Hopkins' Zeke Nnaji is the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year
He's 6-11, a slender-but-sturdy 215 pounds, with broad shoulders, long arms and oh-so-smooth on-court demeanor.
If colleges were to design a prototype for the kind of player they covet, Hopkins senior Zeke Nnaji, the 2019 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, would be the perfect model.
But it takes more than winning the physique lottery to be an elite-level high school-age basketball player, something Nnaji recognized at the end of his junior season. To get where he wanted to go, it was time to put in the work.
So he left the Howard Pulley AAU program and took his vast potential to rival D1 Minnesota.
"It was all about skill development," Nnaji said. "The coaches there really took that seriously. Most of the practices were about skill development. They helped me work on my weaknesses and develop as a player."
D1 Minnesota won its division in the Adidas Gauntlet national summer basketball circuit and finished third overall. The team featured big names in Minnesota high school basketball, including Matthew Hurt of Rochester John Marshall, Tyrell Terry of DeLaSalle and Tyler Wahl of Lakeville North. But the greatest buzz around the team was Nnaji's emergence as a big-time prospect.
http://www.startribune.com/hopkins-...r-tribune-metro-player-of-the-year/507330122/
Go Gophers!!