Recruiting Report: Beau Cornwell (2019)
Today marks the official start of the 2017/18 high school hoops season in Iowa, and one of the key 2019 players to watch out for is West Branch’s Beau Cornwell.
The 6-foot-2 guard has been one of the state’s most prolific scorers the past two seasons. And after a summer playing up with Iowa Dynasty 17U, college coaches — Division I and Division II — have been taking notice.
“I’ve talked with Drake, Illinois State for D1s. And for D2s it’s Augustana , Upper Iowa, Wayne State, Illinois-Springfield. And then all the local D3s,” said Cornwell.
“Drake and Illinois State talked to my high school coaches and then emailed back and forth with me. And I went up to Upper Iowa and talked to them, and went to a practice.”
He’s also a standout on the gridiron, and the Bears quarterback tossed for 2,125 yards and 20 touchdowns this past season. He ran for another 264 yards and added eight more TDs on the ground.
But now, his focus shifts to hoops. And he’s hoping that his junior season will speak for itself when it comes to his recruitment.
“My goals for myself are that I want to show a lot of people that I can play at a high level consistently,” said Cornwell. “And then, hopefully the recruitment process will take care of itself when I put up numbers and lead my team to victories.”
This past season, while playing up with Iowa Dynasty’s 17U squad, Cornwell mentioned that he worked to improve both his shot selection, and shot-making ability.
“One of my main focuses this offseason was floaters and runners in the paint with each hand, and being able to create shots,” said Cornwell. “I know now a lot of teams in my conference are going to try and pressure me and make me take shots I’m not comfortable with; so I’ve been getting comfortable with taking a lot of quick shots and making shots like that.”
And after averaging 13.9 points as a freshman and 19.2 points as a sophomore, Cornwell heads into his junior season with a clear target on his back.
He’s ready to handle that pressure.
“I have a high expectations for myself. I have to get my field goal percentage up; take less bad shots or make the more difficult ones. And I really want to just get everyone involved, and once the defense lays off, just score and do what I can do,” said Cornwell.
“As for the team, we’ve been working as a team a lot together, and it’s good that most of our guys are coming back. And they’re used to that feeling of a sub-state environment, with a big crowd. It should be a good season for us.”