Breakdown State Tournament: Class AAAA
The Breakdown State Tournament was held at Hopkins last weekend and NHR was there from start to finish. Here are ten takeaways from the Class AAAA level of play: 1) Apple Valley is a contender, not just for the top…
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Continue ReadingThe Breakdown State Tournament was held at Hopkins last weekend and NHR was there from start to finish. Here are ten takeaways from the Class AAAA level of play:
1) Apple Valley is a contender, not just for the top ten but for the championship. With Gary Trent Jr they were, of course. Without him? Just as much a contender believe it or not. Why? Reason 1 is of course Tre Jones. Reason 2 is the coaching staff that has made this team what they are. Reason 3?
2) Reason 3 is the supporting cast that join Tre Jones in 2018 that have made the Minnesota Eagles so good, and other teams so go. The list of players includes Nathan Macho, Spencer Rolland, Mason Morse, Mohammed Kone, Luke Martens, and others. They have size, shooters, workers, slashers, and of course Jones to lead. They beat half a Champlin Park team, Cretin-Derham Hall (had all but Jacob Prince), and full Lakeville North.
3) McKinley Wright was without fellow returning starters Theo John, Brian Smith, and DJ Hunter but he still scored 26 points to beat a full Maple Grove squad, and scored 26 to beat a full Hopkins squad. That’s an impressive day of work plus McKinley had nice numbers against Tre Jones too in the opener.
4) Chad Costello of Champlin Park is a shooter people better learn to locate right away. Decent size, really nice stroke from long range. Teammate Bennett Otto, a 2019 skilled forward, is another guy that will also make them a lot better. Otto is going to be a top guy someplace in that 2019 class as well when list our rankings for 2019 soon. The Rebels winning 2 of 3 with so many guys missing was impressive.
5) Tartan and Cretin-Derham Hall was for third place and it was a game many want to see as the schools are close and the best in the area right now. Tartan won a close game as Jordan Horn continues a run of some of the best play in his life. Tartan grabbed 2 of 3 this weekend which was very good for them.
6) Joevon Walker of Tartan is a back to the basket scoring machine. Tartan isolated him and the 6-foot-5 power forward went right at Nathan Reuvers and had some really good success back him down and then turning to score. Tough guy to stop when he catches and has leverage on a player.
7) Daniel Oturo, this guy is going to be even better than I thought last week. And last week I was thinking top 75 nationally. His offer list will be similar to what Jericho Sims, Theo John, or Nathan Reuvers have when he’s done, that’s my prediction. I think Oturo is that good.
8) Nathan Reuvers is going to have some incredible nights this fall, like 40 point plus. He will score 30 plus a game for sure. He makes perimeter separation shots and a high percentage of threes plus finishes around the cup. There were many times when Reuvers brought the ball up and just went. In fact against Tartan he went six straight possessions and it included two triples, two attacking scores, a miss, and a kickout.
9) Zeke Nnaji’s transfer to Hopkins is huge. Zeke is a top 2-4 level player in the 2019 class in Minnesota and I can see him playing a lot up front with Simon Wright up front, Ishmael El-Amin and Anthony Davis in the backcourt, and whomever else Coach Novak feels like using for his five. Zeke has a work ethic, a load of talent, and this pretty much assures that Hopkins will be competing for state titles for the next three years.
10) Tyler Lewko of Lakeville North will team with Tyler Wahl and provide two more really good options for Lakeville North up front. Lewko’s transition run of a dunk, a two hand finish on the move versus a contesting defender, and then an And1 in transition versus Apple Valley caught the eye of all. This is a very nice 2018 prospect