Minnesota is a shining star of girls' basketball, and the Final Four gives it a showcase

Maya Nnaji will be there.

The women's NCAA Final Four? In her backyard? With her former high school teammate, Paige Bueckers, here playing on a national stage? How could Nnaji miss it? A Hopkins star, coming off another state title, a top-10 national recruit headed to Arizona, Nnaji can't wait for Sunday night's title game to begin.

"It's inspiration,'' she said.

Olivia Olson will be there, upper deck, with her dad.

Olson led her Benilde-St. Margaret's team into the state tournament as a sophomore. Already she's ranked, by ESPN, third in the country in the 2024 recruiting class.

If Nnaji's love for the game was bolstered by her love of watching Maya Moore helping the Lynx win four WNBA titles, Olson can see that happening with someone like Bueckers.

"It's cool for younger girls,'' she said. "To look up to the professional players, to see Paige coming back home and playing in the Final Four. It's just, really cool, to have someone to look up to. Little girls can be like, 'I can be like that, too.'"

Given the number of players from Minnesota who continue to make their mark on Division I women's basketball — Lauren Jensen leading Creighton to the regional final, South Dakota relying on a roster loaded with Minnesotans to get to the Sweet 16, two Minnesota freshmen taking Utah to the second round — the fact that Sunday night's championship game will take place on the Target Center floor seems only appropriate.

Minnesota's girls' basketball ascendance is clear. Nearly 100 players made Division I commitments between 2019 and 2022, according to various prep hoops sites. Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen is welcoming an incoming four-player recruiting class ranked No. 10 by ESPN that consists of four Minnesotans in Mara Braun (Wayzata), Amaya Battle (Hopkins), Mallory Heyer (Chaska) and Nia Holloway (Eden Prairie).

Two of Nnaji and Battle's junior teammates — Taylor Woodson and Sunaja (Nu Nu) Agara — are ranked in the top 38 of the 2023 class by ESPN, and Agara has committed to Stanford. Guard Alivia McGill, also from Hopkins, is ranked 11th by ESPN in the 2024 class.

The only question when it comes to Minnesota's girls' basketball prowess might be: Why?

Many reasons. A decade of watching the Lynx being a dominant team in the WNBA (Nnaji loved Moore; Heyer is a big Sylvia Fowles fan). Strong well-coached AAU programs that foster competition rather than run from it. A style of play — many players and coaches call it the "Minnesota Style" — that fosters team play over individual isolation that has more kids college-ready coming out of high school.

And this: With this year's championship game between UConn and South Carolina set, after a weekend of games, exhibits and all sorts of fan experiences dominating the weekend, it's clear to some that having the women's Final Four here will only push girls' basketball in the state higher.

Braun remembers watching Whalen and the Lynx win the 2017 WNBA title on the Williams Arena floor. "For kids, to see that? To see that maybe your dream can become a reality?" Braun said. "It's important for kids to see their dreams can come true."

By the way, Braun won't be there Sunday. She'll be on a trip for spring break, tuning in from Mexico.

"Trust me,'' she said, "I'm bummed.''

'See it, dream it'

Fowles came to the Lynx in 2015, midseason, leading the team to its third WNBA title in five seasons. From then on, she was Heyer's favorite player.

"I think the Lynx motivated people,'' Heyer said. "They all saw the success the Lynx had winning all those titles. Players on those teams were role models. All the girls growing up, seeing what could be accomplished? It motivated me.''

This is a point Lynx coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve has been stressing for years. "This is one reason why the WNBA is so important,'' she said. "The Lynx have been here since 1999. Having exposure to that is important.''

Maybe it gets young girls interested in the game earlier. "They see it, they dream it,'' Reeve said. "Maybe they go into the backyard and start emulating a Lynx player.''

Ellen Wiese is the high school coach at Eden Prairie and executive director of the Minnesota Metro Stars AAU program. When she was growing up, the only professional league available to watch was the NBA. But now, with kids she coaches, there is more. "When I ask them, 'What are your goals?' they can honestly say, 'I want to play pro basketball in the USA,'" Wiese said. "This is not something you're born with, it's what you're around, what you see. The more quality basketball in the state, from youth to the professional level, the more chance you have of more girls saying, 'That's what I want to do.'"

Nicole LaVoi is director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota. To her, the tie-in between big events and participation is clear. Data show, she said, that when the U.S. women's hockey team does well in the Olympics, participation in the sport grows. Ditto for the national women's soccer team in World Cup play. She expects a similar reaction to the Final Four being here.

"I cannot imagine it's not going to impact the participation and popularity of girls playing basketball,'' she said. "Whether they see it live, go to the games, or hearing or reading about it, or going down to Tournament Town. However they engage, we know from data, these athletic role models matter for girls.''

Nnaji pointed to Bueckers and Iowa star Caitlin Clark. "They're like female versions of Steph Curry,'' she said. "Insane handles, the shot. Kids look and see, 'I can do it too. I can go to college, get a scholarship.'''

Intense competition

All you had to do was watch this year's girls' high school tournament to know the talent — in all classes — is there. The high school programs are talented and well-coached. The same goes for AAU programs, which could be another reason for the numbers of girls going Division I.

Local AAU programs such as North Tartan, Minnesota Fury and Metro Stars compete everywhere. But they make sure to do it at home, too.

In many states, competing programs, with different sponsors, don't play one another. Not in Minnesota. And that's important. "We cooperate on a certain level to really make sure there are great events for kids,'' said Bill Larson, North Tartan's director.

Said Nick Storm, co-director and founder of the Fury: "In Minnesota, we play each other all the time.''

Playing one another often allows the best players in the state to compete against one another and, perhaps, become friends. The number of local tournaments featuring top programs draws college recruiters.

Several people also mention the style of play that characterizes the state.

"It's not super flashy,'' Nnaji said. "But we're fundamentally sound. I feel a lot of our hoopers, they come in under the radar. We grind in the silence. But we let our talent show when we get the opportunity.''

AAU teams play to win, Larson said, instead of having stars collect stats. They learn schemes, offensive and defensive. They run plays, work within a system.

The result: "We hear all the time from recruiters that we're producing more kids who are college-ready,'' Wiese said.

Storm said he thought the fact that much of the Minnesota talent is concentrated in one large metro area allows for better competition, starting from the youngest ages, compared with some states where talent is diffused through many metro areas.

Whatever the reason, Minnesota's girls' basketball pipeline is full, which is why the Final Four being in Minneapolis is so fitting.

"This is a good opportunity to shine a spotlight on the enthusiasm for women's basketball here,'' Wiese said.

Said Larson: "It's great buzz. You have to feed off that, that feel, that vibe.''

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