Searching for 2029s at the AAU Saturday Shootout

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnesota's AAU season officially tipped off on Saturday and our quest on opening day was simple: find some fresh faces worthy of recognition. That endeavor didn't turn out to be all that difficult. In spite of a small field of teams on hand at Bloomington Kennedy for AAU Saturday Shootout #1, the 2029 division offered up some emerging talent who made their way into our prospects database on first viewing. Here are some new names to know among next year's 8th graders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='888689' first='Ella' last='Wielenga'] <strong>– 2029 forward, [program_tooltip program_id='728724' first='Minnesota' last='Aces']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not every day you show up to the gym and see a 7th grader in the 5'10 or 5'11 range with length, strength, and skill, but that was certainly the case on Saturday. Having recently moved from Vermont, [player_tooltip player_id='888689' first='Ella' last='Wielenga'] is new to the world of Minnesota basketball and on her first weekend of AAU action in the state she quickly made a strong impression. We were taken with her tenacity on the floor, as well as her natural feel for the game. Any time a rebound or loose ball got into Ella's hands, there was nothing anybody could do to take it from her – she was fierce!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pictured above, Wielenga also demonstrated her ability to use her size and length to her advantage, whether it be blocking shots, grabbing rebounds over opponents, or setting solid screens for her teammates. Wielenga isn't crazy athletic, but she can get up and down the court with pace and she always seemed to get herself to the right spots on the floor when she needed to be there. It's too early to know for sure but Ella has the makings of a scholarship-level player. Currently living in Blaine, it hasn't been determined what direction she'll head for high school.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='888742' first='Mali' last='Quam'] <strong>– 2029 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='774605' first='Southern' last='MN Fury']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Several different players from the Southern Minnesota version of the Fury caught our eye on Saturday, with [player_tooltip player_id='888742' first='Mali' last='Quam'] of Kenyon-Wanamingo topping the charts.. At first glance, it is easy to notice that Mali is incredibly bouncy and light on her feet, both of which are tremendous attributes for a basketball player. Standing perhaps 5'7 (we're guestimating!), she is also an active, high-energy defender. Quam uses her quick hands to steal the ball, leading to fast break opportunities for her team. The 7th grader excels at attacking the basket, where she scores at a high rate of efficiency. She put up 25 points in two games on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mali contributed significant varsity minutes for the Knights of Kenyon-Wanamingo this winter, despite being one of the youngest players on the team. Her high school coach is Jake Wieme, brother of Josh Wieme who recently won another state championship at Goodhue and just happens to be the coach of this SM Fury squad. Jake said the plan was to bring Mali along slowly, but due to a combination of injuries to others and her rapid improvement, Quam worked her way into the rotation pretty quickly. By the end of the season she was usually first off the bench.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You might remember Mali's older sister Mara Quam, who graduated from Kenyon-Wanamingo in 2016 I believe it was. She was a talented player and prolific scorer and it seems to me that there may have been other Quams out of K-W, too. Obvious Mali is working with some pretty good basketball DNA. It's early but we're excited by what we've seen so far from this rising 2029.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":888735,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/04/C-Barrone_2029-crop-3908x2566-1712615457.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-888735" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='888690' first='Caliegh' last='Barrone'] <strong>– 2029 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='774605' first='Southern' last='MN Fury']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another youngster who caught our attention on Saturday was [player_tooltip player_id='888690' first='Caliegh' last='Barrone'] from Byron, who helped lead her SM Fury team to a pair of wins with 23 points over the two contests. On the floor, Caliegh is a high-IQ guard and a natural floor general. She's incredibly fast and has an explosive burst of speed when needed. Barrone is very skilled for her age; she handles the ball well and exhibits more body control than many high school players do. Those abilities were obvious in what was a highlight play of the day. After attacking from the corner, Caliegh pulled off a beautiful spin move to get around her defender and finished with a smooth baseline floater. That's the type of thing top prospects make look easy, and that's exactly what she did. We're excited about this latest prospect from Byron, where 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='252380' first='Kendra' last='Harvey'], 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='498663' first='Madison' last='Ohm'] and 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='654990' first='Kayla' last='Stork'] are already making headlines.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One more name to know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One more youngster who jumped out at us watching the 2029s on Saturday was point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='889060' first='Keira' last='Burzette']</strong> of the [program_tooltip program_id='886666' first='Rochester' last='Shock']. She played for a pair of Shock squads on Saturday, leading us to think she might be a 2030. We didn't get a chance to ask club director Keith Bland to know for sure so for now let's say it's either/or. Keira is a bit of a gunslinger of the high-risk/high-reward variety. She's got super fast feet, and the kind of quickness and lateral movement you can't teach. Her release on the catch-and-shoot is one of the quickest we've seen. She knocked down some threes and made a lot happen when we watched. She showed off some handles, too, although there was a little too much flash-and-dash for the real world which always leads to turnovers as we know. That's all good, though, because there's plenty of time to reign in an obviously talented prospect as she learns to play the game in a more conventional way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(4/9 update: Keith Bland tells us that Keira is a 2030 from Byron)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PGH scout Ally McGinnis contributed to these player evaluations.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->