Recruiting Report: Sam Nissen (2019)
Prior Lake is the second ranked team in the state and with a good week they could be #1 come Monday. The Lakers have formed a strong chemistry led by guard Sam Nissen, a top 35-40 level senior in the…
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Continue ReadingPrior Lake is the second ranked team in the state and with a good week they could be #1 come Monday. The Lakers have formed a strong chemistry led by guard Sam Nissen, a top 35-40 level senior in the state.
“I think there is a couple things that have helped make us a good all around team,” Prior Lake Head Coach Bob Schweim. “This is my fourth year at Prior Lake. They always say that the chemistry should be there in your program in about your third or fourth year.
“I was blessed with having these guys coming up. This group really works together with the seniors mixing with the juniors. We’ve been there before and now there are no excuses.
“After we lost to Edina last year in the playoffs I got these four captains in my office right away and said ‘remember this day because the next year has to start right now’. This group is playing really well.
“To get where we want to we have to play and practice like champions all of the time. That is something we just haven’t seen around here. Some of these good programs are used to that. We’ve been hit hard at the outset several times and we need to come out and play our best early.”
The Lakers are currently 7-1 heading into Friday’s game with Eagan. Senior Sam Nissen is scoring a dozen points a game with 3.2 assists and a team high 2.4 steals per contest. Nissen has matured into being whatever type of player his team needs him to be each night.
“Sam has come from being a guy that does what we ask him to do, to being a coach on the floor,” Schweim explained. “He is coaching everything out there. He knows what to do, when to do it. It’s tough to take him off the floor. He can lead all of these guys.
“They respect Sam and I am really impressed with Sam’s defense this year. We put him on some of the best players and he does fine. Everybody always thinks Sam is just a shooter so he has flown under the radar defensively.”
Nissen scored a dozen points last year as a junior and followed that up with a strong 17u season with the Minnesota Fury top team. By now you have heard about the Sam Nissen game winner that allowed the Fury to beat EYBL Houston Hoops, but that was just a piece of the great year he had.
Now Nissen is enjoying an exciting senior season that is eight games in.
“I would say this year is going great,” Nissen explained. “We have only lost one game and it was to Park Center in our first game of the season. Since then we’ve taken a big step forward both offensively and defensively. I’m super excited for this team and our future, and I believe that we a contender for the state championship.”
As a sophomore Nissen played on the Lakers JV while working against a varsity that went 14-10 for the year. Last year Nissen, Dawson Garcia, and Robert Jones all joined up on the varsity earning a 22-6 record. It was a big step and this team has taken another big step by growing closer to each other.
“To be an even better team we need to limit turnovers, and get into our break faster,” Nissen explained. “If we are running and limiting our turnovers we can compete with anybody.”
Last night Sam scored 17 in a win over Farmington and looking on were coaches from St. John’s and Minnesota State-Mankato.
“I’ve been in contact with Minnesota State-Mankato, they will be at a game soon,” Nissen said this past weekend. “I’ve also been in contact with St. John’s (MN), Bethany, UW-Eau Claire who is coming to some games, and my coach has talked to Winthrop so I’ve talked with them as well. If they like what they see I may head there for a visit. I’ve been to Mankato and St. John’s on visits.