Royals earn revenge, win 9th state title
This past Thursday night fans from around the state of Minnesota watched Hopkins defeat Apple Valley in convincing fashion. Many wondered if the Royals would overlook the state title game against the Lakeville North Panthers after so much attention was…
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Continue ReadingThis past Thursday night fans from around the state of Minnesota watched Hopkins defeat Apple Valley in convincing fashion. Many wondered if the Royals would overlook the state title game against the Lakeville North Panthers after so much attention was put on the Eagle/Royals contest. We did not.
Think back two years to the state title game, a game that Vinnie Shahid and Amir Coffey played in. The Royals lost to Lakeville North resulting in a second place trophy after JP Macura’s amazing game winners. Think back to last year when most of this current team was on the roster. They lost to the Panthers in the first round of state.
Therefore Ken Novak Jr only had to show his team the press clippings, video, screenshots or whatever to put the thoughts of revenge in the heads of his players (as well as thoughts of how good the Panther program is). That would be all the motivation they would need to bring home the school’s ninth state title, seventh under Coach Ken Novak Jr.
The game was not always smooth for the Royals. Lakeville North is a well coached, physical basketball team and the contest was tied at the half. Carter Brooks had a couple dunks, Nathan Reuvers is a tough match-up for anybody, and Nick Fossey continued his incredible run in March with 11 points and eight boards many of which were in the paint.
What changed the game was Amir Coffey’s low post finishing and the defense of the Royals at every position. The defensive game changer was Vinnie Shahid who had three signature defensive plays starting with a screen blow-up that became a push the other way for a lay-up followed by a pick and a score, and later a pick of Reuvers for a lay-up that became the game winning play. The Royals forced 17 turnovers in 58 possessions and that was the difference in the game.
Coffey’s low post determination also played a key role to the win. He demanded the ball on the block, backed his man down with a dribble, and read the help defenders finding the space he needed to lift and use the length to touch shots in. Ishmael Eli-Amin came off the bench to score four times and had a key assist during the 15-0 late run, Xavier Johnson and Shahid both had run-out finishes, and Simon Wright’s effort on the glass and on defense was the quiet key to the victory.
For the Royals it was business as usual. What makes this program so much different than others? For one watch the way they approach the game at open gyms in the off-season or when they are at the Minnetonka fall league. There is no clowning around. They lead as a unit because of you don’t follow in the right way you won’t make it.
This team also has a knack for winning big games. Novak knows how to get this team prepared for the big games and the mentality of this time is different than most. They know how to compete and they know how to win and the record book shows it.
Numbers.
Amir Coffey led the team with 19 points on 6 of 13 field goal shooting plus he sunk 7 of 8 foul shots. Coffey also grabbed six boards and three assists. Vinnie Shahid had 13 points making half of his ten attempts, Xavier Johnson scored ten, Ishamel El-Amin had nine, and Simon Wright scored eight with seven boards.
Lakeville North was led by the 16 points, four rebounds, and three blocks from Nathan Reuvers who scored on 6 of 12 shots. Nick Fossey had 11 points and eight rebounds and Cal Pesola and Carter Brooks scored six points. The Panthers had 17 turnovers and that was their eventual demise.
Class AAAA All Tournament Team
Osseo: Allen Anderson
Apple Valley: Tre Jones, Gary Trent Jr, Cameron Kirksey
Lakeville North: Carter Brooks, Nathan Reuvers, Nick Fossey
Hopkins: Xavier Johnson, Amir Coffey, Vinnie Shahid.