AAU Week #12: Summer Jam was hot, hot, hot
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It’s always a challenge covering large AAU events involving a plethora of teams playing in multiple locations. Covering North Tartan’s annual June extravaganza known as Summer Jam is a whole different level of difficulty. With over 375 teams, Summer Jam…
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Continue ReadingIt’s always a challenge covering large AAU events involving a plethora of teams playing in multiple locations. Covering North Tartan’s annual June extravaganza known as Summer Jam is a whole different level of difficulty. With over 375 teams, Summer Jam is one of the largest youth basketball tournaments in the country, and every year Bill Larson and his North Tartan colleagues manage to bring together an incredible collection of the nation’s best teams and players. This year’s field included the likes of nationally significant talents such as K.K. Arnold, Britt Prince, Audi Crooks and Jennica Lewis, along with Minnesota’s top D1-worthy talent. Summer Jam was the center piece of a very busy Week #12 of the AAU season.
A GAME TO REMEMBER
It’s only fitting that the best game of the tournament would be in the championship final of the top 17U grouping as North Tartan 2023 EYBL battled with Metro Stars Pryor for supremacy in the Anchor Lake division. It took two halves of regulation play and two overtimes to reach a decision. Playing with a short bench and missing some of its most important pieces, North Tartan fell behind by double digits in the opening half, but Gerard Coury’s team never threw in the towel. As is their custom, Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN , Molly Lenz Molly Lenz 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN , Clara Glad Clara Glad 6'0" | SF Rogers | 2023 State MN and company battled hard to the very end.
Michigan commit Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN scored for North Tartan with just seconds remaining in regulation play to tie the game, but missed on the and-1 free throw attempt. In the first overtime North Tartan was down three when Minnesota commit Klick, who was arguably her team’s best player over the course of the weekend, nailed a three-pointer to force a second extra period. Down to the final seconds of double OT, Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN of the Metro Stars brought the ball up the floor and found big Savanna Jones Savanna Jones 6'2" | PF Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN coming in off the back side. McGill made a perfect pass and Jones delivered with a textbook finish off the glass as the buzzer sounded to give the Metro Stars a thrilling 60-59 win. Stanford commit Nunu Agara Nunu Agara 6'1" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #32 Nation MN led the Pryor squad with 15 points while Jones had 14 and McGill scored 11. Stemming back to the days of UCONN icon Paige Bueckers vs Creighton stud Lauren Jensen, this is a rivalry that never seems to disappoint.
BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST
Not many AAU teams boast a bigger front court than North Tartan 2023 Elite coached by Kyle Ague. The squad boasts 6’1 Jenna Kluxdal Jenna Kluxdal 6'1" | PF Jordan | 2023 State MN of Jordan, 6’2 Brylie Schultz Brylie Schultz 6'2" | PF Wheaton Area | 2023 State MN of Wheaton and 6’3 Jessica Oberlander Jessica Oberlander 6'3" | PF Wayzata | 2023 State MN of Wayzata, all pictured above. Kluxdal has been a solid presence on the AAU scene for several seasons. Schultz emerged last fall as a prospect to be reckoned with. And now it is the recent play of Oberlander that is turning heads for North Tartan. She has to be considered one of the state’s most improved players over the past year or so.
Oberlander obviously has some inherent advantages standing 75 inches with monstrous wingspan. In recent months, however, her skill set has blossomed, her footwork has improved, her willingness and ability to complete physically has gotten better, and her confidence has risen accordingly. In addition to leveraging her length on the defensive side of things – anyone up for a block party? – Jess is now finishing more consistently around the rim and expanding her shooting range. We speculated last fall after the Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Expo that Oberlander could turn out to be the quintessential late bloomer. Well, that prediction is looking solid right about now. Stay tuned.
PROSPECT ON THE RISE
Molly Bills Molly Bills 5'9" | SG La Crescent | 2023 State MN – 2023 guard, Playmakers South
The lengthy guard from LaCrescent has been toiling away in the farthest reaches of Southeastern Minnesota throughout her high school career, and this summer her Playmakers squad hasn’t been seen much in these parts, either. That’s why we made a special effort on Friday night to see Molly at Jefferson High School in her team’s opening contest of Summer Jam. Molly has impressed us on video and earned enough support from our evaluators to sneak into the Class of 2023 rankings this winter. After watching her live on Friday I can confidently say she’ll be moving up, up, up. At about 5’10, with long arms, long strides, a pretty fast first step and good elevation, Molly has the natural gifts and learned abilities to succeed at the next level.
Friday’s match-up with Minnesota Diamond Elite McMillan was a good test. As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, MDE is quick and feisty and they know now to put opponents on their heels in a hurry with some serious defensive pressure. The question we were asking ourselves pre-game was could the small-town guard hang with the speedy kids from the Cities? The answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ Bills scored 15 points against MDE in a 72-52 win. She cashed in off the bounce, from mid-range and with her stellar three-point shooting, which has been Molly’s primary calling card over the past few seasons. She gets it up quickly and smoothly and the results come accordingly. We loved her positive talk, high energy, consistent effort and non-stop motor. If Bills can improve her ball handling some over the next 12 months, she is going to do very, very well in college.
