Coach’s Take: Beyond Ball (Part III)
It’s August, that means live action on the hardwood slows down, but our coverage of Iowa high schools hoops remains active. The grassroots season recently wrapped up, and we’re going to spend the month re-capping what went down by talking to some of the most successful team’s coaches, and getting their take on players that suited up for them all spring and summer.
We continue our “Coach’s Take” series with Beyond Ball program director John Lamb, who was at the helm of one of the state’s most talented 17U units. The squad spent very little time in Iowa, and were not only all over the Midwest this spring and summer, but all over the country. Guys like Tyreke Locure, Lino Malual, Mach Nyaw and Kenny Quinn made this one of the more formidable teams around. Below, Lamb gives detailed analysis of his guys.
Beyond Ball program director John Lamb talks…
Logan Sharp, 6’7 C (Des Moines Lincoln)
“Logan Sharp is the man, he’s got a 7-foot wing-span. He’s got a size 18 shoe. He got a 29 on his ACT. This dude is a stud, and he’s really coming into his own. I started working privately with Lincoln about 18 months ago, and this kid has dropped 30 pounds, has transformed his body, has quit baseball, and he’s just gone all in with basketball. And he’s about a year away, but he’s a Division II basketball player. He’s somebody that is a whole scholarship basketball player, not only because of his grades, but he’s 220 pounds, that’s after dropping 30 pounds. He’s dunking everything around the rim, he can finish with both hands. He’s still working on that 15-footer, but that’ll come, just because he started so late, he didn’t have those early developmental years to perfect a jump-shot. He’s somebody that coach (Justin) Einerston is going to run some stuff through, and he’s going to be very successful for his high school team no doubt.”
Jordan Kumm, 5’9 G (Ankeny) — 2020
“Holy cow, this kid is just everything you want in a player. He plays his butt off, he knows the game, he can shoot it, can get to the rim. He wants to make his teammates better, he plays both guard spots. He literally has everything you want in a player from the guard position; he wants to defend, he plays up, he makes the extra pass, he’s about his teammates. He’s all in. He plays football, he’s a super high academic kid. He has very good values on the court and off the court. He represents his family and our program well. He’s a stud. That Ankeny team is going to do some cool things this year, and he’s got some great leadership that’s really going to help that team along. I couldn’t say enough good things about him and his passion for this game.”
Sam Glenn, 6’3 G (Southeast Polk)
“Sam is relentless. He can shoot the ball very, very, very well. He shoots it from 3, from mid-range. I would not be surprised if he is the lead point guard this year, and I could see him being a two guard at the next level. But he’s so long, he’s like a 6’7 wing-span. He can dunk it, he can move, he can guard when he wants to guard. He competes and he’s a great teammate. He cheers people on, he lifts people up, he does all the little things; he does all the little things that high character people do. A lot of NAIA and Division II, Division III schools calling about him a lot. He’ll play basketball for four years after high school. He scores very high on tests. He’s going to have a great year for Southeast Polk — no doubt about it.”
Colby Christensen, C 6’8 (Valley) — 2020
“He’s about 6’8, 225 pounds, he’s also a tight end. This was his first year playing for me and he’s a stud. He played up with us all of July with the 17U, and he did not skip a beat. He runs the floor well, he’s got great footwork, great hands around the rim, he can pass it. He just wants to compete. He wants to slam his body, he’s quick to set a ball-screen. Our guards just loved him; he might have been Tyreke’s favorite player on the team, honestly. He would get offensive rebounds and would catch the ball even with some of those tough passes around the rim. He’s going to be the biggest riser, in my opinion, in that 2020 class. He’ll give BJ (Windhorst) everything he’s got on every play and Valley’s really going to benefit having someone like him in their organization the next couple of years.”
Lathan Brandt, 6’5 F (Ankeny Centennial)
“He was really good, he’s a mismatch nightmare. He’s got a little bit of shiftiness to his game, he can shoot it, he can put it on the floor. He guards big guys, but moves his feet well enough to guard a three/four. An undersized four is probably what he’ll be moving forward as he continues to develop. His body is so strong, he’s got such a great base, you can put him in the post and he can get some easy baskets. But you can also put him at the four and he’ll be be quicker than whoever is guarding him. He had a breakout summer and he’ll have a breakout senior season for Coach (Bob) Fontana as well. He was a high performer against a lot of the top competition we played.”