Five Things To Know: Hopkins Duels Lakeville North and Prevails 78-72
Saturday afternoon provided some of the best matchups in the state at Hopkins. Perennial powers Lakeville North and Hopkins clashed in what ended up being one of the best games all day, and the Royals came out on top with…
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Continue ReadingSaturday afternoon provided some of the best matchups in the state at Hopkins. Perennial powers Lakeville North and Hopkins clashed in what ended up being one of the best games all day, and the Royals came out on top with a 78-72 victory behind a mix of Zeke Nnaji, Andy Stafford and more productive players. Here are the top things we saw:
Size plus shooting equals yikes. Zeke Nnaji scored multiple times at the arc and all of them looked very fluid. Zeke would even pause for his balance and then shoot over his defender’s hand and swish. All you can do in that case is say “nice shot”. Better offense always beats good defense. The Arizona-bound forward did a little bit of everything this afternoon.
Wahl Wall! I loved the defensive intensity from Tyler Wahl. He’s 6-foot-7 and long and really fast, and smart to make plays with his hands and feet. Not only can he run point offensively, he can guard guys bigger than him, as he did with Nnaji and was very physical. He leads this North team and they have a bunch of other physical guys who like to do the same.
North role guys step up. I have to shout out Tate Staloch, Jack Rusch and Eli Mostaert for their phenomenal work on both ends all game. Staloch hit timely jumpers and Rusch was great from beyond the arc (four bombs in half one to keep the energy up). Mostaert knocked around with the Hopkins front line inside and grabbed some huge rebounds and even had a block or two on Nnaji. I love the grit those guys play with and it showed with their fight till the end.
Andy Stafford will give you what you need. Guard the best opponent? Check. Rebound with the big dudes? Check. Hit corner threes? Check. Cross over into a pull up jumper? Check. The 6-foot-3 wing was superb in all aspects. SMSU is getting a jack-of-all-trades player who can step up in big moments and rarely makes mistakes. Great piece for the Hopkins rotation.
What’s next? Hopkins and Lakeville North are both ready to say they’re contenders. Problem is, almost everyone else is too. East Ridge beat the Royals last week, then East Ridge lost to Prior Lake today, and Prior Lake lost to Park Center last week! It’s all crazy atop AAAA. This will be the most wide open season in years. Let’s go!