Recruiting Report: Blake Brinkmeyer (2018)
MEQUON, Wis. — It wasn’t long ago that Blake Brinkmeyer believed that Jeff Horner would be his coach at West Des Moines Valley High School. Recently, a future in which Horner is his coach in college became a possibility when…
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Continue ReadingMEQUON, Wis. — It wasn’t long ago that Blake Brinkmeyer believed that Jeff Horner would be his coach at West Des Moines Valley High School. Recently, a future in which Horner is his coach in college became a possibility when the now-North Dakota assistant offered the 6-foot-7 Class of 2018 prospect.
“It’s kind of fun having him call me and say, ‘Hey we’ve got you a scholarship,’” Brinkmeyer told PHI last week at NY2LA’s Summer Jam. “I was just ecstatic about that. I’ve worked so hard for any scholarship, and the first one being D1, it still feels surreal for me.”
Brinkmeyer didn’t crack the lineup last year for the Class 4A state champion Tigers, but his size and skill level are clearly already attracting recruiters in addition to his former would-be coach.
“I’ve had (Northern Iowa) contact me a little bit,” he said. “I’ve had some contact with Drake. I got a letter saying I’m being recruited by Creighton just the other day.”
That’s come on the heels of steady progression of his game while playing for Kingdom Hoops this summer.
“I feel each game I can improve something to make my game better,” Brinkmeyer said. “Like this last game (at Day 2 of Summer Jam), I shot out a little more. Not a lot, but a little with some floaters. I can feel that my game’s improving quite a bit.”
Next on the list for improvement is putting the ball on the floor.
“Ballhandling because one of the things I’ve improved on is finishing,” Brinkmeyer said. “That used to be one of my goals to get better on, but now ballhandling so I can catch it on the outside and drive in if I need to.”
While his recruitment is likely still very much in its nascent stage, Brinkmeyer already has a feel for two in-state programs.
“I really like the way UNI runs their program,” he said. “I like Ben Jacobson and I just kind of like the way they hold themselves high and the way that they can compete not being all the greatest players in the country but they can run with North Carolina. I like UNI.”
“I’ve been part of the Drake family because my aunt played at Drake way back in the ‘90s.”