Coach’s Take: Iowa Intensity 17U (Part II)
For several years now, Iowa Intensity’s 2018 group has been establishing themselves as one of the best grassroots teams in all of Iowa. At first, they were a bit of a surprise, then they became somewhat of a sensation, by the end of last spring — especially after their defeat of a stacked Martin Bros 17U — it was clear that the team was indeed an elite one in Iowa. We’ve written plenty about the guys on that squad, and Garrett Sturtz and Zaine Leedom are among the highest-rated guys in the 2018 class. Here, we continue a series that gives Intensity founder and 17U head coach, Chris Hansen, a chance to sound-off about his guys.
Garrett Sturtz, 6’3 PG (Newton)
“He was with out original team, and he was always one of our best defenders, just because he has long arms and gets after it. He just worked his tail off to become a great offensive player too. Even in situations where he’s out-sized, whether height or strength or whatever, he’s always able to find a way, because he’s able to pump-fake and utilize other moves to get over and under guys. He really developed his outside shot over the last couple of years. He’s just an all-around versatile player. He’s probably one of our leading rebounders too. He’s juts a very solid, good kid. I think he has a 4.0 GPA too. He’s the star at pretty much every sport he tried at Newton. I think there’s a little bit of interest with UNI and Drake, but I haven’t heard too much on that”
Zane Johnson, 6’5 F (East Marshall)
“We actually added him this year for the first time and he was a good addition as far as team fit, he got along with the other players and fit right in. He’s a strong player, and other than Garrett Sturtz and Zaine Leedom, he was on more our more aggressive, take it top the rim type players, which is what we needed. He was able to take it hard to the basket, draw some fouls and just play more physical than some of our other players like to play — so he was a good addition in that regard. I’m glad we were able to have him there for the while season.”
Ethan Mitchell, 6′ SG (Grinnell)
He’s definitely a sharpshooter. He’s a kid that’s a little undersized, but he’s very athletic, he can jump. We had a game in Las Vegas that he hit nine 3s in, as a team we hit 20 or 21 and he hit nine of them. He’s just a pure shooter with great form. It doesn’t matter if there’s a guy close to him, he can get his shot off. His main passion is baseball, and I would guess he’s probably going to go D1 for baseball somewhere; he was an all-state baseball player as junior. He plays for the Iowa Sticks, one of the top programs for travel baseball in Iowa. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t average at least 20 points per game for Grinnell. He’ll be the centerpiece there this next year.”