Lakeville North 75 Lakeville South 62: Five Things to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The North vs South battle of Lakeville was played in front of a packed house in a great atmosphere. North got the better of South as they continue to hold strong as the second ranked team in Class AAAA. Here are five things to know. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One. Nolan Dominance</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='962214' first='Nolan' last='Winter'] had 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting with 14 rebounds. There are two things that he gives that are just too difficult for a team without much size: 1) his understanding of the offense and his activity in the North offense. Winter moves perfectly without the ball and is always getting himself in scoring position, 2) he's huge! When players have to step down to their help, or rotate back, it's impossible. Dealing with Nolan's size is already hard, when you have to rotate back to him when he's in a good spot, his size is impossible to deal with. Nolan has been fantastic and I would say the Mr. Basketball front runner right now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two. Injuries</strong>. North didn't have [player_tooltip player_id='1284147' first='Jack' last='Robison'], South didn't have Marley Baah-Yeeboah. Both are very good juniors but the injury hurts South more. Yes I am aware Marley played and was 0 for 7 when he went out, and I am aware that Jack is a high major committed player. But North is a deeper team of talent and they are more experienced. They can absorb the blow of not having Jack whereas South does not quite have the same experience and talent so with Marley going down (he's their leading scorer), even though he had a rough start, it was a big blow. Guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1214457' first='Will' last='Kutzler'] for North and [player_tooltip player_id='962221' first='Jackson' last='Ressler'] (16 points) stepped up to fill some gaps. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three. Panther guard play</strong>. One of the better stories of this young season is the guard play that Lakeville North is getting. I had never heard of Austin Winship - the Rutgers committed lacrosse player - before this year and he's out here generating five assists and making defensive plays. Sam Nolen is off of an injury and playing really well. Sam does what his team needs in terms of making the extra pass, getting to that extra step on D, making a few shots, and just filling in the needed gaps for a strong team. And [player_tooltip player_id='1269166' first='Matt' last='Drake']. The junior has been wonderful this year. His clutch shot making and confidence has made sure the Panthers have the ball handler they need to make a run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Four. Wow [player_tooltip player_id='1284212' first='Ryan' last='Johnson']</strong>. I was impressed with Ryan this summer with Minnesota Select, I really liked what Ryan did in fall league, and I really liked how he wouldn't let his team die last night. He's the 6'4 ball handler, the main creator, and last night Johnson scored 26 points on 10 of 18 shooting with three threes. Between the quick push, the confident threes, and the physical attacks it was a very good game for Ryan. Plus, he still totaled five assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Five. The atmosphere</strong>. People packing the cat walk. Students everywhere standing and supporting. No extra space to be had. Physical education staff putting together their own VIP section in the corner. Both teams supporting cancer research with special shirts. It was great for high school basketball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->