Recruiting Report: Kent Hanson (2016)
November 10th Update St. Paul Academy Kent Hanson is a spark plug, and a character. A guy that teammates loved to be around and a worker that colleges want to pair with whomever they have on the roster. Hanson’s biggest…
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Continue ReadingNovember 10th Update
St. Paul Academy Kent Hanson is a spark plug, and a character. A guy that teammates loved to be around and a worker that colleges want to pair with whomever they have on the roster.
Hanson’s biggest concern right now? Getting his team back to the state tournament.
“Our workouts have been productive,” Kent said. “There's a lot of excitement around SPA basketball right now. We've kept the culture that Coach McKenzie created in the program. Guys don't show up late and they work hard.
“We're really excited to carry that over with Coach Wallfred. I think he really knows what he's doing and he has a great vision for our program!”
What helps the Spartans is that they have four starters returning in Hanson, Winona State committed Dalante Peyton, senior Ryan Peacock, and junior Emerson Egly.
“I think that we're very experienced. We have a lot of senior leadership and we're a cohesive group. Everyone in the program genuinely likes each other, which makes workouts a lot of fun.”
So what do they expect from this season? Well, trophies and quality impressions made on the visitors I guess.
“As a team, we want to dunk a lot to try to impress the girls from opposing schools. Also, the goal is a conference, section, and state title as it always is.”
Nice. And while Hanson wants to impress the ladies and bring home trophies, he also has college hoops to think about.
“I've been visiting a lot of places this fall,” Kent said. “This coming weekend, I'll be visiting University of Chicago and then I'll be focusing on the current season.
“I know that I'm going to be happy anywhere I end up and I'm still excited about the whole process. I plan on applying to a lot of schools and deciding later in the year.”
August 21st Update
St. Paul Academy went to the state tournament when Kent Hanson and Dalante Peyton were sophomores. Last year they lost a few more games than they wanted but they still collected 19 victories.
In 2015-16 SPA is looking at championships and championships alone.
“I'm feeling optimistic about next year,” said Hanson. “Our 2016 class is the strongest class that St Paul Academy has had in a while. We definitely miss Coach (Kevin) McKenzie but we have a lot of experience in our senior class.
“Our goal is to win the conference and state championship and I think we can do that if we have a strong fall.”
Hanson is coming off a spring and summer that built his reputation as a skilled worker that will do whatever it takes for his team to win.
“Well, obviously (Grassroots basketball) focuses a lot on skill development, but I think that an underrated advantage of (Grassroots) is playing alongside and against better players,” Hanson said.
“In my case, it was a drastic change from playing Class AA basketball in the winter season. Practicing with and playing against better players pushed me to work harder. I think that working hard is a skill that I've improved a lot throughout my Grassroots career.
“Overall, I'm very thankful to have been able to play for Fury. I know that Trey and Ben both genuinely care about me and the feeling is mutual.”
Hanson has offers from the University of Mary and Concordia-St. Paul but the amount of programs he is looking at had to be simplified into four leagues, not just a list of schools.
“My college list is still pretty big right now. I'm looking at the NSIC, MIAC, NESCAC, and a couple of schools in the UAA,” Hanson said.
May 20th Update
People can’t stop finding good things to say about St. Paul Academy and Minnesota Fury forward Kent Hanson. Winter coaches and summer coaches alike rave about Kent. Opposing coaches rave, teammates rave, officials rave. So what is it about Hanson that everyone likes so much?
“Kent is the heart and soul of our team,” said Fury Coach Ben Wilde. “Epitome of a great teammate. He's a natural leader who leads by example. You'll never have to question Kent’s effort level as he brings it all the time in both practice and games.”
There you have it. When you can count on a guy’s effort, a guy being a leader, and you can get it all the time, that’s a huge bonus.
Hanson is coming off a junior high school season that saw him average 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a game shooting 54 percent from the floor, 75 percent from the foul line, and 32.4 percent at the arc on 74 three-point attempts.
“Kent’s game has really evolved through the years,” said Wilde. “Offensively he can know shoot the three at a high percentage and handle the ball on the perimeter.
“Driving and finishing is a strong point. Defensively he can guard multiple positions at 6-foot-6 because he's strong and athletic. Kent is also very vocal. His best asset is his rebounding. He is always around the ball. He goes after it very aggressively.”
When you list all those attributes it’s no wonder that Kent is getting strong college looks. In fact we asked a random school last night about Kent and they quickly said “I love Kent Hanson”.
“Kent Hanson recently received calls from the University of Mary, Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, and St. Cloud State,” said Wilde.
“St. Cloud contacted me asking for his number. He's also hearing from Macalester, St. Thomas, Carleton, and Vasser University.”
Wilde summed up our talk with a simple statement that wrapped things up very well.
“Kent has just been a pleasure to coach. He works his butt off! Hoping it pays off for him.”