Munising won 17 games a year ago and had their season end against eventual D4 state champion Ishpeming in the postseason. They will be a top contender coming out of the UP next March. The Mustangs are pairing a dynamic point guard prospect with Bowerman, and the two will wreak havoc on opponents this winter. Emma caught my attention at CMU Team Camp and followed with a showstopping performance against upperclassmen at the Yooper Hooper Showcase. She checks all the boxes: proficient/confident three-point shooter, sharp instincts on and off the ball on both ends of the court, outstanding passer/facilitator, slasher and effective finisher using either hand, extra burst off the dribble, aggressive defender, and plays with a high IQ. Emma is the highest-rated UP prospect in her class heading into her freshman season; she’s earned it and has the potential to be an All-UP player in year one.

After seeing Emma play during the summer and again at the Yooper Hooper Showcase, she looks like one of the top prospects in the U.P.’s incoming freshman class. I’m confident that she could hold her own against the top prospects’downstate. Emma separated herself as one of the most accurate shooters during drills. Sinking many threes from different spots off the hop and knocked down smooth pull-up jumpers off the dribble. Emma lifted and drifted to her spots, caught passes with her feet ready to shoot, and swished the threes with a confident stroke. During the stride-stop, show fake step-throughs, and reverse pivot finishing drills, Emma converted layups comfortably with both hands, showing excellent body control, pace, and footwork. She drove hard downhill into a jump stop, pivoted and used her shoulder to create separation, then scored the tough finish through contact during 3v3. Emma has good instincts off the ball and cut backdoor for a nice catch and finish. She slashed to the hoop for multiple layups and made a great dump-off for the assist after forcing the defense to commit to her dribble. In 5v5, Emma used a hard jab step to open up a driving lane and ripped by with a burst, showed a second gear and drove by with a burst for a contested finish at the rim, and swatted a shot away in the paint. She corralled a defensive rebound and immediately looked to score, pushing the ball coast-to-coast, used a quick crossover to beat the final defender, then finished a left-handed layup with ease. Emma closed out the showcase in style. She snatched a defensive rebound, raced to half court with her eyes up, then fired a bullet bounce pass through a small window to a sprinting teammate in stride for the assist. A huge season is coming up shortly for this talented Munising freshman.

Emma looks ready for a breakout freshman year at Munising. She put on an impressive display during CMU Team Camp. Emma was queen of the assist, dishing out several assists with great timing and touch to thread the needle through small windows. She deflected the ball away on the perimeter, pushed it towards the rim with pace, drew the last defender, then made a great dump off pass to give a teammate a wide open look. Emma creates space with her shifty inside-out dribbles, crossovers, and step backs to shoot, drive, and dish. Operates with a high IQ on the court and knows where to go. Emma split the gap to score a drive-by floater before the help could arrive, finished with a crafty side-step layup in traffic, and buried a smooth straightaway three. She’s a Yooper Hooper to have on the radar.