Prospect spotlight: Jace Lace (2020)
MARSHALL — The son of Missouri Valley men’s basketball head coach Chad Lance, Jace Lance is quickly making a name for himself on the hardwood.
A 6-foot guard, Lance is a rising 2020 player that is coming off a strong freshman season for Marshall High School.
He is a versatile player that can play either the point or shooting guard and has the ability to create off the dribble for himself and others and says he takes pride in being a team-first player.
“I feel that I am a very good perimeter shooter,” he said. “I enjoy pushing the ball and enjoy the assist as much as the score. I take pride in my defense, understanding games are won on the defensive end of the floor.”
Lance hit the court running this season as a freshman at Marshall and said his experiences playing travel ball helped smooth the transition from junior high to the high school level.
“Being a freshman was exciting,” he said. “I was able to join the program and come right in and play. I was fortunate that I have played a lot of basketball before high school so the transition felt natural.
“I have scored very well before high school but coming in and scoring in double figures was exciting. I was encouraged to continue to push to make more things happen. I’m comfortable being a leader and being
the youngest on our team was a challenge to be vocal with the older guys.”
Lace was named to two All- Tournament Teams, was named All Conference and All District.
“I have taken a lot from my freshman year,” Lance said. “I have seen many different opportunities to score, get my teammates involved and been an important part of our team.
“I gained the interest of many coaches and their defense which was a new challenge for me. I was face guarded and defended very well by many teams after just a few games which forced me to be creative offensively.”
Lace played with MOKan Elite 14U squad in 2016 and had the opportunity to play in the Nike Peach Jam. This year he plans to play his 2017 summer ball with Team Rush on the Adidas Uprising Gauntlet.
Lace says he plans to spend a lot of time this summer in the weight room and will work on stretching his limits on both sides of the floor.
“Defensively I would like to control the game on and off the ball and offensively I will continue to create space in order to make easier scoring opportunities for myself and my teammates,” he said.