Basketball Across Minnesota: Hopkins’ backcourt tandem of Jayden Moore and Anthony Smith III is best in state

Hopkins guards Anthony Smith III and Jayden Moore want you to doubt them because of their lack of size.

All it takes are a couple times having to keep up with them — flying up and down the court, drilling jumpers, zipping passes and attacking the rim — to see their talent and chemistry.

Smith and Moore have been lighting up scoreboards and electrifying crowds on the Minnesota high school hoops scene.

Calling them the state’s best backcourt seems long overdue. They’ve made a big statement with a 10-0 start. Hopkins is in the conversation to be Minnesota’s No. 1 team regardless of class, but this same dynamic duo led the Royals to a 23-6 record last season.

“It’s not really a surprise to me,” Smith, a sharpshooting 6-foot, 170-pound senior, said. “We’ve been doing this the past two years. We’re just averaging more points. We play so fast. We get a lot of possessions in a game.”

The Royals, who have scored 100 points or more four times this season, are potential state title contenders in Class 4A. Sound familiar? Legendary Hopkins coach Ken Novak has eight state titles but not since 2019.

“Our defense is what’s leading us to score 100 points,” Moore said. “A lot of people think it’s offense with a lot of good scorers, but it’s the pressure we’re bringing. Turning the steals into layups.”

The biggest factor is their guard play, with Moore and Smith running the show, and it was years in the making. They’ve been playing together since their youth traveling basketball days.

“I was in second grade and he was in third grade,” Moore, a 5-11, 175-pound junior, said. “We met at a tryout for the Spartans. We both got on the same team. We’ve been playing with each other ever since.”

Smith leads the team in scoring with 26.2 points per game through Tuesday, which includes five games with at least 29 points and three 30-point performances.

“Anthony’s a very talented player,” Novak said. “Right now he doesn’t have any [Division I] offers. I would think teams are looking at him.”

Smith’s game evolved with his body. He was primarily known for long-range shooting when first starring for Hopkins as a freshman. He’s developed into a three-level scorer. Adding 30 pounds in the last few years allows him to finish with contact more at the basket and even catch some defenders by surprise with an emphatic dunk.

“I would say my game is more all-around now,” Smith said. “I used to only shoot threes. I probably shot 12 threes a game for Hopkins two years ago. Now I do it all. Getting stronger with my lifting and weight training really helped me.”

Since the seventh grade, Moore has been playing varsity, and he ranked among the top players in the 2026 class nationally. As a four-star prospect, he has offers from the Gophers, Illinois, Iowa, Baylor and West Virginia. He also added a Gophers football offer from P.J. Fleck in August as a wide receiver.

Athleticism oozes from Moore, who toys with defenders with his speed and quickness off the dribble. It’s his vision that really makes his game elite. Leading the state with 9.5 assists per game entering this week, he just missed his second triple-double this season with 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a recent win vs. Orono.

“Being able to play for so long, our chemistry is naturally there,” Moore said. “It’s hard for teams to stop that when we know where we’re going to be in certain spots.”

Only Cretin-Derham Hall is ahead of Hopkins in the Class 4A rankings. The biggest test on the regular season schedule for Moore and Smith likely will be Wayzata, which beat the Royals two straight years to keep them from the state tournament.

“I think we’ve been the best backcourt since my freshman year and his sophomore year,” Moore said. “We just need a ring to back that up.”

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Tommy Ahneman, Cretin-Derham Hall

The 6-10 center led the Raiders with 25 points and 17 rebounds in a victory last Friday against Totino-Grace. It was his fifth straight double-double.

Miles Barnstable, St. Thomas

The Division III transfer led the Tommies with 50 points combined in road wins against North Dakota State and North Dakota to open Summit League play, including a season-high 30 points in the 88-80 win vs. UND.

Tori Oehrlein, Crosby-Ironton

The 5-11 junior and Gophers recruit just missed a quadruple-double with 38 points, 12 rebounds, 14 steals and eight assists in a win against Grand Rapids last week.

Kaitlyn Rohloff, Hancock

Two days before committing to Concordia Moorhead on Sunday, the 5-8 senior scored 44 points in a win vs. Parkers Prairie to reach the 2,000-point career mark.

Tyler Wagner, Champlin Park

The 6-6 senior exploded for 40 points last Thursday to help Champlin Park snap a two-game slide and pull out an 86-85 win against Anoka at home.

500 Career wins for Ada-Borup West girls high school coach David Smart after last Friday’s victory vs. Win-E-Mac.

53 Career-high points in a game for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards on 10-for-15 shooting from three-point range and 11-for-12 free throws in Saturday’s 119-105 loss against Detroit.

15-1 Record for Dawn Plitzuweit’s Gophers women for the program’s best start since the 2003-04 Final Four season.

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don’t be a stranger on X after reading, as chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).