Stars Antl looks to finish its AAU run on a high note
There are any number of ways to measure the success of an AAU team, but there is one question that absolutely has to be answered in the affirmative for a team to have served its purpose: Did the players get the experience and exposure needed to make it to collegiate basketball? With two tournaments left in their final season as a unit, Minnesota Stars Antl is measuring up pretty well. Four players from the 2020 team have made their commitments public to date with more on the way. Point guard Abby Schulte has committed to North Dakota State, guard Grace Kirk will attend Brown University, forward Emily Russo is heading for MSU-Mankato and forward Haylee Wheeler will sign with UM-Crookston.
Aaliyah Ragulen of Park Center (Photo courtesy of Hometown Source)The question now is, who’s next? Perhaps the most intriguing prospect is 5’2 guard Aaliyah Ragulen of Park Center, who is currently ranked 89th in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2020. The little speedster has tremendous skills, great quickness and is entirely fearless. “Aaliyah is one of our fastest players,” Antl said. “I think she sees the floor very, very well and she is a pure shooter. She had a great tournament in Louisville and really put herself on the radar.”
Ragulen has been very good for the Stars for a long time but she has long been overshadowed on the team by other top performers. At 5’10, Schulte is a big guard with Division 1 skills who has been a mainstay. Last year Gus Boyer of Waseca drew a lot of attention, as well. This year Kirk joined the team. She’s a big-time talent who needs the basketball in her hand. In truth, however, Ragulen’s quiet contributions have been vital to the team’s success.
It’s not much different for Ragulen at Park Center where the high school team’s top three players – 2020 #14 Lauren Frost, 2021 #1 Adalia McKenzie and 2021 #21 T’Naye Griffin – combined for more than 55 points per game. The fact that Ragulen still averaged 10 ppg under those circumstances is nothing short of remarkable. Something that happened a few weeks ago is equally impressive.
The Stars had a weekend off and Ragulen was recruited to play in a non-AAU event for a short-handed squad from out of state. The level of opposition was a notch lower than she normally faces with the Stars – pretty much what you’d find in the second pool at an AAU tournament. Aaliyah was the primary ball-handler whose job it was to execute the offense and score some buckets. How did she do? Ragulen blew the doors off!
I know Aaliyah’s game well. I was there the first night she tried out for the Stars way back in junior high. I have seen her play dozens of times, but I have never seen her play like this. She was dominant, and it really put things in perspective for me. Who knows what level Ragulen will play after high school, or who might give her a scholarship opportunity. I’m pretty sure they’ll be happy they did. “I think she can be successful in a D2 program,” Antl said. “She’s quick and she’s got a great shot. She is a very coachable kid and she’s a lock-down defender.”
TOP AVAILABLE PROSPECTS
Players are listed in order of their Prep Girls Hoops prospect ranking.
#25 Sydney White, 5’8 guard, Andover
White is the highest-rated player on Stars Antl who is still available. She’s a smooth, athletic shooting guard with good foot speed and a scorer’s touch. “Sydney has always been able to score but she is streaky,” Antl said of White, who averaged 17 at Andover last winter. “One game you might get 25 points from her and the next game you might get 2… Sydney is probably one of the most pure shooters off a screen. That’s her forte. She’s one of the best attackers over the middle, too, because she has that nice fade which is her trademark.” It is White’s short game that is much improved. “Now she has really learned how to attack the basket and kick the ball out,” Antl said. “Defensively she is much better than she was even starting the season.”
#49 Jana Swanson, 6’0 forward, Cambridge-Isanti
If high school basketball offered an award for courage and tenacity Swanson would win it. Every year. She’s a big, strong power forward who averaged 11 and 11 last winter for the Bluejackets. She’s got a high basketball IQ and a nice repertoire of moves in the paint. It is the size of her heart that cannot be measured. Swanson has overcome three major knee surgeries over her career but simply refused to give up on the dream. Jana is currently weighing D2 offers but the phone is still ringing. “She had a very good tournament in Indianapolis,” Antl said. “She got some good looks and we’re getting some more calls out of that.”
