Recruiting Report: Kylan Smallwood (2019)
After seeing Creston’s 6-foot-2 guard Kylan Smallwood slicing up the competition at Kingdom Courts in a grassroots tournament last spring, it became clear that he was one of the better 2019s in Iowa. But perhaps due to his lack of…
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Continue ReadingAfter seeing Creston’s 6-foot-2 guard Kylan Smallwood slicing up the competition at Kingdom Courts in a grassroots tournament last spring, it became clear that he was one of the better 2019s in Iowa.
But perhaps due to his lack of exposure — he did not play with a grassroots program but instead with his Creston team last offseason — or simply because he’s quite young, Smallwood is still a bit under the radar.
“No, nothing much yet with recruitment, just still Briar Cliff has sent me some letters and invited me to score games,” said Smallwood.
“I’m just trying to see what else I can get. I’m hoping to get some higher level offers, like D2 or D1, around there.”
Just a sophomore, Smallwood has plenty of time for his recruitment to materialize, and he’s talented enough that it almost certainly will. In the time being, he’s focused on improving his game and leading his team.
“This summer I worked a lot on my jump-shot and mid-range, and just trying to be more consistent with those,” said Smallwood. “And also my court-vision, I’ve been really working on finding guys, and spot-up shooters — we have a lot of those this season.”
After a stellar freshman season, in which Smallwood — Iowa’s 12th-ranked 2019 — averaged 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, he’s ready to up his game this winter.
“Some of my goals this year are to make first-team all district, and just leading us to a better season than last. And also just to make my teammates better,” he said.
“I think my role this year is to be more of a leader because we lost a lot of good seniors last year.”
And when his sophomore season is complete, Smallwood says he’ll be playing with someone on the 16U grassroots circuit. He just doesn’t which know one yet.
“I do plan on playing AAU ball next spring and summer,” he said. “And just trying to find a good team that I feel I fit in with and that will make me better.”