Player Profile: Dalton Banks
Dalton Banks has become a legitimate college prospect, already receiving an offer from South Dakota (division one) and piqued interest from countless other schools. He’s tossed his name into the midwest recruiting ring with a high motor on offense. As…
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Continue ReadingDalton Banks has become a legitimate college prospect, already receiving an offer from South Dakota (division one) and piqued interest from countless other schools.
He’s tossed his name into the midwest recruiting ring with a high motor on offense. As a junior, Banks had already claimed the all-time scoring record for Eau Claire North, courtesy of consistent scoring from the get-go.
During his freshman season, Banks averaged 8.7 points per game. Though he was the fourth leading scorer, Banks amassed the third most shot attempts and second most three-point attempts. He made the biggest statistical bound his sophomore season, as he was just shy of 20 points per game. Last season, Banks bumped that up to 23.3 points per game, and while his percentage didn’t improve, he did shoot 70 more threes than he did the year prior.
At 6’1, 180 pounds, Banks’ uses physical driving skills to find avenues to score, which is a skill he gained from playing across state lines. When catching up with the guard he told me that while playing in Minnesota for AAU, “It’s a little more physical and players are used to being able to get up on your man more so I think being able to handle that type of pressure consistently has helped me.”
But recruiting is a different animal for Banks, as he has a foot planted hard in two states (playing high school basketball for Eau Claire North, WI, AAU for D1 Minnesota, MN). I asked the guard whether splitting his time between playing in Wisconsin and Minnesota leads to him being a little underrated. But what I saw as awkward friction for Banks, he saw with a much more optimistic perspective. “I don’t know if underrated is the right term,” said Banks, “There are some super great players in the class of 2020 in our state and I’m very grateful to be considered with those guys. I do think I’m not seen as much as some of the other prospects being from the west side of the state and playing out of state for AAU so I think my window to show what I can do is a little smaller. But for me, it’s just continuing to get better every day and that will all take care of itself.”
He also addressed recruiting benefits from his multi-state high school career, saying, “I think a couple of things I gain from it are being able to make more connections with not only people in Wisconsin but in Minnesota as well.”
Overall, Banks is an elite scorer around the rim. The only knock on him offensively is that he shot at a 28.9 percent clip from three this past season. That said, he saw a big jump in attempts from sophomore to junior year, which denotes more confidence from him shooting-wise. He only has one offer from South Dakota currently, but for those apprised of high school basketball trends, we know that there will be more offers flowing in for a guy as gifted as Banks is.