Prospect Update: Aidan Vanderloo (2019)
As a sophomore at Sioux City East, Aidan Vanderloo shot a blistering 55.3 percent from beyond the arc, last season, he was 52.5 percent from deep; he was 50 percent as a freshman.
In his high school career, the 6-foot guard has made 121 3s out of 224 attempts, that’s 54 percent. That’s absurd.
“I feel like the strong points in my game are still definitely shooting and handling the ball. Shooting has always been one of my things that I’ve prided myself on, and I’ve been working hard to become one of the best shooters I can be,” said Vanderloo.
From his sophomore season to his junior year, his percentage dipped a couple percentage points. And even though he still shot at white-hot clip as a junior, he’s hoping to get back into peak form next winter.
“I’ve always wanted to be as efficient as possible, so if I shoot the ball I want to percentages to be in my favor. So, that’s always my goal, and next year I want to shoot over 50 percent again, and hopefully, I can even get over 53 percent and back to where I was,” he said.
Vanderloo has shot the Black Raiders into two straight state tourney appearances, and even though big-man and all-state forward Van Rees will not be around next season, Vanderloo says there’s some young guns really to fill the void.
“Van was a big piece of what we had, but we definitely have some good young guys stepping in, very capable players who will get in for us next year,” said Vanderloo. “And I think we’ll make some noise again.”
Aidan Vanderloo is ranked by Prep Hoops as a top 25 prospect in his class. To see the full ranking of Iowa’s 2019 class, click here.
In the meantime, the sharpshooting and cerebral combo-guard is spending his 17U offseason with Martin Brothers. Prep Hoops Iowa will get a good look at the new version of the team this weekend at Kings of the Court in Des Moines.
Vanderloo’s Martin Brothers team added former Barnstormers Derek Krognamm and Trey Hutcheson to the mix this offseason.
“I’m not going to lie, it was a little rough to start with, but that will happen when you have new players who haven’t played together for very long,” said Vanderloo. “But, we’re definitely getting better and things are starting to click. I think in time, we’ll reach our potential, but I would say we’re not there yet.”
Coming into the summer, Vanderloo had a D2 offer from Wayne State, he’s picked up NAIA offers from Briar Cliff, Morningside and Mount Marty since April, and continues to stay in touch will several schools from all levels.
“Everything is going well, a lot of D2s have been added to the list (of schools talking to me); Emporia State, Augustana, Missouri Western State, Northern State, Truman State. I still talk to Iowa and coach (Kirk) Speraw, and I talk to a lot of NAIAs as well,” said Vanderloo.
As for the rest of the summer, Vanderloo knows, if his team can win and advance deep into tourneys, everyone’s chances of being seen and recruited increases.
“Really, my goal is to just keep playing and winning,” he said. “And I hope we can go to these tournaments and be competitive, and win as many games as possible.”