RECAP: Nicolet Takes Care of Grafton
GRAFTON — In Friday’s North Shore Conference battle, Nicolet (6-1) was up to the challenge, taking care of a quality Grafton (3-3) squad 87-69… TWO STARS Alex Huibregtse – 2020 – SG – Grafton Huibregtse gets better each time…
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Continue ReadingGRAFTON — In Friday’s North Shore Conference battle, Nicolet (6-1) was up to the challenge, taking care of a quality Grafton (3-3) squad 87-69…
TWO STARS
Alex Huibregtse – 2020 – SG – Grafton
Huibregtse gets better each time we get eyes on him. A smooth, crafty scoring guard that can create shots off the bounce, Huibregtse dropped
30 points in Friday’s loss. Huibregtse often carried Grafton offensively, keeping them within striking distance for most of the first half and leading a nice second half charge to make the game somewhat interesting. Against a bigger, more athletic Nicolet squad, Huibregtse was forced to take some tough pull-up 3-pointers, which he often cashed in on. Defensively, Huibregtse impressed as well. For the brief period when Grafton played man-to-man early, Huibregtse did an excellent job on Jalen Johnson, despite giving up 5-6 inches and a lot of pounds, keeping the top five prospect from getting anything easy.
Jalen Johnson – 2020 – G/F – Nicolet
28 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists — just another day at the office for Johnson. The five-star prospect did a little bit of everything in Friday’s win. Despite getting off to a slow start, when it was time to take over, Johnson did just that. Since his jumper was failing him, Johnson smartly took over in the paint and with his passing ability — two areas he can always rely on. Johnson is special for a variety of reasons. Not only is he a positionless talent, but he can dominate and control a game in so many ways. Just his presence alone on the defensive end, forced Grafton to play primarily from beyond the arc. Owning the glass, distributing the basketball, and protecting the rim, Johnson doesn’t have to score to affect the game in a major way. Then when he is scoring like on Friday, Nicolet is extremely difficult to beat.
TWO STANDOUTS
Kobe Johnson – 2021 – PG – Nicolet
By the time this season is over, Johnson may find himself among Wisconsin’s top 10 prospects in 2021. We’ve projected a major rise for a while, but haven’t elevated Johnson fully to where we think he’ll end up in this class just yet. Johnson continues to show that he’s one of the most improved players in the state. Yes, his growth spurt is exciting, but there’s more to like than just some added length. Like his older brother, Johnson has terrific vision and feel for the game. He was terrific dishing the basketball on Friday and created a ton of offense for the Knights. As Johnson’s confidence continues to rise, so does his ability to score the basketball from all over the floor. A kid that played JV last season and looked timid in the spring on the AAU circuit, that’s all behind Johnson who is just about fearless when attacking the rim or creating his own shot despite plenty of talent around him. Johnson finished with 16 points.
Jamari Sibley – 2020 – F – Nicolet
Sibley picked up three early fouls, which affected his final stat line greatly, but he was a handful for Grafton while in the game. The plus-length forward had a couple of big dunks in transition to set the tone early as Nicolet never looked back. Sibley is just an excellent fit with the Johnson brothers, who love to dish the ball. Able to do so much damage above the rim, Sibley always puts himself in good positions to score and make those highlight plays that change momentum.
X-FACTORS
J.P. Benzschawel – 2021 – PF – Grafton
Benzschawel was pretty effective on Thursday. A big, strong kid that can dominate the paint, Benzschawel scored 14 points on Friday and even stepped out and knocked down a triple. Benzschawel missed a couple bunnies, but has a solid back-to-the-basket game and can out-muscle people around the basket. Like his two older brothers, Benzschawel may end up playing football at the next level, but he’s certainly talented enough to be a college prospect on the hardwood should he go that route.
C.J. Hayes – 2019 – W/G – Nicolet
Like this kid’s mentality. They say, ‘be a star in your role.’ That’s easier said than done when touches on this Nicolet team can be few and far between. However, when Hayes got his number called, he was ready to rise to the occasion. Hayes had 10 points, scoring some key buckets that took some of the burden off Johnson, Sibley, etc. A very athletic wing that works well in transition, Hayes impressed with his above the rim ability and kept working in other areas even if he wasn’t touching the basketball.