Fall League Review: Hopkins vs Totino-Grace

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Royals and the Eagles. Two of the most talented teams in the state. They went head to head last weekend in fall league. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are my five thoughts after reviewing this clipped game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One</strong>. <em>Semanko Game Winner.</em> Six-foot-5 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1595734' first='JJ' last='Semanko'] of Hopkins started the game strong with a post finish and then knocked out five jumpers the rest of the first half from varying distances. The catch and shoot knockdowns are what many are used to but the one or two dribble moves into the attempt caught the eye as well. Then with the game tied towards the end, Semanko dribble separated into a 16 foot make that essentially gave Hopkins the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two</strong>. <em>Chace Makes an Impression</em>. Totino-Grace was missing a number of guys which put the ball in the hands of [player_tooltip player_id='1574227' first='Chace' last='Watley'] as the point guard, the playmaker, and the scorer. And Watley did just that. He went at [player_tooltip player_id='1574212' first='Anthony' last='Smith'], some Semanko and some [player_tooltip player_id='1550877' first='Jayden' last='Moore'], and Watley was able to get to the rim to produce more and more throughout the game. Watley's ability to get guy one on the hip and then score over the help really grabbed my eye as did the strength edge he had on the Hopkins guards to get leverage to score. Good impression made. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three</strong>.<em> Playmaking Moore and Moore</em>. Everybody that has seen sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1550877' first='Jayden' last='Moore'] play is aware of his speed and aware of his ability to blitz to the cup and finish ahead of the support. I'd say the biggest impression Moore made on me in these clips was the passing once he got a couple dribbles inside the arc. Moore fed cutters and put the ball on hands of shooters regularly especially in the first half. One of the best 2026 lead guards in the nation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Four</strong>. <em>Eagle Depth</em>. Totino-Grace is a deep team but there were three or four guys knocking down shots in this game that I did not recognize and they were making an impact. The Eagles didn't have [player_tooltip player_id='1284143' first='Isaiah' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1288748' first='Tyler' last='Wagner'], [player_tooltip player_id='2126117' first='Malachi' last='Hill'] or [player_tooltip player_id='1552934' first='Will' last='Brands'] but they were still able to keep this game tied until the final minute against what will be the heart of the Hopkins line-up. Freshmen [player_tooltip player_id='2126166' first='Jaylan' last='Hynes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2126442' first='Bennett' last='Cizadlo'] both had a chance to make plays against Hopkins regulars and did just that. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Five</strong>. <em>Royal Depth</em>. When the ball is moving for Hopkins there are going to be clean shots all over. Keeping a body in front of Moore is nearly impossible and with the defense sucked in you saw Semanko knocking down looks and [player_tooltip player_id='1574212' first='Anthony' last='Smith'] free to move into space for double figure scoring. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7pN6qoG9Hw","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7pN6qoG9Hw </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->