Recruiting Report: Drew Olson (2018)
For two seasons now, Osage 6-foot-2 guard Drew Olson has been posting impressive numbers for one of 2A’s best teams.
That has not gone unnoticed by area NAIA and Division II programs, which have continued to keep tabs on the Green Devils’ sharpshooter as he heads into his senior season.
Olson laid out the landscape of his recruitment during a recent phone interview with PHIA.
“Hopefully a couple of offers will come in soon. I went on a visit to Briar Cliff, and I’ve been on a visit to University of Sioux Falls; I like both of them, they’re both really small, tight-knit college,” said Olson.
“I went to the prospect camp at University of Sioux Falls earlier this month and it went really well, and I have a great relationship with the coaches at both schools (also Briar Cliff).”
Other area Division III schools have also been reaching.
“The Warburg and Coe coaches call quite a bit, and some other NAIA schools from Nebraska and Iowa have been calling lately,” said Olson.
“I’m not ruling anything out at this point. I’m just trying to stay open and give every school a chance.”
After playing with one of Iowa’s best grassroots teams last spring and summer, Iowa Mavericks 17U Purple, Olson saw a slight bump in his recruitment. And kept his skills sharp as he heads into his final high school season.
“Since last season, I’ve been working on my dribbling and court-vision, and it really improved during the AAU season with the Mavericks. I played a lot of point guard with them and I’ll do that quite a bit with my high school team,” said Olson.
“I thought we played really well this spring and through the summer. We had a really good season, and I thought I played well enough.”
He did have a slight injury in June, tweaking his ankle. But he was able to find other ways to help the team, despite being less than 100 percent.
“I was just a step slower and couldn’t elevate like I normally could,” he said. “It took away from my scoring ability, but I could still pass and was still a leader on the team.”
Leadership is a key trait for Olson, something that’s innate. He’ll be the leader of an Osage group that has legit state tourney chances this winter.
“Being a senior, I’ll be another one of our leaders this year. We fell short of our goal of making it to state last year, but we do have a lot of experience coming back,” said Olson. “So hopefully that loss last year (substate to G-H-V) motivated us for this season.”