The big dogs are back at the Midwest Kick-Off
Kallie Theisen of Wayzata has joined North Tartan 11th EYBL along with her fellow Crossfire teammates Hannah Purcell and Taylie Scott. (photo courtesy of John Sherman) In the immortal words of George Thorogood, “Move over nice dog, the mean old…
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Continue ReadingIn the immortal words of George Thorogood, “Move over nice dog, the mean old dog is movin’ in.” Even though it feels like February outside, it’s actually week two of the AAU “summer” season and it’s time to see what the big dogs from the Minnesota Fury and North Tartan have to offer for 2018. This weekend’s event is the Midwest Kick-Off Classic hosted by the Metro Stars, and it marks the debut of North Tartan’s top teams – 11th EYBL, 10th EYBL, 9th Sinn and 8th Contreras – and those of the Fury – 2019 and 2021 Gauntlet. Last weekend we saw the debut of the other big dogs from the MInnesota Stars and Suns, along with Fury 2020 Gauntlet, and now it’s time to check out what could be the best of the best.
In a strange twist of scheduling, the 11th grade EYBL team will carry the Tartan banner on Saturday in the top 2019 Black Division while the 10th grade team will take their place for one game on Sunday. In the 2020 Black Division, 8th Contreras will play two games and 9th Sinn will play the other. The tournament begins Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Bloomington Kennedy and continues all day Saturday and Sunday. Here are the best matchups of the weekend.
4:10 p.m. Saturday on court 6: Stars 11th Nelson vs North Tartan 11th EYBL
North Tartan’s best 2019 team was outstanding one year ago when former Eastview coach Melissa Guebert was at the helm. Now they are Gerard Coury’s to manage and he has a loaded roster to work with. It includes Sara Scalia of Stillwater, Frannie Hottinger of Cretin-Derham Hall, Macy Guebert of Eastview (South Dakota) and Mykel Parham of Apple Valley. Then there’s Lakeville South’s Anna Harvey (Lehigh) and 2020 post Liza Karlen (St. Paul Central). The big news is that the best of the now defunct Crossfire 2019 Theisen squad are now on board: Kallie Theisen of Wayzata, Hannah Purcell of Annandale (currently injured) and Taylie Scott of Heritage Christian. Throw in Masengo Mutanda of Armstrong and you have something special.
This is a great matchup because Stars 11th Nelson is a big dog, too. Nelson made its debut last weekend and features Destinee Oberg of Holy Angels (Arkansas), Aja Wheeler of Cooper, Wisconsin commit Sara Stapleton of Centennial, plus Dlayla Chakolis and Jaide Pressley of Hopkins. The newcomers include 2020 standout Grace Kirk of Duluth Marshall and forward Jordan Morris of Eastview.
6:30 p.m. Saturday on court 7: Fury 2019 Gauntlet vs Stars 11th Nelson
The Fury have added two pretty stout players to their lineup this year in Crossfire refugee Kaylee Nelson of Roseville (Minnesota-Duluth) and Taytum Rhoades of Minnehaha Academy, who is a North Tartan transfer. They have replaced the departed Emma Anderson (Big Lake) and Courtney Crouch (White Bear Lake). A third newcomer is on the roster, as well, but there is some doubt as to whether injuries might hamper the availability of forward Nevaeh Galloway of Minnehaha Academy. They join a star-studded cast that includes McKenna Hofschild of Prior Lake, Taylor McAulay of Centennial (Drake), Abby Johnson of Eden Prairie (Omaha), Emma Carpenter of Eastview and Carly Krsul of Armstrong. This team could be just as good as its North Tartan counterpart.
8:50 p.m. Saturday on courts 6 & 7: North Tartan 9th Sinn vs Wisconsin Playmakers 16U & Fury 2021 Gauntlet vs Crossfire 10th St. John.
It’s a shame North Tartan and Fury aren’t playing each other because that would be excellent. Your next best alternative is to pull up a chair and plonk it down between courts 6 and 7. That’s what I will be doing. At the 2021 level, North Tartan has dropped down from three teams to two. The top team, coached by Ruth Sinn of the University of St. Thomas, is a formidable group that features some of the best players in the class: Ellie Dague of Henning, Kendal Cox of St. Michael-Albertville, Cassidy Carson of Eastview, Jenna Johnson of Wayzata and Maple Grove’s Jordan Lamker. Add in outstanding 8th grader Mara Braun of Wayzata and South Dakota import Haleigh Timmer and this team is stacked.
Fury 2021 Gauntlet may be even better. The Fury are led by Kaylee Van Eps of Chaska, Miah Monahan of Glencoe-Silver Lake, and Alexis Pratt of Stillwater. They also boast 6’4 center Sophie Hart of Farmington, whose game progressed miles this winter, and Emily Kulstad of Prior Lake who improved nearly as much. It is the newcomers that are worth noting, however, as big Helen Staley (Rosemount) arrives from North Tartan and sharp-shooting Erin Lamb of Stewartville moves up from the Fury’s southern affiliate. Along with the Sinn squad, Stars 9th Hersch and Tayler Hill Elite, this Fury team is among 2021’s big four. Crossfire 10th St. John may be a year older but they’ll be in tough here.
4:10 p.m. Sunday on court 7: North Tartan 10th EYBL vs Fury 2019 Gauntlet
If you decide to stick around to the end on Sunday, this game will no doubt make it worth your while. After all, it features the North Tartan team led by Paige Bueckers of Hopkins, the #1 player in the class of 2021 and one of the top two or three players in the country. Besides Paige, this team boasts #4 Mallory Brake (Hastings), #5 Lauren Jensen (Lakeville North), #12 Jasmine Smiley (Wayzata), #14 Mia Curtis (Minnehaha) and #16 TeeTee Danso (Simley). Smiley is new to the team this year along with Nyamer Diew of Worthington and Annika Stewart of Wayzata. Gone is #2 Kenzie Kramer to Fury 2020 Gauntlet.
Top: McKenna Hofschild of Prior Lake leads Fury 2019 Gauntlet. (photo courtesy of Courtside Films)