2024 AAU Player of the Year & All-Star Team

If you are looking for a little mystery, or perhaps a big surprise, you’ve come to the wrong place. There will be none. That’s because one player has stood head and shoulders above all others this summer among Minnesota’s incoming sophomores. That player is [player_tooltip player_id="177728" first="Olivia" last="Olson"] of Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA who is the Prep Girls Hoops 2024 Player of the Year. This week Olivia is in Washington D.C. preparing to represent her country as a member of Team USA’s contingent that will compete at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship beginning August 23 in Guanajuato, Mexico. That should tell you all you need to know about how good Olson is, and why she has dominated in Minnesota this summer. The 6’1 guard is just so long and fluid and gifted, and it’s pure joy to watch the way she plays the game. We have been observing her highly advanced skills in these parts for some time, and now her reputation has extended well beyond state borders and into the realm of the elite nationally. Over the course of the summer there were plenty of accolades for the Benilde-St. Margaret's star: At the <strong>AAU State Prelims</strong> in May we wrote... “The uber-talented guard from Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA is well worth the price of admission, and she’s going to be one of the preeminent players in the country in her class. We saw the #1-ranked prospect among Minnesota freshman score 18 points in a win over Fury 2024 Premier and 21 against North Tartan 2024 Nike. She averaged 15 ppg at the Prelims and was dominant throughout.” At the Minnesota Stars <strong>Summer Kickoff</strong> it was more of the same... “Whether she makes Team USA or not it will be a tremendous experience for Olson and a terrific opportunity to measure herself against the best players in the country. Before departing, Olivia turned in a spectacular 40-point performance Saturday as the Fury knocked off FBC Phenom and was generally her usual dominant self throughout the event.” From Rudy Ruffin at <strong>Summer Jam</strong> in June... “She shot the ball well from the three, posted up and got to the hoop nicely. Liv had to miss Friday due to being at the USA basketball tryouts but came back and took over like she does... Olson is someone you want on your team, where she leads by example and remains humble. The Fury missed her leadership when she was gone and you can tell the team flows better when she’s there.” At the Fury’s <strong>Mill City Invitational</strong> in July... We saw one of the best battles of the summer season as [player_tooltip player_id="178277" first="Jordan" last="Zubich"] nearly led Starks Elite to a monumental upset of Fury 2024 UAA – until Olivia decided otherwise. Olson hit a perfect corner three in the final seconds to force overtime. In the extra period she nailed another triple to win it. Truly elite players have the ability to dial it up on command in moments like that. The game may have been a coming out party of sorts for Zubich but it also reinforced the fact that Olson is the class of the class in 2024. Brandon Bradley of Prep Girls Hoops Indiana saw Olson for the first time at the <strong>North Tartan Meltdown</strong>... “Olivia is another young, big-time talent in Minnesota’s 2024 class. She has a very long, athletically strong frame. She moves around the floor effortlessly in all directions, and she plays with a nice motor. She can play either a bigger guard role or a point forward position, but she’s also strong enough at 6’1 to post smaller defenders on the low-block. On the perimeter, she can knock down shots consistently, she is a nice straight-line attacker off the bounce, but she can also change directions in traffic and create for others.” Our colleague Mason Asher was also at the Meltdown... “I remember watching Olson last year in Des Moines and came away very impressed. Fast forward to now, and she’s a completely different player – in a great way. She’s improved almost every facet of her game as well as has become stronger and quicker. She showed the ability to make shots from anywhere on the floor and was active at all times on the floor. I think she’s well on her way to becoming one of the most sought-after players in the 2024 class – nationally.” Add up all the accolades and what you have is an exceptional summer season for Minnesota’s top incoming sophomore. Here is the entire 2024 AAU All-Star Team: <strong>1st Team</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178265" first="Kadence" last="Hesse"] – Minnesota Rise (Sleepy Eye)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178269" first="Liv" last="McGill"] – Metro Stars 2022 3SSB (Hopkins)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215958" first="Tori" last="McKinney"] – North Tartan Nike (Minnetonka)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="177728" first="Olivia" last="Olson"] – Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA (Benilde-St. Margaret’s)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178277" first="Jordan" last="Zubich"] – Starks Elite 2023 (Mountain Iron-Buhl)</li> </ul> <strong>2nd Team</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178260" first="Emma" last="Dasovich"] – North Tartan 2023 EYBL (Minnetonka)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215953" first="Marisa" last="Frost"] – Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA (Centennial)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215973" first="Savanah" last="Gardner"] – Minnesota Stars Amundson (Eastview)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178263" first="Laura" last="Hauge"] – North Tartan 2023 EYBL (St. Croix Lutheran)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215956" first="Claire" last="Stern"] – Minnesota Suns 2024 Blue Star (Maple Grove)</li> </ul> <strong>Honorable Mentions</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215986" first="Tresa" last="Baumgard"] – Playmakers North (Chisholm)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215983" first="Drew" last="Buslee"] – Metro Stars 2024 (Eagan)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215972" first="Norah" last="Danielson"] – Minnesota Fury 2024 Premier/UAA (Delano)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="302300" first="Kylan" last="Gerads"] – Minnesota Comets Elite (Albany)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215959" first="Ava" last="Holman"] – 43 Hoops (Champlin Park)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178267" first="Rhyan" last="Holmgren"] – North Tartan 2024 Nike (St. Peter)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215970" first="Morgan" last="Miller"] – Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA (Andover)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="215985" first="Olivia" last="Pawlicki"] – Minnesota Suns 2024 Blue Star (Shakopee)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178271" first="Willow" last="Thiel"] – West Central United 2023 (Perham)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="178272" first="Mikayla" last="Thomas"] – Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA (Spring Lake Park)</li> </ul>