Impact Basketball 17U Prospects
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Sanford Pentagon hosted their yearly Dakota Challenge tournament that took place July 15-17th in Sioux Falls, SD. As well as North Tartan had their annual Meltdown AAU National Championships in Minneapolis, MN. Like many other other regional tournaments this is…
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Continue ReadingSanford Pentagon hosted their yearly Dakota Challenge tournament that took place July 15-17th in Sioux Falls, SD. As well as North Tartan had their annual Meltdown AAU National Championships in Minneapolis, MN. Like many other other regional tournaments this is an excellent opportunity to view, and catch some standouts, stock-risers, new names and names to know.
Team: Impact Basketball 17U
Impact Basketball had a great showing as well at the Dakota Challenge this weekend in Sioux Falls, SD. They also went 4-0 to claim the Championship in the 11th Grade “Blue Division” by knocking off Pentagon Schoolers Brown, Swarm Hoffman, MN Heat Gustafson and Sioux Falls Washington 1. In Minnesota they also had another awesome performance taking 3rd place in their division. The team is stacked with some of the top talent in the state for the class of 2023 coming from all over North Dakota such as Miriley Simon Miriley Simon 6'1" | C West Fargo | 2023 State ND , Bergan Kinnebrew Bergan Kinnebrew 5'11" | CG Bismarck Century | 2023 State ND , Amya Gourneau Amya Gourneau 5'7" | PG Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND amongst others. Let’s check um’ out!
Top Standout:
Bergan Kinnebrew Bergan Kinnebrew 5'11" | CG Bismarck Century | 2023 State ND : 5’11’’ CG Century 2023- Bergan had a good weekend in South Dakota and Minnesota, she really showed off her ability to shoot the ball from mid/longer range at both events. This was great to see and she made her presence known on the court for not only driving to the rim, but shooting from deep as well. All around she is a top-tier player on the court offensively and defensively. She has a great motor under her, and she moves up and down the court very well and attacks the rim hard. With her skills, work ethic and ability to score from anywhere, expect her to average 20+ppg this season for Century. She is one the Colleges need to be watching hard, tons of talent to her, I can’t say enough good things about how well she plays.
Defensive Standout:
Miriley Simon Miriley Simon 6'1" | C West Fargo | 2023 State ND : 6’1 West Fargo 2023- Simon the NDSU commit is all around tough. Her ability to get to the hoop, get in position and be a force in the paint stood out to me. She’s always watching the ball, gets in position well and can rip the ball down incredibly well. She has great size to her and she knows how to use it. Offensively she is a force as well, she is very good at following the shot, putting up second chance points and driving to the rim as well. There is a reason NDSU grabbed ahold of her, she can flat out play and is as tough as they come. I expect her to put up some big numbers her Senior season for West Fargo, she is talented.
Offensive Standout:
Amya Gourneau Amya Gourneau 5'7" | PG Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND : 5’8’’ PG TMCH 2023- Amya is nothing short of an excellent point guard. She is very talented with her ball handling abilities and can score on all levels. She can see the court very well offensively and defensively alike. Amya isn’t afraid to take open shots or drive the lane looking for the bucket off the glass. One thing about her that she has proven, is she is a very talented shooter. She showed this last year in the WDA as one of the top Scorers in the conference. With her abilities, look for her to put up even bigger numbers this year. She has all the talent to be a quality guard at the next level.
Notable Players:
Peyton Breidenbach Peyton Breidenbach 5'7" | PG West Fargo Sheyenne | 2023 State ND : 5’8 PG West Fargo Sheyenne- Peyton is a skilled PG who has really stepped her game up. She has speed, quick feet and plays good on ball defense. She has good size to her for a PG and is a play maker. There isn’t one specific talent that she has, but she has many good talents that make her the quality player she is.
Kacie Burner Kacie Burner 5'8" | CG Kindred | 2023 State ND : 5’8 CG Kindred- Kacie is a quality CG that is a spitfire. She has great speed, runs the floor very fluidly and has a great lateral step when defending. Offensively she is a team player that can finish at the rim all day long, and can knock down jumpers fluidly. She does have nice step back shot she uses when she is being defended and nows how to use it well. Fun player to watch and a big player for Kindred.
Halle Winjum : 5’5 PG Crookston- Halle impressed me with how well she sees the court, and how she can make plays happen. She sees the court well and has a great basketball IQ. She moves well side to side, is an aggressive defender and has a really nice fluid jump shot. I really liked everything about how she plays, she is a team player and an excellent passer. On top of that, her speed is great and she can run the floor all game long, and gets to the rim very well. I really enjoyed watching her play, I can see her having a huge year this coming year.
Taylor Van Winkle Taylor Van Winkle 5'11" | SG West Fargo | 2023 State ND : 5’10 F West Fargo- Taylor has good size to her and moves very well, she is a very active player who seems to always find a way to be involved in the play, or on the ball. Defensively one thing that stood out was she always boxed out, got in good position and was looking to rip down the rebounds. She is a very unselfish player and wants to win. She is a good player that has much upside to her game, I respect her grit and how hard of a worker she is.
Jocelyn Schiller Jocelyn Schiller 5'7" | PG Grand Forks Red River | 2024 State ND : 5’7 PG Grand Forks Red River- There is so many good things to say about Jocelyn, she is an all-around baller and can do a little bit of everything. She can drive the paint hard even in traffic, finish at the rim and she can really push the ball up the court. Defensively she moves very well, and does not back down. She will pressure the ball from one side of the court to the other and make her presence known. She is going be a big player in the EDC this year, I’m excited to watch her down the road.