Coach’s Take: Iowa Dynasty 17U (Part II)
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 by getting an in-depth look at a sneaky good Iowa Dynasty 17U squad. This team finished their season with a sterling 29-6 record, and won titles in four tournaments; Heatin’ Up The Hardwood, Midwest Memorial, Battle of the Arch and Prep Hoops Summer Challenge. That’s taking care of business. Dante Eldridge was the team’s MVP, but several other guys shined.
Iowa Dynasty 17U coach Mark Lowe talks…
Jalen Gaudet, 6’2 PF (Iowa City West)
“He does football too, so he wasn’t able to make our last couple of tournaments. But when he was there, he gives us a complete five-man. He plays wide-receiver for football, and he just makes a lot of athletic plays. He can handle the ball solidly and shoot alright. But anything in the post, he’s most likely going to score it; his footwork is great. He’ll most likely pursue football at the next level. He’s actually a pretty good wide-receiver.”
Brayden Adcock, 6′ PG (Iowa City West)
“He’s a great point guard. He does a lot of things. He’s quiet right now, but he loves competition and he loves to be competitive. He can score the ball, and is an adequate shooter. He can go either way, right or left. And defensively, he’s great. He’s just one of those guys that’s a great teammate, that you can talk to and he’ll try and coach you and things like that. His skill-work is great. As far as college, I can see him landing somewhere in the D2 level, he just needs to get a little bigger, and guard a little better. But he definitely has the potential, I think.”
Ryland Threlkeld-Wiegand, 6’3 (Iowa City High)
“He’s great, he can play the three and four. He’s a pure shooter, just like Jacob (Klein) truthfully, but he’ll rebound a little more. He loves dirty work, he’s another one of those guys. And he’s always talking and coaching up his teammates. If I’m not saying it, then he’s saying it for sure; always trying to keep the flow of the game going. He’s just a solid competitor, and I think he plays four sports, and he’s pretty solid at all of them, so it’ll be interesting to see where he goes with it.”
Iziah Paulsen, 5’10 PG (Iowa City Liberty)
“He’s one of those guards that’s just super athletic and quick; he’s a lot like Dante Eldridge, but a lot more explosive. He’s streaky, but when he’s on, he can really score, he can get you 15 buckets in a row. He can shoot pretty well, he’s a great slasher. He’s just one of those guys that doesn’t have as much experience as he could, and that’s really all he’s missing from his game, is that experience. But, ya, he’s definitely talented and fun to watch. If he gets everything together, I could see him at the D3, D2 level.”
Luke Appel, 6’7 SF (Kirkwood CC *2018)
“He’s a great four and five guy, he can guard both. He’s just really strong, super dominant inside. But, he’s not afraid to step on out to the high post or from 3 either and shoot it. He’s a pretty solid shooter, I’d say he’s an adequate shooter. He’s just another one of those guys that has the mentality that he’s never going to back down. And he’s diving for loose balls, which a lot of guys on the team aren’t doing that. He abuses mismatches, he’s really smart, so he works with his teammates and gets them in the right position to feed him the ball so he can do what he does. He’s another guy, like Ry, where if I’m not saying it, he’s saying it, just to keep the flow of the game and things like that.”