Prospect watch: Joe Lind (2017)
REPUBLIC — One of the Kansas City area’s top shooters, 2017 guard Joe Lind is gearing up for a big senior season for the Belton Pirates. On Monday, the 6-foot-1 guard opened the season with an 18-point performance as he…
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Continue ReadingREPUBLIC — One of the Kansas City area’s top shooters, 2017 guard Joe Lind is gearing up for a big senior season for the Belton Pirates.
On Monday, the 6-foot-1 guard opened the season with an 18-point performance as he knocked down four 3-pointers.
“I like to shoot, I like to come of screens and if I have space I am going to pull it,” he said. “But there is a lot more to my game than just that. I think I handle the ball pretty well and I can get to the rim at times.”
A willing and able passer, Lind says he also enjoys setting up others for open looks.
“Making good passes means a lot to me and it is almost more enjoyable than making a shot,” he said.
Lind said he used the summer to improve his ability to score off the dribble.
“Last year I was known as a set shooter and I wanted to get better and scoring off one dribble, two dribbles or step backs,” he said. “Anything that could make my shooting go up to the next level and help me get my shot off quicker. I also worked on handling the ball, I think that’s something that you can always get better at.
“As a team, we have a lot of guys coming back from last year and we are really confident coming into this season. We just need to work better together and that is something we worked on. We had a really good summer as a team against good competitiion. I think we are a lot closer as a team this year as friends and players and have better consistency.”
Belton won the Suburban Blue conference when Lind was a sophomore in coach John Schaefer’s first season, but went 12-13 last season, losing several close games.
“This year I think we are a little bitter and we want to get those games back,” Lind said. “We want to close games out and we expect to have a winning season and go as far as we can in state.”
Lind said he is looking forward to playing Grandview this season.
“They have a couple of really good guards and they are going to push you and get up and down and challenge you and talk trash,” Lind said. “It is a fun atmosphere and we always have good crowds.
“I love playing Raytown South, they are very athletic and they have a guard in Tyree Sorrells that is always fun to play against.”
Lind does not yet have any college offers and says he hasn’t drawn a lot of college interest yet. He is taking a visit to Hesston College in Newton, Kan. on Dec. 10 and has also drawn interest from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.