Updated 2019 Rankings: Biggest Risers – Part I
It was an unusually eventful summer for Iowa’s very strong 2019 class. Division I and Division II offers were coming in droves, at a higher rate than we’ve seen in five years since the genesis of Prep Hoops Iowa. As…
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Continue ReadingIt was an unusually eventful summer for Iowa’s very strong 2019 class. Division I and Division II offers were coming in droves, at a higher rate than we’ve seen in five years since the genesis of Prep Hoops Iowa. As a result, there was more shakeup than we’ve ever seen among the state’s top senior talent. Below, we’ll take a look at eight guys who made the most significant jumps in these latest prospect rankings.
DJ Carton (Bettendorf) — 2 to 1
This probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those who follow offseason hoops closely. Carton became on of the hottest prospects in the Midwest two summers ago, and upped the ante this year to become one of the nations’ hottest this past summer. Here’s his complete offers list: North Dakota, IUPUI, Wisconsin, Northern Iowa, Marquette, Nebraska, Iowa, Creighton, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa State, Indiana, Michigan, USC, St. John’s, Ohio State. The Buckeyes were the winners.
Noah Carter (Dubuque, Senior) — 13 to 3
It’s been a storybook past year for this big and bouncy Northern Iowa commit. Early into his junior season last winter, he had major leg surgery; an operation that seemingly was going to negatively impact his high-level explosiveness: it didn’t. If anything, Carter came back stronger and finished his senior season on a very strong note. Then he started to blow up this spring while playing with the Iowa Barnstormers. He ended up nabbing seven Division I offers when the dust had settled, and promptly committed to UNI after they offered him in June.
Cole Henry (Oskaloosa) — 10 to 5
His ascension has been steady over the past two years, and there was little doubt after watching him play in Milwaukee this past July that he was on the verge of blowing up. He did just that, picking up offers from American, Illinois-Chicago, Florida Atlantic, Central Michigan, Indiana State, South Dakota, Montana State and Northern Iowa by summer’s end. Henry was on record as saying that UNI would be a dream opportunity, not surprisingly he jumped on that offer very quickly.
Japannah Kellogg (Ames) — 18 to 13
A guy that we always considered to be a Division I talent, schools from far and wide made that presumption a reality this July. The 6’7 wing took full advantageous of his time playing with one of the nation’s very best grassroots teams, D1 Minnesota 17U, and racked up three D1 offers during the summer, from Cal Poly, Green Bay and NJIT.
Evan Gauger (Indianola) — 17 to 14
After a very strong junior season at Indianola — in which he averaged 19.2 points on 51 percent shooting and 5.3 rebounds per game — Gauger followed it up with a eye-catching spring and summer. The All Iowa Attack product was making waves wherever he went, and earned a bundle of Division II offers while doing so. Just last week, the athletic and skilled combo-guard picked up his first Division I offer, from North Dakota.
Cliff McCray (Sioux City West) — 20 to 16
Southwest Minnesota got themselves one of Iowa’s very best point guards when McCray committed to be a Mustang last month. He’s got the looks of a Division I-caliber point guard, 6’2 with high-level athleticism and court-vision. He’s a stat-stuffer that could string together a triple-double on any night out with the Wolverines this winter.
Keaton Mitchell (Wapello) — 72 to 23
The biggest jump of anyone on this list comes from Wapello big-man Keaton Mitchell, who committed to play at D2 Truman State after a strong spring with the Iowa Barnstormers’ gold squad. He’s 6’8 with some nice length and is deceivingly athletic. Mitchell has gone from relative unknown to one of the state’s premier big-men in the last six months. Playing in a state tournament and then with the state’s premier grassroots program will do that.
Hosea Treadwell (Hoover) — 42 to 25
What’s been an up and down career for Treadwell is looking more and more like it’ll end on a very high note. He spent his junior season getting back into form after sitting out his sophomore campaign because of an ACL injury. He then spent his 17U spring and summer continually proving that he can be one of Iowa’s most lethal scorers while routinely posting 20 point games with Kingdom Hoops Elite. He’ll be an All-CIML performer this season.