suggs are also strong contenders at his point, a year out. Is there another Gabi Haack in the wings? Maybe that would be Krystal Carlson. In any event, here’s our top 10, right at this particular moment in time. 1. Sam Haiby, Moorhead, 5-10, combo guard, 24 ppg, 8 reb, 4 ast, up from #7. Threw her hat in the ring (for Ms. Basketball 2018) by out-scoring Ms. Basketball 2017 finalist Rae Johnson 31-10 in a section semi-final upset win for Haiby and Moorhead. Now, in fairness, we’ll mention that Rae was running somewhere between 50 and 70 percent because of an ankle injury. And, besides that, Haiby was already on the radar, for sure. But, still, this was the kind of game that goes down in history, or in folklore, and really makes a player’s reputation. 2. Carmen Backes, Chisago Lake, 6-2, wing, 27 ppg, 12 reb. 3 ast, down from #1. Recently announced her decision to go to Wisconsin. Ouch. A broken bone in her back last year, and now an ACL injury. She’s been the #1 prospect in the class of 2018 for 3 years and may be again, once she can prove that she’s 100 percent, as good as new. The image-maker for Backes was a couple years ago when the natural-born wing played the 1 for Chisago because they needed her, and she led them to the state tournament playing out of position. Then, that very summer, she played the post, while playing up a year—for North Tartan. So, when we say she can do it all, in this case that is not hyperbole. 3. Ayoka Lee, Byron, 6-5½, post, 34 ppg, 18 reb, down from #2, going to Kansas State. Lee was a one-girl gang for Byron this year, pretty much single-handedly carrying the Bears to a .500 (OK, 13-12) record. She is 6-5½, she has soft hands and pretty good footwork. What is most impressive is, when she misses a shot, how quickly she goes back up to get it, and usually finish the job off the board. Not that she can be missing too many shots, what with that gaudy 34-ppg average and the, frankly, weak guard play that Byron has got right now. 4. Megan Walstad, Eastview, 6-2, power forward, 11 ppg, up from #6. Walstad made progress this past season just becoming more consistent. At her best, she’s always been plenty strong and plenty aggressive, at her best. But, who’s at her best all the time? Well, the best, that’s who. And Walstad played at or near her best a lot of the time. That means aggressive defense and rebounding, and hitting 10 to 15 foot jump shots. 11 ppg’s not a ton, but with teammates like Rachel Ranke and Allie Pickrain and an offense geared to the 3, it’s not bad. 16-18 ppg next year should be within reach, and 10 rebounds would be good. Walstad can do that. She just needs to stay consistent. 5. Maesyn Thiesen, Sauk Centre, 5-8, point guard, 16 ppg, 5 ast, down from #4. Thiesen has helped her North Tartan team to 5 state championships in 6 years. She hasn’t been able to get a state title in the winter, but not for lack of trying nor a lack of excellence in March. Always a great offensive point guard who handles and protects and distributes the ball, and scores herself both inside and out, but this March it was her defense that really impressed. She held Kiley Borowicz to 20 points going pretty much head-to-head and, while it wasn’t enough, it was probably Kiley’s toughest day on offense in more than a year. The previous night she (Thiesen) had similarly clamped down on Claire Killian, and on Wednesday she and her Sauk cohort forced Minnehaha into just enough turnovers to secure the Sauk win. It’s hard to believe after all these years that Maesyn can still come out and raise her stock a little bit. 6. Raena Suggs, Hopkins, 5-7, shooting guard, 18 ppg, 4 reb, 3 ast, down from #3. One of the state’s quickest and fastest players. Against Eastview last December I saw her split the pick ‘n roll and strip the ball from an Eastview player. The ball went bouncing toward the sidelines, but Suggs ran it down and saved it from going out of bounds. She then dodged an Eastview defender to get the layup. Most players, even elite players, couldn’t have made any one of those plays. Suggs made all 3 in one 8 second sequence. 7. Krystal Carlson, Hastings, 5-11, forward, 19 ppg, 10 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl, up from #9. A little below the radar because Hastings is not a perennial power and, in fact, they came it at around .500 this year. But, her numbers speak for themselves. And I don’t even mean 19 and 10. I don’t mean how many, specifically. I mean that, in addition to scoring and rebounding, she racks up assists, blocks and steals worth counting every single night. She is just a remarkably active player who is always ready to make whatever play needs to be made. And, she plays much bigger than 5-11 as the 4 blocks clearly demonstrates. 8. Morgan Hill, Mpls. South, 5-10, wing, 25 ppg, 9 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, down from #5. One of the state’s top scorers, she could always get to the rim. Now, she’s converting larger and larger percent of her opportunities, and also getting the ball to teammates a lot more than before. 9. Kayla Mershon, Minnetonka, 6-3, power forward, 13 ppg, up from #11, going to Nebraska. Long regarded as an awesome prospect, her production is finally starting to catch up to her potential. She’s long, she’s strong, she’s mobile. There’s room for fine-tuning—i.e. the hands, the footwork—but there’s plenty of building blocks here. Now and again, she’ll bust a dribble drive on the baseline and you just have to say, Wow. Dropped Out of Top 10 12. Brynne Rolland, Apple Valley, 6-2, post, 17 ppg, 8 reb, down from #10. No offense to these 2 great players. Rolland expanded her offense this year all the way out to the arc. A great catch-and-shooter with nice form and a quick release. 