Justin Sharp Shootout: Team Takeaways
After viewing a number of teams at the 13th annual Justin Sharp Memorial Shootout, here are some observations that we made. Guard Drew Johnson will play a critical scoring role for Waukee Waukee: The champions of the event, Waukee will…
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Continue ReadingAfter viewing a number of teams at the 13th annual Justin Sharp Memorial Shootout, here are some observations that we made.
Guard Drew Johnson will play a critical scoring role for Waukee
Waukee: The champions of the event, Waukee will likely be a top-5 team in Class 4A when we release our preseason rankings in August. The Warriors will have a ton of versatility on their roster this season, and they cruised to the championship over Dubuque Senior, despite playing without arguably their best player in big man Jacob Rau, who broke his foot the day before the event started. They’ll have the ability to play with a big lineup featuring 6-6 Nathan Johnson, 6-7 Dylan Jones and 6-7 Rau, each with a different skill set that they bring to the table. Pairing that trio with a solid guard tandem of Drew Johnson and Cade Longnecker, and the Warriors will have a solid starting five that will get after it on the defensive end, be a nightmare to keep off the glass, and has the ability to really score. They’ve got some nice depth starting to develop as well, with sophomore guard Noah Hart and junior forwards Nathan Nelson and Jaxx Rittman playing key roles in the championship run. This will no doubt be one of the teams to beat in the Des Moines area this winter.
Pleasant Valley: The Spartans will have to work a lot harder on the offensive end this season with Will Carius, Carter Milam and John Czarnecki gone. They were playing without Trevon Montgomery when I saw them (arguably their top returning guard). Sophomore Carter Duwa will take over the point guard role, moving Alex Kitzmann off the ball. They’ll be asking Kitzmann to score more this season. Brian Dayman should be their leading scorer, a lengthy wing who put the ball on the floor and got to the rim, and is a fantastic offensive rebounder. Another sophomore, Hunter Snyder, gave the Spartans very good minutes on both ends of the floor and should be a major player in their rotation. A long-armed wing, he did a nice job attacking the rim and showed the ability to stretch the floor. PV is always very solid defensively, and I don’t think this season will be any exception. There’s still a decent amount of talent on the floor, they’ll just have to work harder to score the ball. They ran a lot of inverted offense, with their guards starting off on the block and setting screens for bigs on the perimeter, something that worked a fair amount. This should be an upper-half level team in the MAC.
North Scott: Bailey Basala showed off in the Lancers’ semifinal loss to Waukee, scoring in every way imaginable. When he’s got it going like he did in that game, he’s impossible to stop. Corvon Seales had some really good flashes, and then had some stretches in which he disappeared – they’ll need to get consistent production out of him in order to win the MAC title that they appear favored for. Drew Boffeli continued to show that he’s tough as nails, on both ends of the floor, and is a very nice complimentary piece to Basala and Seales.
Dubuque Senior: The Rams were underwhelming in the championship game against Waukee, but much of that can be attributed to the fact that Noah Carter got into foul trouble early, and they were playing without backup Matt Hendricks. Carter is a huge part of this team on both ends of the floor, and having him off the floor hurt them badly. Carter Stevens also struggled to get going offensively, one of the better pure scorers in the state, but that’s not something I’m worried about. They got some nice production out of role players like Landon Hermsen and Marshaun Carroll throughout Saturday, but they will need to keep Carter out of trouble if they want to live up to their top-5 expectations this winter.
Davenport Central: The dynamic guard tandem of Tirique Randolph and Ray Miller was on full display in the half of action that I was able to see. This Blue Devils team will be explosive in transition, with Miller being one of the state’s premiere athletes – he put down an impressive put-back dunk over two defenders – leading the charge. If they buy in defensively, they can contend for a MAC title with North Scott and Bettendorf.
Camanche: I was only able to see Camanche for a half, but they appear as though they should be a strong contender in Class 2A again this winter with Dakota Soenksen and Dylan Hundley back. Both are skilled wings with the ability to score at all three levels and can make an impact defensively. Top returning guard Tre Austin didn’t play when I saw them, but he’s another solid piece for the Indians. A pair of younger brothers of former (and current) Camanche standouts, sophomore Carson Seeser and freshman Cameron Soenksen, should make a significant impact with their skills and ability to shoot from the perimeter.
Iowa City High: Playing without starting point guard Naeem Smith allowed the Little Hawks to showcase a few of their younger, talented guards in sophomores Dae Dae Hickman and Antonio Turner. They were both sensational in the viewing I had, routinely getting into the paint and finishing, or showcasing the ability to shoot from the perimeter. They need to get stronger for MVC-level play, but they showed flashes of real brilliance. Chuck Johnson has expanded his game, now showing the ability to shoot from the mid-range or the arc, in addition to being a bully in the paint, and Louis Craig, a long 6-4 wing, showed off impressive range. This is a team that may struggle at times under new coach Derek Roberts, but there is plenty of talent to pick off some upper-echelon MVC teams as well.