BatL: Hopkins – ALL-HUSTLE-TEAM

<p>Minnetonka, Minnesota - At Hopkins High School at the Battle At The Lakes, we had some high-quality basketball. I saw many great players that will no doubt be playing college ball. What is more important is that I saw a ton of HUSTLE on the court. I witnessed players diving on the floor, sprinting in transition, helping the helper, closing out flawlessly, forcing TO’s, making deflections, dunking, skying for rebounds, setting hard screens, and taking the all-important CHARGE. One of my favorite things to watch for is players making "hustle plays". </p> <p>Alphabetically, here are the players that showed great <strong>Hustle</strong>: </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1220383" first="Adam" last="Tauer"] (2023) Minnesota Heat 2023 Dedina</strong> - High School - Cretin Derham Hall. He was a hard worker on the defensive side of the ball. I loved his quick and active hands. Adam was a pick-pocket when guarding on-ball. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/169-Blaise-Wallace.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1054161" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/169-Blaise-Wallace-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962387" first="Blaise" last="Wallace"] (2023) |6-7 F| Judah Nation 2023</strong> - High School - Maclay School. He made this list because of his offensive rebounding. Blaise crashed hard. His length and athleticism make him an ideal rebounder. Wallace was impressive. I liked the way he high-pointed the ball after the shot came off the rim. </p> <p><strong>Christopher Cooper (2023) |5-10 G| MN Comets 2023 Peterson</strong> - High School - Anoka. He played with great enthusiasm and heart. Cooper showed grit and hard work. He is a hustler with an up-tempo game.  </p> <p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1189182" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/jtthornton-crop-1080x710-1620660756-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1226375" first="JT" last="Thornton"] (2023) |6-3 G| WOTN 2023 Bertsch</strong> - High School - Lakeville North. A well-rounded player that seemed to work hard on every possession. He is a long, athletic, big guard. He has the ability to be a D-stopper. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1227672" first="Kyler" last="Pitkanen"] (2023) |6-0 G| PM North Regional 2023 Steinert</strong> - High School - Two Harbors. He showed great hustle flying down the court in transition. He attacked the basket aggressively. Kyler got out on the wing after his team secured the defensive rebound and sprinted down the court. He showed great effort getting up and down the court.  </p> <p><strong>Ot Omet (2023) |6-4 G| MN Select 2023 Emge</strong> - High School - Park Of Cottage Grove. A very athletic player with a great motor. I really liked the way he attacked the basketball when rebounding. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/ru-1-crop-2716x1783-1620661355.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1189192" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/ru-1-crop-2716x1783-1620661355-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1194000" first="Ruhan" last="Jordan"] (2023) |6-1 G| Minnesota Magic </strong>- High School - Eastview. He is a pesky and frustrating defender. I like his toughness. He never quits on the defensive end. Ruhan is also a distributor on the offensive side. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/sorenanderson-crop-1080x710-1620661013.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1189187" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/sorenanderson-crop-1080x710-1620661013-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <p><strong>Soren Anderson (2023) |6-4 F| West Central Wildcats 2023</strong> - High School - Perham. A work-horse on the court. Soren does the little things that help his team get better. He has great rebounding ability. Anderson was great on his closeouts. He had a high hand every time and moved his feet perfectly. He will be a stud next season for Perham. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1055796" first="Ta’veon" last="Jones"] (2023) |5-6 G| Judah Nation 2023</strong> - High school - Central Florida Christian. He was great on help-side defense. Jones had a sweet save on a loose ball that he threw to a teammate before he went out of bounds. He has lightning-quick feet and hands. </p> <p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1189185" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/vitomarchese-crop-965x634-1620660875-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1226397" first="Vito" last="Marchese"] (2023) |6-6 F| <strong>WOTN 2023 Bertsch </strong></b>- High School - Lakeville North. He dominated on the glass. I was very impressed with how physical Vito played. He is also an eraser on defense. Marchese is a shot blocker and shot intimidator.</p> <p><strong>Waziri Lawal (2023) |6-2 G| MN Select 2023 Emge</strong> - High School - Breck. He was a high-energy player. Lawal is a disrupter and anticipator. I liked his active hands on defense. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>