Coach’s Take: Kingdom Hoops 17U Elite (Part IV)
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
Isaac Prewitt, 6’2 G (Des Moines Christian)
“The guy can communicate, and he has a very high basketball IQ. I mean, whatever defenses the opponent is running, he knows the sweet spot. He knows where he needs to be to get his shot off. He has a very high basketball IQ, and that makes up for any area where he might lack. He is a very, very good shooter as well. He’s a guy that with his IQ and the way he can shoot it, he’s an intriguing guy as well. My favorite thing about him is, he has that high IQ, but he can communicate it too. He’ll tell you what he’s seeing, and he lets everybody know. He’s a good kid.”
Austin Alexander, 6’6 G (Atlantic)
“I haven’t been around a lot of players like Austin: that big and can play the point guard, that’s special. He’s a special talent. This year, I had such a special group, there was a very high IQ with that group, and Austin was right at the head of that. He’s a guy that I feel like he can shoot it, put it on the floor and get to the free-throw line. I wanted him to rebound a little more, but on the offensive end he had every tool that a guy could have. He’s a guy who’s a steal for an NAIA program (Northwestern), I saw him being D2, maybe even D1. I’m pretty sure Northwestern is pretty excited about him.”
Scotty Leonard, 6’6 PF (Atlantic)
“He’s a guy that’s able to rebound the ball, and he’s going to fight every possession. His skill-set in the post is rare, a lot of guys don’t want to play with their backs to the basket, and his skill-set is with his back to the basket. And that’s valuable. He’s a kid who’s brought a lot of value to our program over the years, because he’s really bought in to being a true big-man. And if you’ve got one of those it can really help a program. He’s got some moves on the blocks, he rebounds. One thing that I like about him, is that if the other team had a good big-man, he always equaled them out. He always made them work, and if he had a battle, he was ready to battle. He’s a good kid, I’m really excited about Scott. And whatever team gets him is getting a steal as well.”