PHIA’s Player of the Year: Tyreke Locure (Part I)
As a freshman at Des Moines North, point guard Tyreke Locure turned a lot of heads. This past season as a sophomore, he became a star.
Just being nominated among nine other Iowa players as a Player of the Year candidate is a phenomenal accomplishment, and to win the honor as a sophomore, is, well, a testament to the popularity of the extraordinary point guard.
Iowa’s 2nd-ranked 2019, Locure posted huge numbers this season, to the tune of 25.6 points and 7.3 assists per game; leading his team to its first state tournament appearance since 1991 in the process.
It was at the conclusion of his freshman season, when Locure’s mindset for this season was conceptualized.
“Coach (Chad) Ryan told me after my freshman season that I would have to step it up because a lot of our scorers were leaving. And when he gave me that role, I just took off with it,” said Locure. “And personally, I thought I played really well.”
‘Well’ is an understatement, Locure posted better numbers than perhaps anyone in all of 4A (though junior wing Joe Wieskamp has an argument), and did it by being astonishingly quick, savvy and able to score at will.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore explained what he feels makes him such a magnificent player.
“I think what makes me good is my ability to shoot off the dribble. And it was tough for other teams to guard because if they helped on me I had teammates that could knock down shots,” said Locure. “And I think this summer I’m going to be working on my jumper and trying to get more athletic and stuff like that. But right now I think that my best ability is shooting off the dribble and creating for others.”
If you’re asking us, Locure’s best skill is his innate and uncanny ability to swipe steals. Whether by jumping passing lanes or flat out ripping his opponent, Locure projects an elegant tenacity on the defensive end that led to 69 steals this season.
“I anticipate a lot of stuff,” said Locure. “I read my opponents’ eyes and stuff like that, and I can beat them to the spot a lot of the times.”
Locure used that defense to help his Polar Bears get to the state tournament. And though his squad was ousted in a thrilling quarterfinal loss to Valley, the experience was momentous for him and his teammates.
“It was a great experience playing down there, it was though, we couldn’t really do what we wanted to do and come away with the win, but being able to be down at state and be around that type of environment, it was amazing to us,” said Locure.
“The fans and stuff, it was crazy seeing everyone there, they were deep. When we first got there, there weren’t many people as Wells Fargo, and when it was time for us to play and seeing the bleachers filled up, it was just an amazing feeling, regardless (of the outcome).”
With key seniors Jal Bijiek and James Deng graduating, it will be a new-look Polar Bears squad next season, but with Locure at the helm, a trip back to the state tournament is never out of the question.
“We talked about it after that loss; we were in that gym together, and we talked about how we’re going to get back there, even though we won’t have Jal and James,” said Locure. “It will be tough just because Jal made a lot of defensive plays, but we’re going to be fast enough and quick enough to get back down there.”