Breakdown Summer Series: Tartan vs Hopkins

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's June and that means high school basketball in Minnesota is back. It's their time, it's Breakdown Summer Series time. And on Sunday.... Hopkins took on Tartan in a very noteworthy contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Royal Transition </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's June therefore team defense is not something these kids are on top of. The Tartan transition defense had a tough time dealing with the James Ware quick fast break that we saw at Park Center and we saw this weekend against the Titans. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2560534' first='Tre' last='Moore'], [player_tooltip player_id='2126145' first='Waleed' last='Muhammad'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2524650' first='Kwatamah' last='Silikpoh'] did a fantastic job with a great transition run and fantastic outlet passes. You would see a Tartan guard miss a jumper, Hopkins collect, and an outlet pass hit a streaking teammate for a lay-up. Moore, Waleed and Kwat were constantly teaming for the outlet and reception the other way. And if this is a taste of things to come, the state needs to be on notice. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player Notes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joe Varner is a player that caught my eye for Tartan. The senior to be hit a three, he had a nice attacking finish and he was the one Tartan guard that I thought was sitting down and working really hard defensively against all these Hopkins backcourt threats. Varner won 50-50 balls and did a great job doing some of the dirty work for his team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2560534' first='Tre' last='Moore'] was locked in defensively against Wilson and I really liked the way he forced Wilson into tougher attempts and working to playmake in tough spots. Between the defense, the transition push, and a 3-4 timely makes (including a good looking late three), this was a noteworthy all around game from Tre. Tre might have the best combination of lateral quicks, defensive fight, and quality footwork in the state next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126145' first='Waleed' last='Muhammad'] of Hopkins is the latest transfer and his jumper was key to the Hopkins win. He made some big shots off the dribble late in the game that were crucial on the scoreboard. Waleed has the jumper to be the guy scoring off ball when playing with Kwat and Tre. Silikpoh also had a huge three down the stretch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2140604' first='Eddie' last='Walker'] was the ball screen muscle in this win and I could see Eddie clearing space and scoring at the rim all season. With [player_tooltip player_id='2420169' first='Ahmed' last='Nur'] being a versatile player that can play to the wing, Walker will have space to be that screen and roll guy, and at times the pick and pop guy when Nur is near the rim as Walker can hit a three here and there too. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->