Nnaji represents boys basketball with second team All-Metro
Mar 20, 2018
Zeke Nnaji, junior, goes up for a contested lay-up against Wayzata in the Sections finals. Hopkins lost this game. The Royals lost 66-51 and ended their season.
Nnaji was a big reason for the Royals 25-1 season and played a big part in their almost state run. He averaged 19.9 points per game, which led the team, compared to 8.1 points per game last year.
The number difference isn’t everything. Last year Nnaji was struggling with knee issues throughout the season which sidelined him during many games and didn’t allow him to get the minutes he deserved. As shown, when he is given the time, he performs.
His biggest scoring game of the year happened against a Lake Conference opponent, the Edina Hornets. The Royals were able to win this game behind a season-high 29 points.
In the two sections games this year, Nnaji, again, led the team in points averaging 14 points between the two games.
His lowest scoring game actually didn’t occur until the second final game of the season. In the first section game, Nnaji was only held to 12 points but that didn’t stop the Royals from winning the game.
The season ended up coming to an end against the Wayzata Trojans, where Nnaji scored 14 points against a different Trojan team then they saw in the previous two matchups. The Trojans played a lot of help defense in the paint forcing the Royals to pass out and settle for outside shots.
Though the season is over for the Royals now, Nnaji still has a season left here where him and teammate Dane Zimmer, junior, will look to dominate the paint once more.