Five Things To Know: Last-Second Shot Lifts Park Center over Eden Prairie
The penultimate Main Court game on Saturday was a barn-burner in the sense that it was a flurry to see who could stop the other team the most times. Park Center used a David Ijadimbola buzzer-beater to defeat Eden Prairie…
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Continue ReadingThe penultimate Main Court game on Saturday was a barn-burner in the sense that it was a flurry to see who could stop the other team the most times. Park Center used a David Ijadimbola buzzer-beater to defeat Eden Prairie in one of the more exciting games of the day. 49-46 was the final score, and we bring you five of the most notable takeaways from the contest.
Gameplanning against size. Eden Prairie did a nice job with Lukas Dunford on Dain Dainja, forcing him to put the ball on the floor and giving him no room for driving or bullying. But the Eagles got away with not emphasizing that scheme much because Dainja floated from the rim a lot, trying to be a perimeter scorer when he had advantages for cutters and double teams in the post. If he had been establishing himself down low like Garcia of PL did earlier, would things be different? Dain scored nine points with six rebounds.
Death. Taxes. Tamba. Emmanuel Tamba has my vote for best perimeter defender in the metro. The 6-foot guard doesn’t need to score at all to be impactful, that’s no exaggeration. He grabbed several steals and was the sparkplug he always is for the defensive identity of the Pirates, constantly sking for teammates to talk and be aggressive. He did add some timely attacks and shots down the stretch.
Dobbs controls the pace. EP point guard Drake Dobbs is one of the best in the biz at calling his own game without forcing stuff. Coach David Flom deliberately tried to extend Eagle possessions to prevent an uptempo game that would favor PC. Drake did exactly that, dragging out dribbles and passes until the perfect opportunity struck when the Pirate defense was stretched or not looking. Drake scored 19 points to go with five rebounds leading EP.
EP frontcourt trio is tough as nails. Give me Connor Christensen, Austin Andrews and Ariel Bland in my frontcourt any day. All three stand about 6-foot-6 and are just gamers on the glass. They all have offensive capabilities too—Andrews is the silky low post pump fake guy, Christensen the great combo forward who can shoot and rebound and defend, and Bland the highflying rim presence on both ends. They were very strong in their own ways tonight.
What’s next? This gets messier and messier. Park Center bear Prior Lake and Eden Prairie, Prior Lake beat East Ridge, East Ridge beat Hopkins, Hopkins beat Lakeville North. There will be more of these crossing matchups throughout the season and we can’t say who the favorite is for State. We might not be able to at all! That’s pretty fun. Stay tuned!