Aaliyah Crump remembers looking up to local legends-in-the-making like Paige Bueckers, Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren, but now she's next up when it comes to Minnesota basketball royalty.

As a top-five prospect in the 2025 class, Crump's the highest-ranked Minnesota native since Bueckers was the top girls player nationally going from Hopkins to UConn four years ago.

Crump's path to college stardom will look different. She transferred from Minnetonka to finish her high school career 1,500 miles away in Florida at Montverde Academy, the nation's No. 1 girls hoops team.

"Here we're all going to play at a Power Five school, and we all want to win national championships here and in college," Crump said. "That's the biggest piece for me."

The 6-1 five-star Texas signee led Minnetonka to the Class 4A state championship last season with Brian Cosgriff, Bueckers' old high school coach at Hopkins.

Crump was the first prep athlete to sign with New Balance's Klutch Athletics last year and played AAU ball with Caitlin Clark's old team at All-Iowa Attack. Still, she craved another big step for her senior year.

"I'm still in contact with Coach Cosgriff and all my teammates there," Crump said. "I loved my experience at Minnetonka. It was great to win a state championship. I built a bunch of great relationships. But I'm playing with a bunch of Division I players and we're playing a national schedule."

Montverde's trip to the Bahamas during the holidays wasn't for a beach vacation. The 7-1 Eagles played two games, which included their first loss of the season, Dec. 18 against Canadian powerhouse Fort Erie.

Practices can be tougher than most games, too. Montverde's entire 12-player roster will go Division I.

Crump's roommate Agot Makeer, a 6-1 wing from Ontario, is just ahead of Crump as the No. 4 player in the 2025 class, according to ESPN. Saniyah Hall, a 6-foot guard from Ohio, is the No. 1 player in the 2026 class. Jayla Forbes, a 6-7 Alabama native, is arguably the top center in the 2027 class.

"I'm challenged in practice as well as traveling and playing against tough teams and players every day," said Crump, who averages 8.9 points and a team-high 3.7 assists. "This is just getting me prepared for college. Being away from home. Just having a coach who is going to push me every day just like I'm going to get at Texas."

Crump, who averaged 24.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game as a junior at Minnetonka, committed to Texas over Duke and Ohio State in July. About a month later, she announced her transfer to attend one of the nation's top prep basketball factories, located near Orlando.

With state-of-the art facilities and campus life resembling a college environment, it's no surprise Montverde attracts top boys and girls talent from across America each year. Last season, the No. 1 boys senior and current Duke freshman Cooper Flagg from Maine led the Eagles to a national championship.

"They definitely put a lot into basketball," Crump said. "Everyone here is really invested in us, from the teachers to people living in the community. It's great to have that kind of support."

Crump's parents visit her in Florida, but she also stays connected with friends and the basketball scene back home.

Minnetonka's top prospect now is Class of 2028 standout Ari Peterson. Crump's old team and the state of Minnesota still have big names even without her.

"Now just looking around my age group, you have Maddyn Greenway [a Kentucky commit], Tori Oehrlein just committed to Minnesota," Crump said. "I think it's really cool … a lot of the nation's top basketball talent still comes from Minnesota."

Fuller's Five

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Natalie Bremer, MSU Mankato

The 5-11 junior had 23 points, eight rebounds and three steals to lead MSU Mankato to a win against Concordia (St. Paul) on Dec. 19. It was a battle of top-15 teams in Division II nationally.

Antwan Kimmons, Concordia-St. Paul

The 6-foot senior and Northern Sun scoring leader poured in 40 points on 13-for-22 shooting Saturday, to go with 10 assists and eight rebounds in a win against Minnesota Duluth.

Ayoka Lee, Kansas State

In early December, Lee became K-State's all-time leading scorer, surpassing 2,333 points, but she also moved three double-doubles away from second in Big 12 history after a 34-point, 11-rebound game Dec. 18 vs. New Mexico State.

Kwa Silikpoh, Champlin Park

The 5-10 sophomore guard helped his team improve to 4-0 with a career-high 42 points in a 110-104 double-overtime win vs. Blaine on Dec. 19.

Cedric Tomes, East Ridge

Tomes, a Gophers target, had 40 points in the 71-62 win last week vs. Totino-Grace. East Ridge trailed by 10 points at halftime, but scored 42 second-half points.

Numbers game

2,000 St. Cloud Apollo senior Azayah Washington reached the 2,000 milestone Dec. 13 vs. Fergus Falls. His sister, Lariah, holds the Apollo girls record with 2,433 points.

324 Total points scored by the Hopkins boys after topping 100 points each in wins over Park Center, Richfield and St. Louis Park. In that stretch, Anthony Smith averaged 28 points and Jayden Moore averaged 10.6 assists.

32-20 Former Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns' stat line in points and rebounds in his first game back in Minnesota on Thursday in a win for the Knicks.

6 Longest win streak as a Division I program for St. Thomas men after a 93-68 victory Saturday against Bowling Green.

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don't be a stranger on X after reading, as chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).