ROCK Spring Classic: Saturday Game Recaps
15U (1:50): Iowa Barnstormers 66 vs Greenwood Elite 44
The class of 2020 looks to be another strong one for the state of Iowa, and we got to see the cream of the crop in this one early this afternoon. In total, the young ‘Stormers connected on 12 3s; remarkably, 11 of those came in the first half. Bowen Born was the best player on the floor in this one, the Norwalk guard connected on five 3s and scored a team-high 17 points, 14 in the first half. Cameron Soenksen, Even Brauns and AJ Coons look like they’ll be high-level college players. These ‘Stormers could make a lot of noise on championship Sunday.
17U (4:10): Iowa Barnstormers 71 vs Young & Reckless 61
Chicago-based Young and Reckless had plenty of athletes and an abundance of sharpshooters, but in the end they fell short against an extraordinarily talented Barnstormers squad. This was our first look at Wisconsin’s Joey Hauser, who’s been playing with the ‘Stomers since last season, the kid is a flat-out stud — the best player we saw today. Pair that with Muscatine’s top-50 nationally ranked Joe Wieskamp and they make up a duo that will be tough to beat. We’ll consider the Barnstormers as favorites heading into championship Sunday.
16U (5:20): Iowa Barnstormers 67 vs D1 Minnesota 66
This was by far the best game of the day that we saw. It was the Derek Krogmann show early, and the 6-foot-7 West Delaware center was utterly dominating D1 Minnesota in the first half, netting 17 in all before the break. The ‘Stormers took a 36-27 lead into the break behind the strong Krogmann effort. But the second half was a different story, especially early on, and D1 Minnesota came out scorching to the tune of a 17-4 run. Then, in the final minutes the Barnstormers — led by a very surprising Logan Wolf — would retake the lead, and made big plays late to seal the “comeback” win.
16U (6:30): Iowa Mavs Purple 16U 78 vs Wisconsin RAP Mlachnik 76
This was a high-scoring and entertaining affair between two solid 17U squads. The Mavs Purple have one of 2019’s shooters with Wapsie Valley guard PJ Rundquist. The 5’9 sophomore hit some huge buckets late from deep — some from very deep — to keep his team in the thick of things. But the Wisconsin squad was equally as clutch, and whenever Rundquist hit a big shot, they would neutralize. Waverly-Shell Rock big-man Mosai Newsom got a couple quick buckets in the final minute-and-a-half, but again RAP had an answer. With two seconds left on the clock the Mavs had a chance for a last second shot to tie or win, but were unable to get a clean look.
17U (7:40): Iowa Prep 17U 71 vs Wisconsin Academy 41
It was a dominant and dazzling display from start to finish for this underrated Iowa Prep squad. They have some nice size, plenty of skill and play with amazing chemistry; all key factors in their shellacking of a very decent Wisconsin Academy squad. Iowa Prep wiped the floor with the home-court team by hitting eight first half 3s and staying hot in the second half. The ball was moving fluidly, their was plenty of communication and shots were falling with regularity. North Linn junior Ryan Miller was sensational in the 30-point mercy-rule beatdown, he scored a team-high 14 points. Ten different players scored for Iowa Prep.