Recruiting Report: Cliff DeGroot (2017)
One of the top perimeter shooters in the Class of 2017 is guard Cliff DeGroot of Westminster Christian. The 6’3″ DeGroot is a young man who shoots with great confidence and a short memory. A few early misses are hardly…
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Continue ReadingOne of the top perimeter shooters in the Class of 2017 is guard Cliff DeGroot of Westminster Christian.
The 6’3″ DeGroot is a young man who shoots with great confidence and a short memory. A few early misses are hardly a deterrent for DeGroot as a number of makes is just around the corner.
“Having a lot of confidence has helped me with my shooting,” DeGroot said. “You have to keep shooting, even when you are missing.”
DeGroot has the bright green light to launch 3-pointers whenever he’s open. As a junior at Westminster, he attempted 201 shots from beyond the arc. And he was successful on 44 percent of those long distance shots, making 89 of them. He averaged nearly 15 points a game in helping the Wildcats to a 20-6 record.
DeGroot credits his teammates for his 3-point shooting prowess. During the high school season, he has been paired with All-State guard Aaron Cook, who’s headed to Southern Illinois. During the summer, he’s playing with a group of talented guards with the Missouri Hustle, including his Westminster teammate Steve Webb.
“I’m playing with a lot of good point guards who are getting me the ball when I’m open,” DeGroot said. “Knocking down shots isn’t that hard when you’re getting the ball when you are wide open.”
The Missouri Hustle is competing in the inaugural NY2LA League during the summer. With DeGroot as one of the team’s top offensive weapons, the Hustle has compiled an impressive 5-2 record in league play.
“The NY2LA League has been really good,” DeGroot said. “We have seen a lot of competition and all of the games have been good. I love our team. Our coach has done a great job of getting everyone to move the ball around and getting all of us involved.”
DeGroot has received some early collegiate interest from schools such as Maryville and Millikin. His shooting ability has attracted collegiate interest, but he has been working on other aspects of his game, especially his ball handling and ability to create offense off the dribble.
“I’m really working on my game inside the arc,” he said. “I’ve been working on my ball handling, defense and my ability to get to the rack.”
DeGroot will return in 2017 to be one of the Westminster’s leaders for a program that has won 44 games in the past two seasons.