Kings of the Court: Five Takeaways
Kingdom Hoops won titles in eight of the 10 age groups Kingdom Hoops Remains Elite Among the high school divisions, the guys from the host program won two of the three championships, that’s Kingdom Hoops Navy 17u and Kingdom Hoops…
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Continue ReadingKingdom Hoops Remains Elite
Among the high school divisions, the guys from the host program won two of the three championships, that’s Kingdom Hoops Navy 17u and Kingdom Hoops Navy 16u. We don’t cover the younger guys on this site, but for bolstering this takeaway’s sake we’ll mention that Kingdom Hoops also won the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th grade divisions, too. Kingdom Hoops has long-been a top-tier program in Iowa, and based upon the results of last weekend’s event, they will remain that way for the foreseeable future.
Beyond Ball Continue to Emerge
Beyond Ball — a relatively new program onto the Iowa high school grassroots scene — is quickly building a substantial program of their own. The 17u Beyond Ball 24K squad advanced all the way to the title game before losing a tight one to Kingdom Hoops in a wildly entertaining match; to even get to that title game the Beyond Ball guys had to beat another 17u Beyond Ball team in the Final 4. The top 16u team advanced the to Final 4 before losing to a tough Minnesota Lightning squad. And the 15u guys won the whole dang thing, defeating a very good Kingdom Hoops Navy in the title game, 66-55. For a program that has only been around for a little over two years, they certainly are making a lot of noise this spring.
Norwalk’s Tyler Johnson
3-point Kings
Iowa’s got a ton of elite outside shooters, and even has a reputation among players from other state’s as having tons of shooters. Two of the Hawkeye State’s very best snipers were on display last weekend, and on Sunday in particular they put on a show. Norwalk junior Tyler Johnson, a 6’4 shooting guard, was shooting the ball as prolifically and efficiently as we’ve ever seen a player over a stretch of time. In our first viewing of his Sunday, he canned six 3s on seven tries. He then went on to hit his first three 3s of the next game, making him 9-10 from deep on the day at that point. He finished his three games Sunday canning 15 total 3s at what must have been a 75% clip, and was essential to Kingdom Hoops Navy 17u winning the title. We saw Waukee sophomore Payton Sandfort play twice, in the Final 4 and in the title game; he was really good in the semifinals, canning three 3s in the first half alone before taking a backseat to teammate Wyatt Heston in the second half of a Kingdom Hoops rout. In the title game, Sandfort put together the best shooting performance of the weekend and one of the best we’ve seen this spring, canning seven 3s, both from off the bounce and spot-up, and even got bucket plus foul on one. Both are special shooters, expect to see them atop the 3-point charts next winter.
Johnston’s Reid Grant was one of many CIML stars at the event
CIML Shows Out
As a result of Des Moines-based programs Kingdom Hoops and Beyond Ball both performing so well at last weekend’s event, there was CIML talent abound both days. Beyond Ball’s Jordan Kumm of Ankeny was dynamic for the 24K 17u unit. His teammate Rome Hellems of Des Moines Roosevelt showed some elite athleticism. Kingdom Hoops Navy 15u featured Hoover freshman Kir Diew, he’ll be a breakout star next season, and Dowling’s Maada Brewah showed that he was one of the team’s best players. And Johnston, oh my are they stacked with young talent; Dragons players Reid Grant, Jacob Runyan, Steven Kramer, Trey Lewis and Karter Kriegl were four of the best young guards at the event. The Kingdom Hoops 16u Navy looks more like a CIML all-stars roster, Hoover’s Manny Austin, Des Moines North’s Malik Allen, Waukee’s Payton Sandfort and Wyatt Heston all were sensational. Future Dowling forward Omaha Biliew proved why he’s one of the nation’s best 8th-graders while leading Beyond Ball 24K to a 15u title, and he was aided by young Valley point guard Mason Morrow, a solid freshman in the Tigers’ system. Last but not least, the MVP of the 17u field, Hosea Treadwell, showed why he’s likely the state’s best unsigned senior.
Eighth-grader Omaha Biliew was one of two nationally ranked prospects at the event
Foster and Biliew
Basketball fans in Iowa are lucky. People outside of the state may not acknowledge it, or even know it, but there’s some seriously good hoops here. This tourney was small compared to some of the other gargantuan ones that are being held these days (I’m looking at you Battle at the Lakes), but it was a very-much Iowa tourney, with much of the state’s best talent on display. Right now in Iowa, we are fortunate enough to have two of the nation’s most highly regarded prospects, both of them were present this weekend. Xavier Foster is Prep Hoops’ 17th-ranked 2020 prospect nationally, he’s got offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Creighton, Illinois, Texas A&M, Missouri, Baylor, USC, UCLA, St Louis, Rutgers, Kansas, and was hoopin with Pure Prep 17u last weekend. Omaha Biliew, and 8th-grader, is ranked as high as 4th nationally, and was showing what he can do while leading Beyond Ball 24K 15u to a title. Biliew picked up his first offer, from Iowa, just a couple days after the tourney. Don’t get it twisted, Iowa is a very good basketball state.