Game 1: N1 Motion 73 vs Hybrid Nation 93
There was quite the crowd ready for this one, but many left disappointed as the headlining players did not show up to play. It was supposed to be a matchup of Isaiah Washington and Jordan Murphy fior N1 against Nate Mason and Amir Coffey for Hybrid Nation.
Unfortunately, Coffey, Mason, and Washington did not make it tonight. There was one surprise guest as Cole Aldrich of the Minnesota Timberwolves showed up to play. Cole played his high school ball at Bloomington Jefferson and then at Kansas University. Former Gopher Trevor Mbakwe also made his first appearance in the Twin Cities Pro-Am for Hybrid Nation. Mbakwe plays professionally in Russia I believe.
Jordan Murphy: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot. 8/18 FG's, 2/5 FT's.
-Murphy was his usual, aggressive self tonight and he had to be with Isaiah Washington not in attendance.
-He scored his first bucket on a right handed drive, he jump stopped in the paint, and used a pump fake to get Aldrich up in the air before scoring with his right hand in close.
-At the end of the first quarter, Murphy caught the ball 16 ft away on the right wing, faced up on Mbakwe, and swished a deep jumper in his face at the buzzer. Jordan's jump shot continues to look improved from the end of the season.
-In the second half, he caught a rebound, dribbled coast to coast and finished with his right hand off the glass, plus a blocking foul on the defender. He has gone coast to coast several times in this pro-am. His handles are improved, but I doubt we see him do much of this in the regular season.
-On three straight possessions in the second half, Murphy finished in close on layups attacking Cole Aldrich each time. And in all three he drew fouls for and-1 opportunities. One of them was a pump fake, Cole jumped and Jordan finished off the glass with his left.
-Jordan was unafraid of contact and went right after the NBA center all night despite a five-inch height difference. He looked very good once again tonight.
Cole Aldrich: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks. 6/8 FG's.
-Cole is a massive individual. He is not easy to score on and he knows how to use his body to create space on the offensive end.
-All six of his makes were within three feet and he grabbed every rebound in his area.
Trevor Mbakwe: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block. 2/6 FG's, 3/4 FT's.
-Trevor looked a bit out of it tonight at times and was not as aggressive as I remembered him being in a Gopher uniform.
-Finished in close a couple times and connected on three/fourth's of his free throws.
-Still love the way he goes up for rebounds and slams the ball in his hands when he grabs is. The big man is still intimidating as ever.
There was quite the crowd ready for this one, but many left disappointed as the headlining players did not show up to play. It was supposed to be a matchup of Isaiah Washington and Jordan Murphy fior N1 against Nate Mason and Amir Coffey for Hybrid Nation.
Unfortunately, Coffey, Mason, and Washington did not make it tonight. There was one surprise guest as Cole Aldrich of the Minnesota Timberwolves showed up to play. Cole played his high school ball at Bloomington Jefferson and then at Kansas University. Former Gopher Trevor Mbakwe also made his first appearance in the Twin Cities Pro-Am for Hybrid Nation. Mbakwe plays professionally in Russia I believe.
Jordan Murphy: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot. 8/18 FG's, 2/5 FT's.
-Murphy was his usual, aggressive self tonight and he had to be with Isaiah Washington not in attendance.
-He scored his first bucket on a right handed drive, he jump stopped in the paint, and used a pump fake to get Aldrich up in the air before scoring with his right hand in close.
-At the end of the first quarter, Murphy caught the ball 16 ft away on the right wing, faced up on Mbakwe, and swished a deep jumper in his face at the buzzer. Jordan's jump shot continues to look improved from the end of the season.
-In the second half, he caught a rebound, dribbled coast to coast and finished with his right hand off the glass, plus a blocking foul on the defender. He has gone coast to coast several times in this pro-am. His handles are improved, but I doubt we see him do much of this in the regular season.
-On three straight possessions in the second half, Murphy finished in close on layups attacking Cole Aldrich each time. And in all three he drew fouls for and-1 opportunities. One of them was a pump fake, Cole jumped and Jordan finished off the glass with his left.
-Jordan was unafraid of contact and went right after the NBA center all night despite a five-inch height difference. He looked very good once again tonight.
Cole Aldrich: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks. 6/8 FG's.
-Cole is a massive individual. He is not easy to score on and he knows how to use his body to create space on the offensive end.
-All six of his makes were within three feet and he grabbed every rebound in his area.
Trevor Mbakwe: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block. 2/6 FG's, 3/4 FT's.
-Trevor looked a bit out of it tonight at times and was not as aggressive as I remembered him being in a Gopher uniform.
-Finished in close a couple times and connected on three/fourth's of his free throws.
-Still love the way he goes up for rebounds and slams the ball in his hands when he grabs is. The big man is still intimidating as ever.
