AAU Bloomington Shootout: Best of the 2023s
No two basketball players mature at the same pace. Some grow early and their skills advance accordingly. Others bloom late. Many get tall, then awkward, then excellent. We suspect that Molly Garber of Crossfire 2023 Vaughn might fall into that…
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Continue ReadingNo two basketball players mature at the same pace. Some grow early and their skills advance accordingly. Others bloom late. Many get tall, then awkward, then excellent. We suspect that Molly Garber of Crossfire 2023 Vaughn might fall into that category. The 5’10 rising sophomore from Blaine impressed us last week in scrimmages at Heritage Christian Academy. This weekend in tournament play we liked her even more. A year ago she was a second-team player trying to adapt to her new-found height. In other words, Garber is trending in the right direction.
The most obvious physical asset Molly has is her arms, which are really long. The good part is she has figured out how to take advantage of this and she is a disruptive defender as a result. Garber can defend multiple positions and has a great nose for the basketball. She has a wiry build but no shortage of strength. Offensively she is able to score up and over defenders and her arsenal includes a nice baby hook shot. Garber’s ball handling is solid, she runs well and has plenty of speed in the open court. She can drive and finish through contact and has an effective little spin move as well as a solid jump shot. I loved her intensity and just how alert and mentally engaged she was at every moment.
In Saturday afternoon’s encounter with Minnesota Stars Gardner, Molly had a solid outing from start to finish but was particularly effective in the waning moments. With just 90 seconds left in the second half she buried a long three-pointer to give Crossfire a 40-37 lead. Seconds later she executed a key close-out in the corner to prevent the tying basket. When the Stars forced sudden-death overtime it was Garber who closed the deal on a put-back for the 42-40 victory. She finished with 15 points and left us with a solid impression of her future potential.
Elsewhere in 2023
I actually did not end up watching a lot of the 2023 prospects over the weekend, at least not as much as planned. My colleague Nate Wahl did, though, and he offered his thoughts on some of them in his Saturday recap. Among them was Kylie Verthein of the Rochester Shock and Lewiston-Altura. Verthein was the leading scorer Saturday among the 2023s with 31 points. Emma Felt of Minnesota Stars Knight had 26. Felt’s teammate Sammi Chandler Sammi Chandler 5'8" | CG Red Wing | 2023 State MN of Red Wing, the #73-rated prospect in the class, was also in Nate’s rundown. I love her game! Guard Juliana Ewald Juliana Ewald 5'6" | CG Pillager | 2023 State MN of Pillager is the other ranked prospect for Stars 2023 Knight coming in at #75.
The one team I did see (twice) was Minnesota Rise Busse. The squad features 2023 #38 Allison Milbrandt Allison Milbrandt 5'10" | SF Buffalo Lake-H-S | 2023 State MN , a 5’10 small forward who is always worth the price of admission. Milbrandt did some fine work, as usual, but the player who stood out the most this weekend was point guard Brynn Busse Brynn Busse 5'6" | CG G-F-W | 2023 State MN of Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop. The feisty little guard is a terrific floor general who plays fast and hard and with the kind of passion you simply cannot teach. She has quick feet, plenty of speed and very nice handles. I love her confidence level! We saw Brynn score 14 points, including seven free throws, in a nice win over Crossfire Vaughn Saturday and 10 more against Stars Gardner. The 5’5 junior-to-be is ranked #65 in the Prep Girls Hoops class of 2023.
Her Rise teammate Hannah Stark Hannah Stark 5'9" | SF Yellow Medicine | 2023 State MN of Yellow Medicine East did a lot of good work, as well. The 5’9 wing isn’t flashy but she does so many basic things well. She has a solid build and is pretty strong. She plays both the shooting guard and small forward spots for the Sting. She has a nice mid-range game and can also shoot the three-pointer. She is a good decision-maker with an assertive demeanor who recently sneaked into the top 100 in the class at #99.