Reed Nikko offered by the Hawks

[MNHawk]

6'10" class of 2016 PF Reed Nikko from Maple Grove, MN has been offered by the Hawks. He was just tweeting about it tonight. Other offers he has received just within the past week include the Gophers and the University of Miami of Ohio.

Reed is a good kid that I've watched play probably 20 times. He gets a lot of his points off dunks, is a good shot blocker, has good leaping ability, good footwork inside, long arms, and big hands.

Reed has had a good summer, playing for an Under Armour Net Gain team. Here are some highlights I found in youtube:

 

[CanadaHawk]

Your description of Reed matches well with his mixtape MNHawk. How does Reed compare to Theo John?

 

[nu2u]

Can he play Center?

Seems to me that Fran has some pretty valuable real estate to sell for any 2016 Center prospects.

Not that some other teams don't have the same need but Fran can also sell the B10 conference, the 2015 class, the ped mall, 1st class training facilities, Margaret McCaffery, a top ranked academic institution, motor scooters, a rabid fan base, sweet corn, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Gary Dolphin, and a basketball program clearly on the way up...... am I missing anything else?

 

[DanL53]

Can he play Center?

Seems to me that Fran has some pretty valuable real estate to sell for any 2016 Center prospects.

Not that some other teams don't have the same need but Fran can also sell the B10 conference, the 2015 class, the ped mall, 1st class training facilities, Margaret McCaffery, a top ranked academic institution, motor scooters, a rabid fan base, sweet corn, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Gary Dolphin, and a basketball program clearly on the way up...... am I missing anything else?

Maid-rite

 

[icu81222]

Very impressed with his video. Really athletic for his size.

Reminded me of White with his ability to finish

 

[LaoHawk]

More of White + Gabe in one, good potential!

 

[mstp1992]

Can he play Center?

Seems to me that Fran has some pretty valuable real estate to sell for any 2016 Center prospects.

Not that some other teams don't have the same need but Fran can also sell the B10 conference, the 2015 class, the ped mall, 1st class training facilities, Margaret McCaffery, a top ranked academic institution, motor scooters, a rabid fan base, sweet corn, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Gary Dolphin, and a basketball program clearly on the way up...... am I missing anything else?

I don't know if Fran's system necessarily requires a bona fide 'center'. It does seem that there's a trend away from the traditional back to the basket center position. It's become more of a hybrid, much like the blur between shooting guard and small forward.

 

[MNHawk]

Your description of Reed matches well with his mixtape MNHawk. How does Reed compare to Theo John?

I've seen Theo John play 3-4 times, including once against Reed. Theo is quicker off his feet, which I think is part of why he seems to be in foul trouble quite a bit (including the state championship game). The only offensive plays I've ever seen Theo make is dunk - Champlin's offense rarely goes to him, but he was only a sophomore so he's still developing his offense. His defense is tremendous, and he definitely gave Reed problems when they went head to head in the halfcourt offense. Reed's offensive game is still developing, too, but he's further along in that regard than Theo.

They are both great defenders and rebounders, but it seems at this point that Reed is a smarter defender in terms of avoiding silly fouls.

 

[MNHawk]

Can he play Center?

Seems to me that Fran has some pretty valuable real estate to sell for any 2016 Center prospects.

Not that some other teams don't have the same need but Fran can also sell the B10 conference, the 2015 class, the ped mall, 1st class training facilities, Margaret McCaffery, a top ranked academic institution, motor scooters, a rabid fan base, sweet corn, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Gary Dolphin, and a basketball program clearly on the way up...... am I missing anything else?

I think Reed is listed as a PF because someone decided his game translates to that position at the next level. He plays center for his high school and summer teams, and I personally think he is more of a center than a PF (even in the future). He already has a strong frame (put on a bunch of muscle between his sophomore and junior years) and I could easily see him becoming a Big Ten body within the next couple years.

 

[91hawki]

Reed and Cook please or Painter plus a point guard

 

[nu2u]

After watching the video and based on that alone, it looks like he is a better fit at Center. Almost all of his plays are under the basket, inside 5 feet. Doesn't look as athletic as Painter IMO. Nice to see a video which includes a lot of defense. He's not afraid to challenge at the rim I like that part.

 

[MNHawk]

Thought I'd add a little more detail about Reed, since I have been around him for a few years...

He plays for one of the best big-school basketball programs in the state of MN: Maple Grove. Their team was ranked in the top 5 last year all season and were upset in sectionals by a good Wayzata team. They have 3 kids that started last year as sophomores, and 2 of the other regular starters were juniors (including Reed), so they return a ton of talent. One of those sophomores (the point guard) currently has 1 D1 scholarship offer that I know of (Nebraska), and is sure to get more based on all the contact his Mom told me he has been getting from schools like Stanford, the Gophers, etc.

One reason Reed is a kid to root for is that he lost his father the summer between his freshman and sophomore years (I think) to a heart attack while mowing his lawn. His Dad was active in the youth basketball program within the community, so his loss was felt by many.

