Top 250 Expo Minnesota – New Names to Know

<p>Who are some of the new names that we learned about Saturday at the Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo? NHR fills you in today. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774927" first="Curtis" last="Favors"] Jr</strong> of Tartan (6’3 forward, 2021).  Curtis is a tight end/linebacker prospect that has earned football scholarship opportunity.  He’s also a trusted Tartan Titan that scored four buckets a game last winter while steadily progressing as a defender.  What we saw yesterday was a thunderous player around the rim finishing and rebounding.  A quicker bounce than I was prepared for and a physical finisher. </p> <p><strong>Greg Hopkins</strong> of Eden Prairie (6’3 wing, 2022). We’ve been curious about who will be in the EP line-up this year.  We know that [player_tooltip player_id="774873" first="Cole" last="Tiran"] and [player_tooltip player_id="774912" first="Will" last="Foster"] are experienced plus [player_tooltip player_id="796949" first="Ryan" last="Warren"] has a chance to be a key scorer.  But who else?  Greg Hopkins looks to be a player that could also grab a role.  He played some JV, some B last year for the Eagles and this weekend at the Expo his agility had me flipping the books.  Saw him attack the rim to score a couple times, saw Greg grab some impressive boards, saw him move his feet and get to spots forcing the opponents into mistakes.  Good signs.</p> <p><strong>Kabine Kaba</strong> of Park Center (6’6 power forward, 2021).  I only saw Kabine play for one rotation but that one rotation was enough to get his name circled as a player to learn more about in the future.  Based on what I can see from last winter and now, Kaba looks a bit taller, a bit longer, and a bit stronger.  Used that length and some solid agility to finish a couple times, grab several boards, and forced turnovers in a small timeframe.  Runs well. </p> <p><strong>Michael Nhial</strong> of West Fargo Sheyenne (6’6 small forward, 2022).If we had a traditional 16u season a player like Michael Nhial wouldn’t be first talked about at Prep Hoops last April.  But this is a different year so our first chance to see Nhial was Saturday, and he delivered.   In fact Michael was the first guy that truly made us turn the pages to see who he was and where he was from.  His physical block, collection, rapid push the other way to finish was an eye opener.  And from there Nhial continued to handle the ball handling duties while also being the best attacking threat, best finishing threat, and best rebounder on his team. </p> <p><strong>Jaedyn Patterson</strong> of Richfield (6’2 guard, 2023).  Patterson has definitely taken a step forward from the two small stints we saw him play in the previous nine months.  He played a small varsity role a year ago but looks to have the physical ability and improved feel to step in and make the Spartans a deeper team.  The biggest thing is that Patterson runs very well and has the physical tools with the ball to be an attacking guard.  Great lift to the rim to finish and the tools to be a tough defender. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962259" first="Carter" last="Todd"]</strong> of La Crescent (6’3 guard, 2023). Carter grabbed a hold of the basketball this weekend and teammates followed.  Quickly you saw guys run the floor knowing that Carter was going to push and find them with a pass.  He’s a young player that has the size for the wing and it allowed him to score at the wing, but the confidence and decision making that Carter showed as a ball handler really caught my eye. </p> <p><strong>Wiel Wiel</strong> of Worthington (6’8 power forward, 2021).  One of the hardest working players at the Expo was Wiel Wiel.  He had a legit sprained ankle but refused to stop playing.  He was moving off ball screens with his hands high, he was chasing bigs into the post and taking away passes, and Wiel blocked/contested shots as much as anybody at the event.  Gutted his way through an injury because he wanted to compete against bigs from around the state and really impressed doing it. </p>