Best Juniors at Target Center Tuesday Morning
Target Center was awash in juniors Tuesday morning. Hopkins and Minnetonka started 6, Eastview and Park Center started 4. By comparison there were 6 seniors starting and Park Center had half of them. And it was the teams with the…
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Continue ReadingTarget Center was awash in juniors Tuesday morning. Hopkins and Minnetonka started 6, Eastview and Park Center started 4. By comparison there were 6 seniors starting and Park Center had half of them. And it was the teams with the best juniors—not the best seniors as the conventional wisdom might have it—who won. Based on their junior classes, I expect to see all 4 of these teams continuing to compete next year.
Center—Angie Hammond, Hopkins, 6-0
Always solid defensively and on the boards, Hammond has started to lift her offensive game as well. She scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, and about half (OK, 2 FG) came on initial offense rather than off the glass. Not that there’s anything wrong with scoring off the glass, of course. She added 9 boards and 3 steals on defense and a pair of assists on offense.
Forward—Kayla Mershon, Minnetonka, 6-3
Mershon continues to improve. She matched Hammond’s 10 points and 4-of-7 shooting and added 7 boards. She was more active than I’ve seen her, more purposeful.
Forward—Megan Walstad, Eastview, 6-2
Walstad was terrific, much better than Mershon. She scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shots, mostly short jumpers of 5 to 12 feet. And she crashed the boards for 11 rebound, and added 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mershon is similarly mobile, but Walstad finishes a little better.
Point Guard—Megan Walker, Minnetonka, 5-10
For the 1st half-plus, Walker was Tonka’s only real weapon. They settled down and played well after they were down a ways. But early on, Walker got to the rim for some heavily contested shots, got to the line and made 7-of-8 throws.
Shooting Guard—Raena Suggs, Hopkins, 5-7
Suggs is one of the fastest players around, as has been well documented. She shot just 4-of-18 today but even on a bad shooting day she contributed with her ball handling and her defense (3 steals). Hopkins really defends the perimeter (Minnetonka made 2-of-11 3s, Katey Brattland, one of the best 3-point shooters around, made 1-of-4) and Suggs quickness is the primary reason for that.
Second Team
Center—Zoe Hardwick, Minnetonka, 6-2
Hardwick has brought her game a long, long way. She is not the quickest or speediest girl around, but she is so solid and economical with her footwork that she gets her shots off quick enough. She also has great hands—2 of them—so she can finish from either side. She shot 6-of-6.
Power Forward—Andrea Abrams, Eastview, 6-0
Not a household name and scored just 5 points but added 8 boards and 2 assists, and a solid defensive presence in the lane against Mikayla Hayes.
Point Guard—Sommer Blakemore, Park Center, 5-6
Shooting Guard—Meghan DuBois, Park Center, 5-7
Shooting Guard—Katey Brattland, Minnetonka, 5-7
OK, our 3 guards in this 2nd group had tough, tough days shooting the ball–5-of-23 among 'em. Blakemore is quick and fast, a good ball handler. DuBois is a pest on defense, good at getting out in the passing lanes, getting deflections and getting into transition. Brattland is one of the best 3-point shooters in the state. It's just that Hopkins and Eastview had enough length on the perimeter to disrupt their shooting strokes.