AAU Weekly Recap #11: The best of Summer Jam
Some tournaments are all about mining for hidden gems, but not Summer Jam. The annual June extravaganza is one of the crown jewels of Minnesota AAU basketball, and it’s all about star-studded rosters and intense competition between powerhouse programs. There…
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Continue ReadingSome tournaments are all about mining for hidden gems, but not Summer Jam. The annual June extravaganza is one of the crown jewels of Minnesota AAU basketball, and it’s all about star-studded rosters and intense competition between powerhouse programs. There was plenty of all of that this weekend at Shakopee. Once again the hosts from North Tartan assembled a stellar field of elite AAU squads from across the country – from Kentucky Premier and Cal Stars to Essence of Florida, Wisconsin Flight and the always impressive All-Iowa Attack. For this, our Prep Girls Hoops AAU Weekly Recap #11, we offer you the best of Summer Jam.
CIVIL WAR ON THE HARDWOOD FLOOR
There’s nothing like a jolt of stiff java to start your weekend morning off right, but no quality cup of joe could top Sunday’s eye-opener at Summer Jam. When North Tartan 2025 Nike faced their younger siblings from vs North Tartan 2026 Nike in the Lake Harriet Division final at 9 a.m., the gloves were off and the action could not have been more electric. These are two teams loaded with future stars, prospects whose names will no doubt dot the Prep Girls Hoops 2025 and 2026 rankings for years to come.
These intra-club contests are never easy. You had to feel for coach Ashley Ellis-Milan and her 2025 standouts, including the likes of Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN , Bree Bowman Bree Bowman 6'2" | SF Prior Lake | 2025 State MN , Sophie Hawkinson Sophie Hawkinson 5'8" | CG Wayzata | 2025 State MN and Rae Ehrman Rae Ehrman 5'9" | SF Eden Prairie | 2025 State MN . The pressure was all on them against Jake Kuppe’s 2026 upstarts led by Lanelle Wright Lanelle Wright 5'8" | PG Minnetonka | 2026 State MN , Maddyn Greenway Maddyn Greenway 5'8" | PG Providence Academy | 2026 State MN , Cail Jahnke and Kate Amelotte, a collection of talented upstarts who had absolutely nothing to lose in this one. After all, the older squad is always expected to prevail, aren’t they?
Both sides played some terrific basketball in a back-and-forth battle. Wright, the incoming 8th grader from Hopkins, turned in a spectacular performance at point guard, directing the 2026 offense with equal parts poise and panache. Lanelle had the national scouts scribbling furiously in their notebooks as she made six triples and scored 22 points while Mya Moore of Orono finished with 15. It wasn’t quite enough, however, as the 2025s snuck out with a 50-49 victory, which was an outcome that pleased most everyone involved. Mylea Monahan (Glencoe-Silver Lake) led the incoming freshmen with 11 points while Tori Schlagel Tori Schlagel 5'9" | CG Eden Prairie | 2025 State MN (Eden Prairie) and Abby Hoselton (St. Michael-Albertville) had 10 apiece.
THE BORDER BATTLE WAS BOILING
Just when we thought North Tartan’s in-house encounter would be our top contest of the week, along came a rivalry game later in the day that was even more intense. That would be a pressure-packed meeting between two age-old rivals as North Tartan 2022 EYBL faced off with All-Iowa Attack EYBL. If the morning game was a playground spat between competitive middle schoolers, this one was an all-out brawl among battle-hardened upperclassmen. And why wouldn’t it be.
Every team we see from AIA plays exceptionally hard, executes the game plan on cue, and shoots it lights out. This version, loaded with D1 commits and no love lost for their northern rivals, was no exception. North Tartan’s lineup is stacked, as well, with D1 commits like Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN (Minnesota), Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN (Minnesota), Ellie Colbeck Ellie Colbeck 5'9" | PG Fergus Falls | 2022 State MN (SDSU), Madison Mathiowetz Madison Mathiowetz 5'10" | CG Sleepy Eye St. Mary's | 2022 State MN (SDSU), Kiani Lockett Kiani Lockett 5'9" | PG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN (Creighton) and Lily Fandre Lily Fandre 6'2" | SF Eagan | 2022 State MN (Lehigh). Throw in some “interesting” foul calls, a malfunctioning clock, two rather amped up bench bosses, and the biggest crowd we’ve seen at an AAU game in forever and it was a boiling caldron of basketball fun.
After a year of quiet gyms and low-key contests thanks to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, the doors have been thrown wide open the past couple of week and the main court was jam-packed with enthusiastic observers on Sunday. It was a circus – the most intense, most entertaining, most heated heavyweight fight we’ve seen in these parts since current UConn teammates Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers Paige Bueckers 5'11" | CG Hopkins | 2020 State MN went toe-to-toe a couple of years ago.
In the end it was AIA’s day as the interlopers from Iowa prevailed. North Tartan started out with a 6-0 lead but the visitors roared back with a 16-0 run to lead by nine points at the half. Midway through the second period North Tartan got untracked. That’s when Fandre buried a three to close the gap to just four points. With under five minutes remaining, Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN drove to the hoop for a score that brought the home side within two. Less than a minute later Braun tied it at 41-all on a clever inbounds play.
