Coach’s Take: Kingdom Hoops Elite 17U (Part I)
For several years now, Kingdom Hoops has been establishing itself as one of Iowa’s strongest grassroots programs. And this past season, it could be argued that — in terms of sheer numbers — they had more talent within their 17U program than any other in Iowa. The Des Moines-based organization had so much to work with, that they were able to put two elite teams on the floor. Both were successful, and both were chock-full of Iowa talent. Here, we allow first-year boy’s basketball director and 17U coach Vance Mosley to give his take on each of his elite squad players.
Boy’s basketball director and 17U Elite coach, Vance Mosley
Grant DeMeulenaere, 5’11 PG (Grand View Christian)
“The thing I like most about Grant, is he’s a winner. He’s a state champ. He’s the type of guy that has all the intangibles. He’s always in the right spot, he’s going to take the big shot. He’s not going to wow you, but he’s going to do all the little things to win a basketball game. Grant has a very, very high basketball IQ — and that’s kind of his selling point, is his IQ, and the fact that he’s a winner. Those are my two favorite things about him.”
Brady Sartorius, 6′ PG (Mount Pleasant)
“He’s hard-nosed and he’s tough. He’s going top pick you up at the full-court and make you work. And he probably has the best mid-range game I’ve been around in a long time. He can get to his spot and pull-up probably better than anyone in the state. His mid-range and his defense, how tough he is on both ends, is great. That’s the best parts of his game game for sure.”
Ben Lyon, 6’4 G (Ankeny)
“Ben Lyon is sneaky athletic, you have to think about that. You look at him and sometimes you wouldn’t expect him to make certain plays on the basketball floor. And then he goes and makes them. He has probably every tool there is to have. The biggest thing he needs to do as far as recruitment, is keep getting stronger and keep growing into that 6’4 frame, and put all those tools he has together. He can shoot the ball, he can put it on the floor, and he’s a great rebounder. I’m looking forward to a breakout season for him at Ankeny. He’s been with the program sine he was in fourth-grade, so we’re really, really excited about Ben.”
Carter Booth, 6’1 G (Cenral Decatur)
“He’s competitive. He’s the starting quarterback at Central Decatur, and has been for the last several years. And that dude loves to win. He’s very competitive, and he loves to guard the other team’s best guy. He wants to make the big shots. He takes chances, and that’s what I like about him. He’s a guy that when he’s out there, he’s going to take some chances and take some shots, and that’s probably the reason he plays quarterback. He’s going to squeeze that ball into windows that are tight and make plays for others. He’s got great confidence on the floor, and he’s just an overall athlete.”