Block’s Week 1 Roundup- Junior Performers
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It feels great to have high school hoops back in season…mostly. As we await the start for some school’s season to open, some schools did get to start their season this past week. In this piece I’d like to highlight…
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Continue ReadingIt feels great to have high school hoops back in season…mostly. As we await the start for some school’s season to open, some schools did get to start their season this past week. In this piece I’d like to highlight the juniors who performed well throughout the week.
Nathan Avery & Dawson Forgy Dawson Forgy 5'11" | PG Winterset | 2022 State IA & Levi Gurwell, Winterset High School (2022)
The Winterset team has quite a few players who can score the basketball. Last Monday’s tilt against Creston I was impressed with the way Levi Gurwell shot the ball, but also the way he found teammates totaling 7 assists throughout the game. Another player who contributed in swinging the ball around to his teammates Dawson Forgy Dawson Forgy 5'11" | PG Winterset | 2022 State IA , which is no suprise as he was top assist man last season for the Huskies. Forgy threw in 9 additional points against the Panthers and impressed me with his explosion towards the basket. Nathan Avery was another guy on the Huskies team that totaled 14 points. The 6’3 big man did so fairly under-the-radar though. He just plays his role well and is actually the leading scorer through 2 games for Winterset with 14 points per game. The Huskies took a tough, overtime loss on Friday to Bondurant-Farrar, but they seem to be a team poised to have balanced scoring from all of their weapons.
Caylor Hoffer Caylor Hoffer 5'11" | SG Denver | 2022 State IA , Denver High School (2022)
A top 10 ranked team in Denver, has plenty of weapons to start with, but adding Hoffer’s offensive abilities to the mix makes them an even tougher matchup. In the matchup against Marion, Hoffer threw in his own 18 points from the field, doing all of his damage from inside the 3 point line. He provides a slashing type of wing player for this team who doesn’t really have a big man. With opposing defenses keying in on stopping other players in this lineup, Hoffer could really be the attributed needed to make this offense go.
Tanner Te Slaa Tanner Te Slaa 6'5" | SF Boyden-Hull | 2022 State IA , Boyden-Hull High School (2022)
One of the top Juniors in the state of Iowa, Te Slaa and his defending champions Comets took on a tough Central Lyon team on Friday. Along with his team, Te Slaa struggled out of the gate as Central Lyon played tough defense on him, but as a good player tends to do, he broke out and started to get into rhythm as the game went on. That ended up being bad news for the Lions as he helped his team climb back and win the game 49-45. Te Slaa is touted so highly in-state because of the way he can shoot the ball first and foremost, but also the way he does a little bit of everything. He makes for a tough defensive assignment for opposition, and he proved over time that he was on Friday.
Josh Dix Josh Dix 6'5" | SG Council Bluffs Lincoln | 2022 State #149 Nation IA , Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln High School (2022)
On Saturday against Indianola, Dix almost registered his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Dix is another top prospect in the state, and at times he seemed that he couldn’t be stopped no matter who or what type of defense the Indians showed him. He does have an uncharacteristic 25% from the 3pt line early on this season, he has used his ball skills and dribble drive to score. He hit a stepback shot about 17 feet from the bucket on Saturday that was impressive. Dix was also charged with defending the best player on the Indians on Saturday and forced him to make tough shots all game. In the early going Dix is averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Lynx.
Jamison Gruber Jamison Gruber 6'1" | PG Council Bluffs Lincoln | 2022 State IA and JR Knauss, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln High School (2022)
To go along with Dix and Sandbothe, Jamison Gruber Jamison Gruber 6'1" | PG Council Bluffs Lincoln | 2022 State IA was another top performer for the Lynx who came out victorious. I like the way he impacts the game at all levels as his stat line reads 7 points, 7 assists and 3 steals in the game against the Indians. He’s exactly the type of guard that they need next to Dix to help get the offense going and create offense and extra possessions for his team. Knauss’ stat line doesn’t bounce off the page at you as he ended up with 5 points on 2/4 made fields goals. But I was impressed with the 6’4 frame and the way he played defense. The Indians have several perimeter players who will hurt you if you don’t defend and Knauss did well on Saturday to help keep them at bay.
Cooper Nailor, Indianola High School (2022)
Though Nailor didn’t have his best game with 3 turnovers, he did shoot the ball well from deep (2/3 66.7% 3pt) and played tough defense on Dix when he was in the game. He helped his team be in a position to win in the end. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Nailor over the next season and a half, as I think he possesses good athleticism and basketball skill to build on. Through 3 games this season already, Nailor is averaging 12.5 points, 4.3 assists and shooting it at a 53.3% 3pt clip.