Recruiting Report: Sam Ingoli (2018)
Recruitment
With tremendous poise, quintessential size and a great understanding of the game, Dowling point guard Sam Ingoli has long established himself as one of Iowa’s premier prospects in the 2018 class.
And though he has several Division I programs that are showing interest, it’s just North Dakota which has offered so far.
But still with his 17U summer ahead, in which he’ll split time with the Iowa Barnstormers and Kingdom Hoops, the 6-foot-4 senior-to-be is hoping that interest can materialize into more offers.
“I’ve heard less from ISU since (Steve) Prhom got there, but (my Barnstormers) coach K.C. Schmitt has told me he’s talked to him about me. Stanford, I think they’re interested, but, you know, it’s 17U season, you’d like to hear something different than just interested,” said Ingoli.
“New schools I’ve heard from are Princeton, Utah Valley, U-NO (Nebraska-Omaha) like me a lot, I know North Dakota State likes me a lot. So, I’m just trying to keep getting better, and just impressing more people and showcasing what I can do.”
Ingoli says it would be an honor to attend a high academic school like Princeton or Stanford — it’s always been his objective to be a well-rounded individual, not just a hoopster.
“I’ve never wanted anyone to think of me as just Sam Ingoli the basketball player, I want them to think of me as Sam Ingoli, the good guy, the good student, the good basketball player who is nice off the court,” he said.
“I’ve always taken pride in grades, and I know I’m a guy who probably won’t end up in the NBA or anything like that, basketball will end sometime in my life. So I have to try and better myself for the future, and if I’m lucky enough to go to a really nice school like Princeton or Stanford, then of course I’d take that.”
His one standing offer is from a school, North Dakota, which has offered 10 other kids in the 2018 and 2019 classes just in Iowa alone.
Ingoli says he really likes the coaching staff at North Dakota, and he’ll probably take a visit there soon.
“I love North Dakota, I like the coaches a lot, I love Coach (Jeff) Horner. I know they’ve offered a lot of kids in Iowa, and it just makes me want to be better, get more offers,” said Ingoli.
“I think I’ll probably end up taking a visit there to North Dakota. I’m just going to wait and see about what other schools continue to keep in touch.”
Well-Rounded (on and off the court)
Whatever school ends up nabbing the good-sized guard, will be getting a poised and smart player, capable of both distributing and scoring when needed. Ingoli also prides himself on being a lock-down and versatile defender.
He explained to PHIA how his game has progressed since we talked with him last summer.
“Probably just being a lot more mobile with my handle is the thing I’ve improved most,” said Ingoli. “I feel like I have a good shot and I’m confident in my shot; some people think I might question it, but if you look back to my Dowling team this year, three out of those five guys were shooters, so my job was to facilitate and get to the rim, and just to do something different.”
This spring with the Barnstormers was much the same for Ingoli, many of his teammates are elite scorers, so his primary role has been to distribute, and play lockdown defense.
“And it’s the same thing with the Barnstormers too, it’s kind of hard to get shots off with those guys. Four of the five starters are elite scorers; you’ve got AJ Green, who is ridiculous, you’ve got Joe Wieskamp, who is ridiculous, you’ve got Joey Hauser (WI), who is amazing, and you’ve got Ed Chang (NE) who is amazing,” said Ingoli.
“Recruiting-wise, I’ve just been trying to showcase that if I have a whole bunch of shooters around me, I can facilitate a little bit.”
Distributing is what he wanted to showcase during the spring, but this summer, Ingoli says he’ll play some with Kingdom Hoops Elite, to show coaches that he can be a scorer too.
“”I want to show coaches that I can be a defender and a role player on the Barnstormers team, but also I can be a playmaker with the Kingdom Hoops team,” said Ingoli.
If his defense is a strength, then his poise and shot-selection; his general basketball IQ, is a close second. Ingoli never takes a bad shot, never forces, and limits his turnovers.
“”Ever since I was younger, I’ve always been taught the value of each possession. I’m not going to be a guy who shoots it 25 times a game and averages 30 points; I think it’s a lot more impressive when you see a guy who shoots it six times and got 17 points,” said Ingoli.
“And I just take pride in my defense, and if my guy scores on me that’s my fault and I don’t like to have that feeling. Whoever I’m guarding I take it as a challenge and try and limit their scoring, and not let them score at all if possible.”
Dowling
This past season with Dowling as a junior, Ingoli averaged 14.2 points per game on 58 percent shooting, and connected on 44 percent of his 3s. He also led the team in assists and rebounding for good measure.
But team-wise, his Maroons failed to make the state tournament, and that makes him yearn to get better.
“This year we didn’t finish how we wanted to finish. I wanted to get our seniors at least to Wells Fargo (Arena), and I couldn’t do that. But that just pushes me everyday to be better next year,” he said.
His main objective for next winter, is to become a guy who can take over a game; if a game is tight in the end, he wants to be in control.
“I really am working on being a guy that can take over a game, I feel like that will make me that much better,” said Ingoli. “Just building my confidence in late-game situations, where in late-game situations I have to make that play.”