Tia Cummings of Tartan HS (courtesy photo)#77 Ka’Tia Cummings, 5’8 guard, Tartan HS
Need a quick bucket or two? Turn to White or Kirk. Need to stop the other team’s best player from scoring? Cummings is your girl. She loves a challenging assignment and matches up very effectively against bigger, stronger players. We’ve seen it game after game in AAU and in high school. “She is so great defensively,” Antl says with admiration. Tia isn’t flashy but she’s versatile. She averages 10 ppg at Tartan and her offensive game is much improved. “Her shot is coming along nicely and she has started a number of games for us,” Antl said. Cummings is drawing D2 interest from outside of Minnesota.
Mikayla Kanenwisher of Elk River (Photo courtesy of Hometown Source)#98 Mikayla Kanenwisher, 5’6 guard, Elk River
Kanenwisher is another small guard who operates at three speeds: fast, faster, fastest. She is an aggressive defender who knows exactly what her role is with the Stars. “She is the bulldog of the team!” Antl said. “She does the dirty work. She’ll scrap on the floor. She’ll get the rebound. She took 6 charges last week. Whatever it takes, she’ll do what you need.” Kanenwisher has nice range and averaged 6 points per game at Elk River. Mikayla is sorting through D3 options at the moment.
PLAYERS WITH COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
#8 Emily Russo, 5’11 center, New Prague (MSU-Mankato)
Emily is a long-time resident of the top 10 among the 2020s. She knows how to use her big body to gain position and is a rebounding machine. Russo’s offensive game has evolved over the years and she averaged 16 ppg last season. Russo had D1 opportunities but decided Mankato was the best fit just 45 miles from home. “That’s what she wanted,” Antl said. “She wanted to stay home and Mankato offered her a full ride. It worked out well.”
#13 Abby Schulte, 5’10 point guard, Maple Grove (NDSU)
Schulte’s game has been well-chronicled here of late. She is a big, intelligent, athletic point guard who knows how to run the show with poise and confidence. Abby averaged more than a dozen points per game on a state tournament team and is at her best against top opposition. “I think NDSU is a great fit for Abby,” Antl said. “She’s a great kid and they are lucky to have her.” She’ll be a nice, steady complement at NDSU to high-flying Heaven Hamling of Grand Rapids, a Stars graduate who has transferred to the Bison from Stephen F. Austin in Texas.
#84 Haylee Wheeler, 6’0 forward, Lakeville South (UM-Crookston)
Wheeler is big, strong and athletic, which is a nice recipe for success in the Northern Sun conference. She has the size and strength to play inside with the versatility to step outside and knock down some shots. Haylee has been known to get hot. Wheeler will not be with the team for the final two tournaments.
Grace Kirk, 5’7 guard, Duluth Marshall (Brown)
Kirk is a walking bucket as the kids like to say. She’s quick, athletic, and highly skilled, and is a nightmare to defend one-on-one. It shouldn’t be surprising then to know that Kirk averaged over 27 points per game last season in Duluth with a high game of 49! She also contributed 8 rebounds. “She’s going to be great for Brown,” Antl said of Kirk, who joined the squad this season. “Grace is the most intelligent player on the team. She has helped us a lot.” Kirk was a top-20 player in the class but was removed from the Prep Girls Hoops rankings at her family’s request.
The end is near
One player whose name you won’t find on the Stars roster is that of Nneka Obiazor, the 5’10 power forward from Eden Prairie. She had been a dominant presence inside, an efficient scorer with a mean streak whose toughness and tenacity won a lot of games over the years. A few weeks ago, however, Obiazor left the team to play for the Metro Stars.
“We really had to adjust to the situation and try to figure out who was going to step up and play,” said Antl, who added 6’0 forward Reagan Sternquist of Big Lake as a replacement. “I think the biggest hole it left us with was the physical presence on the inside. We really didn’t have another person who was as physical as she was. We had to learn to get shots from the outside, and how to attack more and play a faster game than we were used to.”
The Stars went 6-4 last week at Louisville and Indianapolis (they are 29-16 for the year) and are looking for a stronger performance this weekend at the North Tartan Meltdown and in Atlanta next week. “The goal for us is to finish strong. We’ll fix a few things this week at practice and finish well in both tournaments,” Antl said. “We just want the girls to go out there, play hard and be seen.”