Kevin Anderson published a post the other day listing the top 5 scorers in D1 from each of the past 4 high school classes. Thanks, Kevin. It is great reading. It made me think that, well, these are the top 5 today, in a manner of speaking, and there are 5 Ms. Basketball finalists each year. How many of them are the same? How much has Ms. Basketball been predictive of college success?
Class of 2016
Not very.
The Ms. Basketball finalists were Nia Hollie, Hopkins and Michigan State; Taylor Koenen, Shakopee and North Carolina; Jamie Ruden, Rochester JM and Arizona State; Kiara Russell, Osseo and also Arizona State; and Abi Scheid, Elk River and Northwestern. Nia Hollie was Ms. Basketball.
The top 5 scorers in 2020 are Maddie Nelson, Dover-Eyota and Denver (20 ppg); Hannah Crymble, Champlin Park and Vermont (17); Koenen (15); Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Holy Angels and Cornell (13); and Ashley Bates, Hopkins and Hampton (13). Also in double figures are Hannah Sjerven, Rogers and South Dakota; and Madison McKeever, Win-E-Mac (Kevin incorrectly attributed her to Ada-Borup; that was her sister Mariah who played at Ada, then went to Moorhead State).
Crymble was first team all-America East and defensive player of the year; Sjerven was both of those same things in the Summit. Bates was also defensive PoY for the 2nd time. Crymble is also the only 2016 to score in double figures four times. That's not to say they should have been Ms. Basketball finalists. They did their work in the mid-majors while the finalists all went high D1.
But if you wanted to pick 5 Ms. BB finalists from this class today, you'd consider taking Crymble and Sjerven ahead of Ruden (7 ppg), Russell (5) and Hollie (3). Granted, Ruden, Russell and Hollie played high D1, Crymble and Sherven didn't. Still, you'd have to think about it. You'd also take a good hard look at McKeever. Koenen and Scheid are the locks.
And if you were picking Ms. Basketball 2016 today, there's no question that Koenen would be the pick. She was the Star Tribune Metro PoY. The Ms. BB committee liked Hollie. I was writing for North Star Girls Hoops at that time, and we liked Koenen, too.
The real sickening thing in all of this, though, was Scheid's rejection by Gopher coach Merlene Stollings. Scheid pretty much begged the Gophers to let her walk on. No scholarship, just let me walk on. Stollings said no. So she went to Northwestern and the Wildcats tied for the Big 10 title and Scheid made 1st team all-Big 10.
Bagwell-Katalinich will be playing for the Gophers next year as a graduate transfer. It says here that she'll be a contributor.
Class of 2017
The Ms. Basketball finalists were Kiley Borowicz, Roseau and Moorhead State; Temi Carda, Lakeville North and Creighton; Gabi Haack, Elk River and Bradley; Rae Johnson, St. Michael-Albertville and Iowa State; and Chelsea Mason, Mountain Iron-Buhl and UMD.
The committee snubbed Kristin Scott of Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State, and guess who is now the #1 scorer from this class? Scott at 14 ppg. Ms. BB Haack is second at 13, while Carda is also at 13. Rachel Ranke of Eastview and Kansas State is at 10, and Maddie Monahan, Glencoe-Silver Lake and Drake, is at 9.
Borowicz scored 14 ppg this year but is retiring from basketball due to arthritis. Johnson scored 9 ppg for Iowa State, while Mason never intended to play college ball, then relented for one year at UMD, then retired again.
I remember moving Haack into the top 10 of the North Star Girls Hoops ratings her sophomore year. Everybody said, "She's not that good." I moved her up to #5 her junior year and they said, "She's not that good." Then as a senior I moved her up to #3 and they said, "She's not that good." Then she led the Elks to a 32-0 record, a big upset of Hopkins and a state title. Voila! She won the Ms. Basketball award and I said, "She's not that good." (I liked Kristin Scott.) After having no D1 offers at the time, Bradley finally came through and she has more than paid off for the Braves.
