The Best of the East Court
There were 4 girls games on the Main Court at the Breakdown (and 4 boys games), and there were 8 games on the East Court. I covered 6 games to the East, Grant covered the 4 games at the Main…
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Continue ReadingThere were 4 girls games on the Main Court at the Breakdown (and 4 boys games), and there were 8 games on the East Court. I covered 6 games to the East, Grant covered the 4 games at the Main Court and 2 late games in the East. Here are my top players from the East Court consisting of the first 5 such games plus Maranatha and Sleepy Eye. (I watched but did not cover DeLaSalle-Mahtomedi or Chisago-NYA.)
Best of the East
Center—Ke James, Lakeville North, 6-1, senior, 24 points. Ke was a force inside. She knows how to get open and works hard at it, she catches and finishes in traffic, making 11-of-15 FG. She added 11 boards and a block.
Power Forward—Frannie Hottinger, Cretin, 6-0, junior, 31 points. Her summer coach, Melissa Guebert, called Hottinger “my energy girl.” Frannie is just too active for anybody her size to stay with her. On the boards, she is too quick off her feet go after the board and going back up with it. She had a “fabulous” day, according to Cretin coach Joe Lynch, to which one can only say, “Amen.”
Small Forward—Haley Moore, Cretin, 6-0, senior, 14 points. This is as well as I’ve ever seen Haley play. She’s playing just like a senior should. She’s like Frannie Hottinger—active, mobile. Not quite as strong, not quite as explosive. But she moves very well, handles the ball very well for a 6-footer, makes good passes, plays great defense. And, now, she’s looking for her shot more than ever before, and she shoots it well enough. She should be looking for her shot more, or “Moore,” if you prefer.
Point Guard—Emma Schmidt, Wheaton, 5-10, senior, 21 points. Very versatile, according to coach Tim Gail. She’s too big and too strong for most guards, especially Class A guards. She posts people up. But she’s also quick and her decisiveness with the ball makes her even quicker. She sees the play, she makes the play, without hesitation. I am shocked she hasn’t made a college commit yet.
Shooting Guard—Morgan Hill, Mpls. South, 5-10, senior, 26 points. Cretin threw everything at her, I think I even saw the kitchen sink there at one point. And, yes, they slowed her down. So, on a so-so day Morgan Hill, she still scored 26 points. A lot of them came at the FT line. So maybe you can make it hard for her to get 2 points, but she’ll still get some 1 at a time. Unstoppable.
Second Best
Center—Annika Stewart, Wayzata, 6-3, sophomore. Stewart is a work-in-progress in certain respects but she can step out and his the jumper from mid-range out to and beyond the arc. She hit some of the game’s biggest baskets and a total of 15 big points.
Power Forward—Kallie Theisen, Wayzata, 6-1, junior. Lakeville did a great job of denying her throughout much of the game. Oh, yes, and Kallie scored 19 points. She never stops working and eventually it pays off.
Small Forward—Jenna Johnson, Wayzata, 6-1, freshman. Jenna is incredibly mobile for a 6-1 freshman. She’s not particularly wide or thick or even strong just yet, but she uses her mobility and a strong 1st step to get to the ball. She gets her shoulders squared up and makes shots no matter what else is going on.
Point Guard—Mimi Schrader, Wayzata, 5-9, junior. Smart, experienced, cool under pressure. One of the very best at running an offense that emphasizes really sharing the ball, but she can score when she wants to. Mostly, she didn’t look for her own shot but down the stretch when a quick bucket was needed, she found a couple of lanes to the rim for a couple of very big buckets.
Shooting Guard—Analiese Tschida, Lakeville North, 5-8, junior. Had the offensive game (20 points) that we expect from teammate Lauren Jensen. Jensen had an off day, shooting-wise anyway, and Tschida stepped up and drained some bombs, some mid-range and just showed a very mature offensive game.
Third Best
Center—Briona Edwards, Wheaton, 5-11, senior. Reminds me of Kallie Theisen. Never stops working, gets strong position down low, catches it where she wants to catch it and makes a very high percentage of her shots.
Power Forward—Taylor Brown, Lakeville North, 6-2, senior. Great versatile all-around player. You want her to play inside more because she is 6-2 but she is such a great perimeter player, especially as a passer, that after while you forget about it. But she does go inside, where she’s a strong defender.
Point Guard—Maesyn Theisen, Sauk Centre, 5-8, senior. Like Schrader, one of Minnesota’s very best point guards who involves everybody, though on her team she does look to score a little more. And, she does score from anywhere. Solid ball defender, too.
Shooting Guard—Kari Macura, Lakeville North, 5-9, senior. Played the best I’ve ever seen. Hey, she’s a senior now and she played like it, especially her ball defense and deny defense on Mimi Schrader, which helped to make it hard for Wayzata get it to Theisen. And she went to the rim like I’ve never seen her do, scoring some 2s and some 1s, especially late when the game was really on the line.
Shooting Guard—Taytum Rhoades, Minnehaha, 5-9, junior. Solid versatile player. At her best as a scorer and a slasher, but she also moves and passes the ball and can run an offense.
Breakouts
Center—Julia Dammann, Sauk Centre, 5-11, sophomore, 17 points. Coach Bergman says she’s a great finisher down low and she did nothing to disprove that statement on Saturday.
Forward—Maisy Johnson, Mpls. South, 5-9, sophomore. Played with poise against a very tough opponent and scored 6 points.
Point Guard—Sydney Jackson, Cretin, 5-6, junior. The backup at the point and played like the smart, experienced player she is.
Shooting Guard—Justyna Butler, Cretin, 5-7, senior. Has missed most of 2 years with injuries. Now, she’s the 1st guard off of Cretin’s bench and they don’t skip a beat with her in there.
Shooting Guard—Kenzie Schmiesing, Sauk, 5-6 , senior. One of the new pieces for Sauk, “She really beats people up,” coach Bergman said. Scored 5 and did lots of other good things as well.