Individual Matchups To Watch This Week

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The boy's basketball regular season is coming to a close this week. I'll be breaking down five individual player matchups to check out across the state this week before the playoffs start!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Monday - [player_tooltip player_id='1139197' first='Adam' last='Jenkins'] (Moorhead) vs [player_tooltip player_id='962232' first='Isaac' last='Severts'] (Bemidji)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday night features an intriguing frontcourt matchup of strong, athletic frontcourt players. Adam will have the size advantage, and is an above the rim threat because of how effortlessly he can get off the floor. Will be dangerous out of the pick &amp; roll, and runs the floor hard at his size for transition buckets. Averaging a team high 19.1 ppg for a talented Moorhead team. Severts is an athletic prospect who can alternate between the 3 and the 4 spots, as he's a tough finisher inside with fluid athleticism to take his man off the dribble and get to the rim. Tough to stop when he gets out in the open floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tuesday - Micah Curtis (St. Louis Park) vs [player_tooltip player_id='1484016' first='Brady' last='Wooley'] (Orono)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Micah Curtis has been having a breakout sophomore season for St. Louis Park, and with a long 6'6 frame he's an intriguing prospect moving forward. He moves well at his size, has good footwork out of the post, and can step outside and hit threes. Hard working player on the defensive end as well. Scoring a team high 13.7 ppg for SLP. [player_tooltip player_id='1484016' first='Brady' last='Wooley'] is among the top 2025 prospects in the state with his skillset at 6'8. May not put up huge scoring numbers at 6.7 ppg, but is a threat from beyond the arc and also by running the floor in transition. This season he's had some impressive defensive performances, limiting opposing size with his long frame and mobility. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wednesday - [player_tooltip player_id='1172778' first='Sam' last='Massaquoi'] (Robbinsdale Cooper) vs [player_tooltip player_id='1221149' first='Tajon' last='Pearson'] (Bloomington Kennedy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sam is putting together a strong senior season, putting up 17.2 ppg including 30 against a tough Andover team. He excels at getting downhill and attacking the rim, where he does a nice job of elevating off two feet and converting through contact. Also consistently finds success earning trips to the free throw line with his style of play. Defensviely he can sit deep in a stance, as he is very quick laterally and has good hands to pick up steals on the ball. Tajon Peason is another smaller but quick guard that is scoring 13.2 ppg on the year. He's had some nice games this year, but against Cooper earlier in the year he was held to 6 points. He'll be looking to bounce back with a big game in the rematch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thursday - [player_tooltip player_id='2109843' first='Nolan' last='Davis'] (St. Agnes) vs Jacob Stiele (Twin Cities Academy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nice underclassmen battle here on Thursday night between [player_tooltip player_id='2109843' first='Nolan' last='Davis'] and Jacob Stiele. Davis is a 6'3 sophomore with some explosive athleticism. Constant double-double threat with his ability to finish at the rim while also rebounding at a high level. Averaging 12.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Stiele is a promising freshman out of TCA. He already has size at 6'3-6'4 on the wing, with a nice feel for the game. Handles the ball well and can create his own shot off the bounce. Has been impressive as a freshman averaging 16.8 ppg including highs of 35 and 31.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friday - [player_tooltip player_id='1167554' first='Hayden' last='Tibbits'] (Wayzata) vs [player_tooltip player_id='1491756' first='Nate' last='Dahl'] (Buffalo)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday night is a clash of two Mr. Basketball top-10 candidates. [player_tooltip player_id='1167554' first='Hayden' last='Tibbits'] is the smaller of the two but has been putting up big numbers in every key game this season. Teams just haven't had a way to keep him out of the paint as he's both a high level finisher and passer once he gets into his spots. He's scoring 20.3 ppg this season and has seemed to get better and better each week. [player_tooltip player_id='1491756' first='Nate' last='Dahl'] is one of the strongest guards you'll find in the state. Can hurt you with finesse on the perimeter, but is also so good at just bulldozing his way to the rim for a tough finish. Once he gets into the paint, he can power through contact for a bucket while also finding success drawing fouls. Not going to back down from a defensive challenge either. His 25 ppg have Buffalo sitting at 20-5 with one game left to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->