GRADING THE GUARDS
We watched another great Playmakers prospect on Friday – 2023 guard Ava Privet Ava Privet 5'10" | CG Caledonia | 2023 State MN of Caledonia. The 17U Blue Star leader hasn’t been seen in these parts all summer, either, but she is one of the top guard prospects still available in the upcoming senior class. She’s got hops. And skills. And is an elite shooter. Privet, ranked #30 in the class, is drawing interest primarily from the D2 level with some smaller D1 programs also in the mix, as well. That is true of a select group of 2023 guards whose services are still on the table, including #24 Brynn Senden Brynn Senden 5'6" | PG Wayzata | 2023 State MN (Wayzata) and #28 Emily Christenson Emily Christenson 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2023 State MN (East Ridge) of Minnesota Stars Hersch. Ditto for #31 Drew Johnston Drew Johnston 5'9" | PG Roseville | 2023 State MN (Roseville), a long-time North Tartan Elite athlete who played on the EYBL team this weekend. Those names keep coming up over and over in conversations with college coaches. How it all shakes out remains to be seen but all four of them are scholarship-worthy floor leaders capable of doing good work at the next level. Some think Bre Frazier Bre Frazier 5'7" | SG Cooper | 2023 State MN of Cooper and Nicole Lillard Nicole Lillard 5'6" | CG Champlin Park | 2023 State MN of Champlin Park belong in the conversation, as well, and I can’t disagree. Personally I would also add Olivia Harazin Olivia Harazin 5'8" | PG LCWM | 2023 State MN of Lake Crystal and Minnesota Rise. She could turn out to be the best of the bunch.
BREAKOUT AT THE BREAKDOWN
Megan Corkery – guard, 43 Hoops Premier (Lucas)
Minnetonka lost to Becker on Wednesday night in one of the marquee games of the Breakdown Shot Clock Classic at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, but it was a big win for senior-to-be Megan Corkery. In his first game as head coach of the Skippers, Brian Cosgriff elected to watch from the bleachers to become better acquainted with the skills and abilities of his new players, leaving other members of the Minnetonka staff to serve as bench coaches. They played everyone who was dressed, including a variety of Skippers who don’t normally get much of a run on varsity. One of them was Corkery.
In front of the gathered collegiate coaches and members of the basketball scouting fraternity, Corkery made it clear that she is a player who can compete at the next level. To put it succinctly, the feisty guard, who stands about 5’5, got after it in a big way. She demonstrated quick feet, fast hands, high energy and the ability to hang with top-drawer opponents like Ayla Brown Ayla Brown 5'6" | SG Becker | 2023 State MN and Dani Nuest Dani Nuest 5'6" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN of the Bulldogs for 94 feet, two players of similar stature and style with impressive resumes and tons of high-end experience. Megan showed she has nice instincts, a tremendous motor and a high degree of basketball intelligence along with improved ball handling and the ability to score inside and out.
Fast forward to Friday night’s opening games of the North Tartan Summer Jam and Megan was at it again, doing good work on behalf of 43 Hoops. Gathered on the sidelines were some of those same coaches who had been in the gym 48 hours earlier watching Corkery for the first time. They came back for another look and were suitably impressed. When we departed the gym one of them was working out the logistics of a campus visit with Miss Corkery. That’s what it’s all about!
THE BEST OF SUMMER CAMP
Both Minnesota and St. Thomas hosted elite camps last Thursday on the eve of Summer Jam and certainly made the most of their opportunity to get up close and personal with recruits and prospects. There were 88 players on hand in St. Paul for the Tommies affair. Among those who really impressed for Coach Ruth Sinn’s staff were Minnesota Fury 2025s Addison Mack Addison Mack 5'9" | PG Minnehaha Academy | 2025 State MN , Jordan Ode Jordan Ode 5'11" | CG Maple Grove | 2025 State MN , Autumn McCall Autumn McCall 6'2" | PF Centennial | 2025 State MN , Zahara Bishop Zahara Bishop 5'10" | CG Benilde-St. Margaret's | 2025 State MN and more. The Gophers camp was smaller but no less interesting as 2028 Chloe Johnson Chloe Johnson 5'11" | PG Duluth Marshall | 2028 MN of Duluth performed in front of Coach Lindsey Whalen for the first time. We loved the atmosphere of the camp where sophomore Katie Borowicz and highly-touted freshmen Nia Holloway and Mara Braun were among the UM players who made it a fun day at camp for the participants.
COMING UP
For many of the younger teams, Summer Jam was their final event of the AAU season. For the elite, however, the tournament marked the beginning of the most important stretch of the year. The July viewing period is where the rubber will hit the road for many scholarship-level prospects. There is no shortage of big events to pay attention to in July, two of them right here in our own backyard. We’ll be there July 6-8 for the Minnesota Fury’s Mill City Invitational and again on July 20-22 for the North Tartan Meltdown/AAU National Championships. Those two events promise to be excellent. In the meantime we’re working on a major rankings update and the continued rollout of our Class of 2026 Watch List later in the week. Thanks for reading!