Hopkins 87 Wayzata 80 – Top 10 Prospect Performances
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Second ranked Hopkins hosted and knocked off top ranked Wayzata last night in an 87-80 victory. What prospects performed at their highest level? Prep Hoops breaks it down the morning after. One. Xavier White Xavier White 6'6" | SF Hopkins…
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Continue ReadingSecond ranked Hopkins hosted and knocked off top ranked Wayzata last night in an 87-80 victory. What prospects performed at their highest level? Prep Hoops breaks it down the morning after.
One. Xavier White Xavier White 6'6" | SF Hopkins | 2021 State MN of Hopkins (6’7/6’8, Forward, Sr). With 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting, 11 rebounds, and six assists, Xavier provided a strong example of why we believe he’s one of the best available prospects in the senior class. Scholarship worthy? Absolutely. Xavier’s impact on the game was felt in a number of ways. He’s a willing passer that gave up good shots so teammates could take great shots and when the ball returned to Xavier he knocked down three threes. White also attacked the rim for extending scores using his size to get over the top of the helping defenders. White also grabbed a game high 11 rebounds and used his length to disrupt shots of Camden Heide Camden Heide 6'7" | SF Wasatch Academy | 2022 State #129 Nation UT on the defensive end.
Two. Elvis Nnaji Elvis Nnaji 6'8" | C Hopkins | 2022 State #215 Nation MN of Hopkins (6’8, Center, Jr). If college coaches from around the nation get a hold of this game tape Elvis Nnaji Elvis Nnaji 6'8" | C Hopkins | 2022 State #215 Nation MN will immediately receive an assortment of calls and advancements of future opportunity. Nnaji impacts the game with effort. He runs the floor as hard as any big scoring in transition four times and he retreats to protect the rim which is where his blocks game from. Nnaji actively rebounded in double digits numbers collecting in the congested paint. Scored his 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting including a three, four dunks, and a couple touched in shots in the paint. Physically Nnaji’s agility is rare. Guys at his size with his strength usually don’t run like Elvis does nor do they get off the ground as quickly as Elvis does. His effort ranks with the best.
Three. Carter Bjerke Carter Bjerke 6'9" | C Wayzata | 2022 State MN of Wayzata (6’9, Power Forward, Jr). Wayzata was down double figures for a good part of the game but they had a chance late because of the high arcing, beautiful shooting touch of Carter Bjerke Carter Bjerke 6'9" | C Wayzata | 2022 State MN . Last night three mid-major programs messaged me asking about Carter after seeing the film and/or seeing his results on twitter. One of Carter’s summer coaches previously told me “I’d love to get him around the rim but it’s so hard to take him off the arc where if Carter gets a shot in space odds are better than 50 percent that he will make it”. Carter made five threes last night scoring his 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting overall.
Four. Jaelen Treml Jaelen Treml 6'4" | SF Hopkins | 2021 State MN of Hopkins (6’4, Guard, Sr). We had high expectations, high hopes for Treml coming off this summer and Jaelen had exactly the type of game we’d expect from him. Wayzata guards had a terrible time getting into good space to score against Treml and Jaelen did what he always does on offense and that’s make the right decisions. Treml knocked out a couple threes scoring 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting plus he grabbed four boards and four assists. With Treml it’s an all around two-way contribution that a coach can depend on.
Five. Camden Heide Camden Heide 6'7" | SF Wasatch Academy | 2022 State #129 Nation UT of Wayzata (6’6, Small Forward, Jr). Wayzata’s offense never got into the consistent rhythm that made their team score in the comfortable ways that would lead to a victory. This seemed to hurt Heide’s offensive impact as did the first half foul trouble that led to sitting for seven plus minutes. Heide scored at the arc twice, worked off the ball to the rim to score a couple times, and gave his team 16 points. He shot 5 of 12 for the game which is decent but not the game Heide likely had hoped for in a 1 vs 2 match-up.
Six. Tristan Lee Tristan Lee 6'2" | PG Hopkins | 2021 State MN of Hopkins (6’1, Point Guard, Sr). When it comes to players that truly stepped up and made people take notice, I would go with Tristan Lee Tristan Lee 6'2" | PG Hopkins | 2021 State MN as the biggest impact guy. Lee’s six of six foul shooting late in the game took away any Wayzata comeback chances leading to his 18 point game. Lee was aggressive in attacking Wayzata’s lead guards and they couldn’t keep him in front. Lee’s effort on defense limited the Trojan backcourt, it gave his team seven boards, and helped spear the Hopkins effort in this game.
Seven. Kody Williams Kody Williams 6'0" | PG Wayzata | 2021 State MN of Wayzata (6’1, Point Guard, Sr). After having some early issues (it looked like Kody was having trouble catching his breath early) Kody found his grove later in the game pushing the basketball aggressively. Most of his scores were in transition as Hopkins couldn’t retreat quick enough to get a body in front of Kody. He totaled a dozen points and five assists (6-11 shooting).
Eight. Eddie Beeninga Eddie Beeninga 6'1" | PG Wayzata | 2021 State MN of Wayzata (6’1, Point Guard, Sr). Eddie had a terrible shooting night but in true Beeninga fashion, Eddie didn’t give up and gave his team a chance late. Beeninga scored 15 for the game and it was a showing that you would expect to improve in the future, but you also came away respecting the effort.
Nine. Jack Hernandez Jack Hernandez 6'11" | C Hopkins | 2021 State MN of Hopkins (6’9, Center, Sr). This fall Max Wagner talked a lot about Jack’s improvement and last night we saw some of that. Foul trouble was part of the reason Jack’s time was limited but he made a big three late in the game, Jack scored at the rim for two physical And1 finishes, and his 11 points taking only five shot attempts impressed.
Ten. Max Wilson of Hopkins (6’3, Point Guard, Soph). Max played only a part of the game and missed all four shots he took but there was a creative transition push that everybody noticed. Max had three assists all of which were Wilson attacking the rim and providing a wide open lay-up or dunk. Wilson is very explosive coming out of his move.