Then the chaos began. It’s not possible to recap all of it in less than a few thousand words but it will suffice to say that multiple clock errors, wonky possession calls, and ill-timed turnovers do tend to throw a wrench into the proceedings! Braun put North Tartan ahead 46-43 at the 59-second mark, AIA tied it 15 seconds later, and the game was eventually decided in overtime as All-Iowa Attack captured a 49-46 win. Just another EYBL encounter at Summer Jam, and they never get old.
BACK IN ACTION
This weekend marked the return of three standout prospects as Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN , Myra Moorjani Myra Moorjani 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN and Charita Lewis Charita Lewis 5'4" | CG Minnehaha Academy | 2022 State MN came back from long-term injuries. Johnson, the St. Michael-Albertville sophomore who is ranked #1 in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2023, has been out for the better part of a year with a broken femur. She returned to action Friday with North Tartan 2022 EYBL and looked very good. She got quicker as the weekend went along, and her scoring touch returned, as well. Tessa looked every bit the high major prospect that she is.
Moorjani and Lewis recovered from ACL surgery to make their debuts with North Tartan 2022 Elite. Lewis, a top-40 prospect, built her reputation in St. Cloud largely on speed and quickness. She eased her way into the lineup at Summer Jam in preparation for a move to Minnehaha Academy in the fall. Moorjani, a top-30 prospect from Eden Prairie, made her presence felt immediately and was NT Elite’s most dominant player all weekend. The 5’8 combo guard was in attack mode from start to finish and appears to have lost exactly none of the quickness, speed and athleticism that is her trademark. Scouts and college coaches in attendance, many of whom had never seen Moorjani play before because of her long-term absence, were positively buzzing about the dynamic senior-to-be.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN is on a roll. The lanky 2024 guard from Mountain Iron Buhl was still on Cloud 9 this weekend following her recent trip to North Carolina where she attended the Tar Heels elite camp. It was a dream junket for the Zubich clan, not surprising considering that her given name is Jordan Carolina Zubich. I trust we don’t have to explain the meaning of that, do we? Let’s just say this family bleeds Carolina blue and Jordan wants to be like Mike.
On Thursday Zubich was one of the top performers at the inaugural D1 elite camp at the University of St. Thomas. At Summer Jam she led her Starks Elite 2023 team to a championship in the 16U Clear Lake Division. Zubich made 6 three-pointers in Sunday’s win over Taylor Clarey and her Give n’ Go squad from Rochester, racking up 20 points in the win. 2025 guard Regan Juenemann Regan Juenemann 5'9" | CG Duluth Marshall | 2025 State MN , who also impressed at St. Thomas, scored 13 for Starks Elite. She’ll be at Duluth Marshall in the fall.
Here are four more standout performers at Summer Jam:
Ronnie Porter Ronnie Porter 5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022 State MN of FBC Real 2022 had an outstanding weekend. The quick-as-you-like point guard averaged over 15 points per game against a stellar lineup of opponents that included the much-ballyhooed Essence of Florida, Cy Select Wolves of Iowa, Minnesota Stars Nilsen and a strong Kentucky Premier squad loaded with high-end talent. Porter is a top-20 prospect from St. Paul Como Park.
Anna Lenzen Anna Lenzen 5'9" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN of Fury 2023 Premier continues to state her case this summer as the Chaska guard just keeps on keeping on. When we watched on Sunday, Lenzen came into the Fury’s game against Stars DeSart and immediately turned the contest on its ear. Using her speed and athleticism and always-on-attack approach to the game, Lenzen scored four times in a couple of minutes to tilt the momentum in the Fury’s favor as they went on to win 49-41. Anna is top-40 among incoming juniors.
Dani Nuest Dani Nuest 5'6" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN of Comets 2023 Elite has earned a reputation as a diligent defender with the Becker Bulldogs, a feisty competitor who never backs down. When former Como Park coach Alexis Gray-Lawson returned to Minnesota this weekend she tried to warn her West Coast United crew to be prepared. Before they figured out what was up, however, the visitors from California were in trouble and Dani was doing what Dani does.
Claire McGregor of Southern Minnesota Fury 2024 led her team to a 3-1 record this weekend, with their only defeat being in the Lake Nokomis Division final to Metro Stars 2024. McGregor is always on. The stocky guard from Maple River plays with consistent intensity, has a nose for the basketball, plays stellar defense and knows how to score, score and score some more. We watched her put up 18 against North Tartan Elite, a contest in which she was the alpha dog once again.
A NAME TO REMEMBER
Taylor Johnson Taylor Johnson 5'7" | PG Park | 2018 State MN – 2023 forward, Southern Minnesota Fury 2022
We’re told Taylor decided this was the year she was going to get serious about basketball. We’re here to tell you that this was a very wise decision on her part. When we watched the long, lanky forward from Cannon Falls earlier this summer, it was clear that she didn’t have a lot of high-level basketball experience. When we watched her again this weekend in Shakopee, it was evident that she is a college prospect worth paying attention to. Listed at 6’3 – a measurement that looks legit from the sidelines – Johnson has already figured out how to use her size and length as a defensive weapon. Now she’s honing her offensive skills. The ball handling is much improved, Taylor is finishing consistently around the rim, and she has shooting range out to about 15 feet. Johnson also moves pretty well and has nice instincts. Fury coach Keefe Zelinske tells us that Johnson is very coachable and dedicated to her craft. That’s half the battle, isn’t it? At 6’3 she’ll get every opportunity in the world to play at the next level.
Top photo: North Tartan’s top 2025 and 2026 teams assembled for a commemorative photo when Sunday’s in-house encounter was over.