 

[MNHawk]

Thought I'd add a little more detail about Reed, since I have been around him for a few years...

He plays for one of the best big-school basketball programs in the state of MN: Maple Grove. Their team was ranked in the top 5 last year all season and were upset in sectionals by a good Wayzata team. They have 3 kids that started last year as sophomores, and 2 of the other regular starters were juniors (including Reed), so they return a ton of talent. One of those sophomores (the point guard) currently has 1 D1 scholarship offer that I know of (Nebraska), and is sure to get more based on all the contact his Mom told me he has been getting from schools like Stanford, the Gophers, etc.

One reason Reed is a kid to root for is that he lost his father the summer between his freshman and sophomore years (I think) to a heart attack while mowing his lawn. His Dad was active in the youth basketball program within the community, so his loss was felt by many.

Oh yeah, and the PG I mentioned was on Tyus Jones' Howard Pulley summer team when he was between his 8th and 9th grade years, and Tyus was between his junior and senior years.

 

[coe76]

With the recent offers to Reed Nikko and Jayce Johnson for 2016 I wonder if Fran is not confident on Cook, Rakocevic, or Painter. We also never hear anything on Sedee Keita so my guess is we are out. I would hope for Carr, Huerter, and any one of the bigs for my birthday present list, preferably Cook.

 

[SSG T]

With the recent offers to Reed Nikko and Jayce Johnson for 2016 I wonder if Fran is not confident on Cook, Rakocevic, or Painter. We also never hear anything on Sedee Keita so my guess is we are out. I would hope for Carr, Huerter, and any one of the bigs for my birthday present list, preferably Cook.

Considering they occurred during the first big contact period in a while, my guess would be more along the lines of the new offers were guys they were keeping an eye on before but wanted to evaluate further before offering.

 

[coe76]

Johnson is a 4 Star. Wonder if the delay in the offer may have been to see if he was truly interested in us. Glad to see Fran is not backing away from the higher rated guys.

 

[91hawki]

I think we have a better shot at Cook. Painter is likely to stay out east. I think he ends up at PSU or Villanova.

 

[CanadaHawk]

I think we have a better shot at Cook. Painter is likely to stay out east. I think he ends up at PSU or Villanova.

I've heard NC State has recently offered Painter as well.

 

[GunnerHawk]

Offering new kids does not mean we don't have a shot with the others. It means the staff feels real good about the new kids offered. Options are a good thing.

 

[WORTHYWISH]

More of White + Gabe in one, good potential!

Cool! I expect ups at the level of Doug Thomas.

 

[Quintana]

in the above vid, if you look closely you'll see about 4 blocks by nikko on fellow hawk offer recipient jayce johnson. to this untrained eye it looks like nikko is a quicker jumper than jayce. jayce takes a bit longer to gather.

in the jayce thread (vid) you can catch a glimpse of nikko as well.

 

[LaoHawk]

Fran offered Nikko 1st before offering Jayce Johnson, esp when Fran probably went there to see Johnson play and found out that Nikko caught his sight, just like when he went to Sunrise Academy to watch Katenda and found Olaseni, but I think Nikko is more polished than Olaseni so far.

 

[IACentralHawk73]

That combo of Nikko and Johnson would be scary for any team we play. I'd hope we could get both of them but maybe I'm just being greedy

 

[GunnerHawk]

Hard to believe Johnson would leave the West, has a lot of Pac10 offers. He also has Iowa as low interest. Nikko is another story, lives much loser.

 

[chuckart]

Mizzou got him. Do you guys want him back?

 

[CanadaHawk]

Mizzou got him. Do you guys want him back?

Looks like Missouri is taking our second choices.

 

[paladinhawk]

Can he play Center?

Seems to me that Fran has some pretty valuable real estate to sell for any 2016 Center prospects.

Not that some other teams don't have the same need but Fran can also sell the B10 conference, the 2015 class, the ped mall, 1st class training facilities, Margaret McCaffery, a top ranked academic institution, motor scooters, a rabid fan base, sweet corn, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Gary Dolphin, and a basketball program clearly on the way up...... am I missing anything else?

How in the hell can consider Gary Dolphin a postive selling point? He is terminally incapable of realizing that 90% of the the people listening on the radio can't see the scoreboard and would like the radio announcer to actually announce it every few minutes.

 

[goodbyebobby]

How in the hell can consider Gary Dolphin a postive selling point? He is terminally incapable of realizing that 90% of the the people listening on the radio can't see the scoreboard and would like the radio announcer to actually announce it every few minutes.

Yeah, probably don't want to make Dolph a selling point.

 

[ping72]

Maid-rite

I think you mean Casey's Pizza...that is the correct answer.

 

[IronFist1776]

I think you mean Casey's Pizza...that is the correct answer.

I'd have to say its the Ped Mall gyros.

 

[torbee]

Maid-rite

Volleyball joints