Still, I thought the committee made a big mistake in snubbing Scott and if I could pick a Ms. BB 2017 today, I would still pick Kristin Scott.
Class of 2018
The Ms. Basketball finalists in 2018 were Sam Haiby, Moorhead and Nebraska; Heaven Hamling, Grand Rapids and Stephen F. Austin (but now NDSU); Sydney Lodermeier, Goodhue and Winona State; Maesyn Thiesen, Sauk Centre and UMD; and Megan Walstad, Eastview and Milwaukee.
The top 5 today are Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer and Iowa (16 ppg and 2nd team all-Big 10); Ayoka Lee, Byron and Kansas State (16, 1st team all-Big 12 and freshman of the year after redshirting last year); Emma Grothaus, Mahtomedi and Lehigh (10); Haiby (10); and Jaclyn Jarnot, Maranatha and North Dakota (9).
With Czinano and Lee eating up two high D1 conferences, they look like big oversights by the Ms. BB committee. I liked Haiby as PoY, the committee liked Walseth. Walseth scored 11 ppg as a freshman, then sat out this past year, I assume with an injury. Right now, today, the Ms. BB 2018 is still wide open among Czinano, Lee and Haiby, and Walseth is still in the running.
Class of 2019
Today's college freshmen who were Ms. BB finalists were Kacie Borowicz, Roseau and North Dakota; Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins and Hampton; McKenna Hofschild, Prior Lake and Seton Hall; Frannie Hottinger, Cretin and Lehigh; and Sara Scalia, Stillwater and Minnesota.
The top 5 scorers this year were Lariah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo and Eastern Illinois (11 ppg); Scalia (11); Tori Nelson, Henry Sibley and South Dakota State (10); Borowicz (7); and Olivia Lane, Pequot Lakes and North Dakota (6).
Chakolis scored 4, Hofschild and Hottinger 2. Hofschild in particular deserves some additional adjustment time, playing at a high D1. But, it seems today that the committee erred in not picking Scalia, who is already in double digits at a high D1. Washington, meanwhile, was not highly regarded. Prep Hoops had her down in the 20s, which looks like a miss. And, the committee's snub of Tori Nelson also looks like a mistake though I wouldn't bet against Hottinger becoming a star. Right now she's stuck behind Grothaus in the Lehigh rotation.
10 Years from Now, These Will Look Like the Best High School Players 2016-2020
Center--Yokie Lee, Byron and Kansas State, 6-6, 2018
Forward--Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer and Iowa, 6-2, 2018
Wing--Taylor Koenen, Shakopee and North Carolina, 6-0, 2016
Point Guard--Sara Scalia, Stillwater and Minnesota, 5-9, 2019
Shooting Guard--Sam Haiby, Moorhead and Nebraska, 5-10, 2018
2nd Team
Center--Abi Scheid, Elk River and Northwestern, 6-2, 2016
Forward--Megan Walstad, Eastview and Milwaukee, 6-2, 2018
Wing--Tori Nelson, Sibley and South Dakota State, 6-1, 2019
Point Guard--Gabi Haack, Elk River and Bradley, 5-10, 2017
Shooting Guard--Maddie Nelson, Dover-Eyota and Denver, 6-0, 2016
3rd Team
Center--Kristin Scott, Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State, 6-2, 2017
Forward--Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Holy Angels and Cornell (and Minnesota), 6-2, 2016
Wing--Rachel Ranke, Eastview and Kansas State, 6-2, 2017
Point Guard--Temi Carda, Lakeville North and Creighton, 5-7, 2017
Shooting Guard--Ashley Bates, Hopkins and Hampton, 5-8, 2016
Honorable Mention
Center--Hannah Sjerven, Rogers and South Dakota, 6-3, 2016
Forward and Wing--Kiley Borowicz, Roseau and Moorhead State, 2017
Point Guard--Madison McKeever, WEM and South Dakota, 2016
Shooting Guard--Lariah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo and Eastern Illinois, 2019
Ms. Basketball 2016-2019 Taylor Koenen
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