Class AAAA State Tournament: Lakeville North & Hopkins are moving on
Why Lakeville North is moving on over Osseo. The Panthers had a lot of trouble turning the ball over. In fact they had turnover issues up until the final seconds but their rebounding advantage with Carter Brooks and Nathan Reuvers…
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Continue ReadingWhy Lakeville North is moving on over Osseo. The Panthers had a lot of trouble turning the ball over. In fact they had turnover issues up until the final seconds but their rebounding advantage with Carter Brooks and Nathan Reuvers up front and their ability to hit foul shots while Osseo couldn’t sink them late is why North is playing for a title for the third time in five years while Osseo picked up their first loss of the year.
Osseo wasn’t able to get the balance offensively they usually do. Kameron Bettie couldn’t roll to the rim to catch and finish, Zach Theisen is still hurt, and Demario Armstrong and Dontae Jones both had a lot of issues scoring over the size and well positioned defense of the Panthers. Allen Anderson had one of his better shooting games as a varsity player making five treys and seven deep jumpers for 19 points but nobody else on the team found any rhythm against John Oxton’s defenders.
The Panthers had that balance. Nathan Reuvers used his size and skill early to scored a quick dozen, Cal Pesola scored most of his dozen late, Carter Brooks slashed all game for his twelve, and Nick Fossey’s 12 was scored mostly in the final minutes when he put the game away with free throw shooting and some big defensive plays including the game winning steal
Why Hopkins is moving on over Apple Valley. Well, where does one start? You had Hopkins guards completely controlling the pace of the game including a quick 11 points from Xavier Johnson that helped give the Royals a quick double figure lead. Then Vinnie Shahid took control of the ball and put the Eagles through a combination of transition push scores and grinder halfcourt possessions. Xavier is so exciting that people all over the state wanted to know who he is and where he will be going next.
Then you had Amir Coffey doing some of everything A steal here, a massive block there, a bounce pass to a cutter, a transition push, some scores, several boards, and most importantly his length limited Gary Trent Jr to 9 of 28 shooting for the game. Shahid and Johnson did a nice job on Tre Jones forcing him into six turnovers and 4 of 13 shooting for the contest. When the game got to the second half the Eagles seemed to lose all their spirit and the Royals took advantage of every bad choice for an 84-60 (or 84-59 win, the state seems to keep changing their mind).
Johnson scores on 10 of 18 field goals for 24 points and he chased down eight boards. Vinnie Shahid scored 16 points as did Amir Coffey who also put up nine boards, three assists, and a massive swat. Ishmael El-Amin came off the bench to score ten while Erik Davis had nine. Gary Trent Jr scored 23 points on 28 shots while Tre Jones had ten on 13 attempts, Cameron Kirksey had a dozen with six boards, and Brock Bertram had nine boards but only four points as he only took four shots (missed all five foul shots).
State Tournament Preview. Hopkins and Lakeville North is your championship battle and based on the coaching pedigrees of Ken Novak Jr and John Oxton. The first question you have to ask is “can Hopkins come down from this big win?” and the answer will be yes because Novak Jr has two days to focus them. Also, don’t forget that all these same Royals were beaten by Lakeville North in the first round of the playoffs last year so know that North has confidence they can win and Hopkins has some revenge on their mind.
Hopkins will be able to throw Erik Davis, Simon Wright, and maybe even Joe Hedstrom at Nathan Reuvers so they will have active length that will be physical with him. Players have been physical with Reuvers before and he’s been able to produce and remember he had 13 a year ago against the Royals. Amir Coffey has the length and agility to keep Carter Brooks from scoring several active baskets so overall the frontcourt looks like it will be a fun battle. Hopkins will have the edge of depth but Reuvers and Brooks are the main Panther weapons.
Can Cal Pesola. Drew Stewart, and the state tournament darling Nick Fossey play with Xavier Johnson, Vinnie Shahid, Amir Coffey, and Ishmael El-Amin? That’s what makes you think twice. Fossey was really good against both Maple Grove and Osseo but can he have that defensive impact versus Hopkins? That’s the challenge.