Jack's Opening Week Standouts

Here are my top eight performers from the opening week of Minnesota HS hoops! I was in attendance at Orono vs Hopkins on Thursday, St. Thomas Academy vs Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday, and Rockford vs Burnsville on Saturday. Orono vs Hopkins: [player_tooltip player_id="962199" first="CJ" last="O’Hara"] of Hopkins (6’4” Guard - 2023) The leading scorer from Thursday’s game, [player_tooltip player_id="962199" first="CJ" last="O’Hara"]. The 6’4” guard could not be stopped around the rim versus an undersized Orono team. CJ had a plethora of offensive rebounds leading to second chance baskets on his way to 25 points. He was not only scoring the ball, coming up with a game-high 6 steals leading to easy fast break scores for the Royals. O’Hara also showcased his athleticism with a pair of two-handed dunks to lead Hopkins to an 86-70 win. [player_tooltip player_id="958716" first="Sebastian" last="Loder"] of Orono (6’3” Guard - 2022) Sebastian was automatic from beyond the three point line on Thursday night! In a tough matchup versus Hopkins, Loder kept the Spartans in the game. The senior captain connected with five threes on his way to a team-high 22 points! 4/5 of his threes were in catch-and-shoot situations with great kickouts from the other Orono guards. Along with that, Loder had a nice and-one in the second half rising above the size of the Hopkins’ bigs. There will definitely be more 20+ scoring games for [player_tooltip player_id="958716" first="Sebastian" last="Loder"]. [player_tooltip player_id="850704" first="Elvis" last="Nnaji"] of Hopkins (6’9” Forward - 2022) As usual, Elvis was dominating the paint on Thursday night. What really impressed me though was his shot from beyond the arc. The 6’9” Forward made four threes in the first half alone! There was also no surprise that Elvis was grabbing every rebound possible, along with throwing down a couple thunderous dunks giving his team the momentum. In one one of those dunks, Nnaji somehow finished down an alley-oop that was thrown off the backboard before he even crossed the three-point line. Elvis will be producing big-time highlight plays all season long!   St. Thomas Academy vs Cretin-Derham Hall: Donavhan Cain of Cretin-Derham Hall (6’4” Guard - 2022) Donavhan may just be the best newcomer in the state! He stands at 6’4”, but possesses insane athleticism, which allows him to create jaw-dropping highlight plays. He had plenty of those in the Friday night win over St. Thomas Academy. Cain rose up for two crazy blocks where his head was nearly above the rim. Also, he put the game away with three dunks in the final minutes of play. Donavhan Cain and [player_tooltip player_id="850701" first="Tre" last="Holloman"] are going to be a problem for opposing backcourts this season. [player_tooltip player_id="958750" first="Nathan" last="Johnson"] of St. Thomas Academy (6’8” Center - 2022) Johnson allowed the Cadets to stay close in a tough matchup against the #2 ranked team in AAAA. Listed at 6’8”, Nathan can move very well and handle the basketball. He showed off nice touch from the outside, while also grabbing many rebounds and finishing inside with great efficiency. Being the focal point in this offense, I believe Johnson could have a couple 30 point games this winter. Nathan and St. Thomas Academy will be in for a great season if they can duplicate their performance from Friday night. [player_tooltip player_id="796948" first="Brandon" last="Melchior"] of Cretin-Derham Hall (6’10” Center - 2022) Brandon dominated the paint Friday night on his way to a double-double. He finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds, scoring all of his baskets either in the post or on other shots around the rim. Melchior was a force on the defensive side of the ball as well, finishing with three blocks and contesting every shot in the paint area. The 6’10” center is a perfect fit for this Cretin-Derham Hall team that has so much talent in the backcourt.   Rockford vs Burnsville: [player_tooltip player_id="958707" first="Derek" last="Pepin"] of Rockford (6’2” Guard - 2022) Derek was on fire on Saturday. The senior guard was not missing on his way to a game-high 35 points. He was scoring from all three levels and simply could not be stopped by Burnsville. Pepin was making threes as it seemed every other possession, but was also grabbing offensive rebounds for second chance baskets in the paint. He is on pace for some ridiculous stats as he scored 24 points in Rockford’s season opener. [player_tooltip player_id="960333" first="Sam" last="Zilmer"] of Rockford (6’5” Forward - 2022) Along with Pepin, Burnsville could not stop Sam. The 6’5” forward out-muscled everyone that tried to grab a rebound over him and absolutely dominated the inside. He also recorded the highlight of the game on a huge putback dunk off a transition miss. Zilmer possesses a very high basketball IQ as well, as he was finding open teammates for easy baskets all game. Rockford looks like a team to watch out for in AA if they keep playing like this.