14. Emma Grothaus, Mahtomedi, 6-3, forward, 19 ppg, down from #8, going to Lehigh. A sometimes awesome athlete. I just wish that she scored a little less putting back her own misses, and scored more on her initial shot. Big Gainers 1. Sam Haiby, Moorhead, from #7 to #1 2. Betsy Schoenrock, NRHEG, 6-4, post, 15 ppg, 8 reb, up from #88 to #33. A late bloomer in her first year of varsity ball, she came off the bench but was NRHEGs top scorer and the main reason for their surprise state tournament berth. Keeps her arms and the ball up high at all times, making her impossible to block. Good foot speed for her size which leads to lots of rebounds and blocked shots. 3. Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer, 6-2, post-power forward, 13 ppg, 11 reb, from #25 to #14, going to Iowa. We have had her ranked in the 20s because her body says 4 while her skill set and her proclivities say 5. She gets away with it in Class AA, but would it work in Class AAAA? How about college? The Iowa Hawkeyes don’t see a problem and I admit that that is an influence. 4. Sydney Lodermeier, Goodhue, 5-10, guard-forward, 15 ppg, 8 reb, from #23 to #15. Not the quickest or most athletic physically, but she has one of the highest basketball IQs in her class. And she is big and strong for her point guard skill set. A great defender inside, where she is often deployed, but she is also an aggressive, effective defender on the perimeter. She puts opposing guards back on their heels. 5. Noelle Josephson, Anoka, 5-10, wing, moved up from #68 to #48. By the end of the Anoka season and into the early summer, she has shown that she’s become a well-rounded scorer from the wing—attacking the rim and, even more, on the jumper out to and beyond the arc. Also an aggressive defender. 6 (tie). Ellie Gamradt, Hermantown, 6-2, post-power forward, 12 ppg, from #139 to #78 6 (tie). Taylor Vold, Hermantown, 6-0, forward, 10 ppg, up from #139 to #78. Gamradt has one of the state’s most beautiful jumpers. She’s 6-2 and she really gets airborne, then release her shot from behind her head. I’d like to see any high school girl block one of those. And, she’s reasonably accurate. Vold is a throwback point forward who gets the ball inside to Hermanown’s other big girls on post moves, back cuts, you name it. Great, great passer. And, she can score herself more from the outside but from the inside too. 8. Maddie Loder, Orono, 6-0, point guard, 10 ppg, 2 reb, 2 ast, from #26 to #18, going to George Washington. Long, lean point guard. Very fast, okay handles, very aggressive whether looking for her own shot or set up her teammates. When she’s feeling it, she can score it herself as in her 36 point game versus Hutchison, but some nights when her teammates got hot, she might score in single digits. The biggest test was the team test, and Orono finally won an elusive state title this year. 9. Taylor Brown, Lakeville North, 6-2, forward, 7 ppg, 5 reb, 3 ast, up from #64 to #33. Playing with more confidence and moee purpose, simply getting more active more aggressive. There’s still room for more, lot’s more. 10. Kiley Post, Maranatha, 5-8, point guard, 12 ppg, 6 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, from #108 to #59. She’s learning how to be a star player, says coach Chris Buerman. Loves to attack the rim but always to the left. Top Newcomers 1. Emily Benrud, Goodhue, 5-6, combo guard, 5 ppg, #87. Had a spectacular state tournament with her stifling defense at the top of Goodhue’s 2-3 zone, and pounding the boards like some 5-6-8 inches taller than she is. 2. Grace Steichen, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, 5-11, big, 17 ppg, 11 reb, #98. I will never forget meeting Natalie Steichen, DGF point guard. She had just drained 6 straight 3s. I said, what do you do well. She said, I can shoot it. What are you working on, I then asked. My handles, she said. I was a post until I was in 8th grade. Well, now, meet her sister grace, who stayed in the post and needed an extra year or two to really polish up her game. But that’s what she did and she arrived this past year in a big way, as her numbers attest. 3. Sierra Bolen, Hermantown, 6-1, shooting guard, 9 ppg, #101. Mobile and active, loves to cut to the rim, then catch and shoot, but in half-court and in transition. Matchup nightmare. 4. Emily Nerem, SW MN Christan, 5-8, point guard, 10 ppg, 6 reb, #107. Another great state tournament. She is a terrific, persistent ball defender. On the other side of the ball, she runs the offense and she can hit the 3. 5 (tie). Evelyn Dolan, 5-7, forward, 18 ppg, 9 reb, and Kaylee Kirk, 5-3, point guard, 15 ppg, 4 reb, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, #108 (tie). 7. Riley Perryman, Park, 5-6, shooting guard, 10 ppg. 8. Sam Miller, Norwood Young America, 6-0, power forward, 10 ppg, #124. Came a long way, according to coach. She has put together some effective offensive moves in the lane, both backing and fronting the rim, demands the ball and converts. 9. Lizzie Karp, Andover, 6-2, center, 6 ppg, 4 reb, #128. A rather latecomer to the game but she’s athletic with nice size and a lot of upside. Stays down low and, for now, plays mostly with her back to the basket. 10. Carmen Foss, Cloquet, 6-0, post, 12 ppg, 10 reb, #129. There seems to be a renaissance of basketball in the Arrowhead. Count Carmen Foss as a part of that. Another among many big strong determined Arrowhead posts.