Tuesday Night Match-Up: Hopkins at Minneapolis North

<p>Tuesday Night Match-Up breaks down the feature game of the evening plus runs you through some other key individual/team match-ups on Tuesday evening! </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Game of the Night</strong></p> <p>This another HUGE night for high school basketball in Minnesota. There are a boatload of games to keep an eye on.  We start with a deeper look at the annual Hopkins vs Minneapolis North game which will be played at North tonight!</p> <p>Here are the projected line-ups:</p> <p>One: ([player_tooltip player_id="958658" first="Tyrell" last="Sappington"]) vs ([player_tooltip player_id="958670" first="De’Meiko" last="Anderson"]).    First of all, there are nine guys among these listed twelve that I could see pushing the basketball and making the first read for the offense.  Therefore I just went 1-5 as opposed to having a point guard listed.  Sappington has been a solid distributor for the Royals this year and in the Wayzata game he started with Moore.  They’ve made a nice pair.  Anderson has been a player that has really grown physically and the consistency has come with it.  He’s having a really nice senior year and I could see him continuing to develop at the next level. </p> <p>Two: (Jayden Moore) vs ([player_tooltip player_id="850709" first="Willie" last="Wilson"]).   This is fun.  The 8th grade sensation scoring 10/11 a game for the Royals and the Royals veteran who has five years of experience playing for North.  Willie leads the Polars in scoring but is simply in general the leader overall.  Moore is the future, it’s a fun dynamic of talent. </p> <p>Three: (Max Wilson) vs (Zashon Rich).    Wilson is another player that will be a five year varsity experienced guy.  Both Wilson, and young Zashon Rich who is a sophomore, are 4/5 basket a game guys for their team.  Wilson is about 6’3 while Rich stands 6’5 and is developing quickly at North.</p> <p>Four: ([player_tooltip player_id="1268455" first="Josh" last="Hoffman"]) vs ([player_tooltip player_id="958665" first="Jacob" last="Butler"]).    These are wings with length and skill that basically play a stretch four, as fourth guards/wings.  Both are slashers that can create their own offense a bit, and both can stretch the defense.  These are versatile seniors.  </p> <p>Five: ([player_tooltip player_id="850704" first="Elvis" last="Nnaji"]) vs ([player_tooltip player_id="1268467" first="Gani" last="Stevens"]). The fives!  [player_tooltip player_id="850704" first="Elvis" last="Nnaji"] is a quick twitch, strong post big man that boards, finishes around the basket, and defends with energy.  Stevens sets the monster high ball screens for North and he is the low post defender.  Gani has quality low post moves that put points on the board for North scoring about four or five times a game.  Elvis averages a 15 point, 11 rebound a game double-double. </p> <p>6th Man ([player_tooltip player_id="962199" first="CJ" last="O’Hara"]) vs (Datrell McCrimmon).  CJ came off the bench against Wayzata.  Not sure if that was a temporary thing or if that is what they are doing now with O’Hara giving his team instant offense.  CJ is scoring nearly 19 points a game leading Hopkins.  McCrimmon is a pace pushing 5’7 guard that is the 6th player in this North group that can give his team consistent double figure games. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Other Tuesday Options</strong> </p> <p>4AA Plainview/Elgin-Millville at 1AA Caledonia.  A top five Class AA match-up between undefeated teams.  The Warriors are the heavy favorite but this could be the coming out party for junior Kaiden Peters of PEM who is having a big year.  Another junior to watch is 6’6 junior [player_tooltip player_id="1339196" first="Aeron" last="Stevens"], another player that is having a big season.  These PEM juniors hope to lead their team past Caledonia. </p> <p>9AAAA Osseo at 1AAA Totino-Grace. The run of tough games for both of these teams continues.  It’s not just the league they are in (their half is quite stacked) but both have played a tough non league schedule as well.  It’s one of those games that comes in the meat of the season and the mentally toughest have the biggest games. </p> <p>10AAAA Eden Prairie at 3AAAA Wayzata. Speaking of tough slates, the Lake Conference is a monster yet again.  Six of the seven teams in the league are playing at a Class AAAA top ten level right now.  EP has worked itself into the top ten and hope to take out the Trojans. The winner of this game will have the most Lake Conference wins. </p> <p>Rosemount at 6AAAA Lakevlle North.   The Panthers are in a four way tie at 5-1 in first place in their league.  With three losses in league the Irish are in spoiler mode.  </p> <p>Lakeview at Central Minnesota Christian.  An excellent southwestern Minnesota Class A battle between top squads.</p> <p>Stewartville at 10AA Lake City.  The Tigers have surprised this year while Lake City has recently found their grove. </p> <p>Austin at 10AAA Mankato West.  The Packers are 6-7 but they are always a tough team to beat.  West needs this winter to stay two games behind Owatonna in the Big Nine race. </p> <p>Edina at 5AAAA Minnetonka. Another excellent Lake Conference game.  The Hornets are making a climb while the Skippers have such a potent group of guards and wings. </p>