Grassroots Preview: Team Iowa

With the grassroots season rapidly approaching, we're previewing programs throughout the state. Former Iowa Hawkeye and current Team Iowa coach Kenyon Murray joins us to help break down the teams from Team Iowa, a program based in Cedar Rapids. Below, you'll find rosters, schedules and some of Murray's thoughts on each of the groups, as well as a few of my own.   17U Head coach: Lorne Royster

Name		School
Spencer Touro		Benton Community
Colin Westmoreland		Cedar Rapids Washington
Carter Frey		West Des Moines Valley
Hunter Strait		Ankeny Centennial
Max Taylor		Davenport North
Grant Arnold		Southeast Polk
Larenz Plum		Waterloo East
Noah Samples		West Des Moines Valley
Derrick Diggins		Cedar Rapids Kennedy
Max Campbell		Cedar Rapids Washington
Carter Bachmann		Ankeny Centennial

  Murray says: "Team Iowa 17U will be led by D1 prospects Hunter Strait (Centennial) and Derrick Diggins (Kennedy). These two have played together for over five years on the AAU circuit and will help this year's team welcome some "newbies" as they have solidified their roster. Spencer Touro (Benton), Carter Frey (Valley), Max Taylor (Davenport North) and Grant Arnold (Southeast Polk) give this team added shooting and athleticism on the wing. With Max Campbell (Cedar Rapids Washington) and Carter Bachmann (Centennial) holding down the paint, this team is looking to have a good AAU season and some scouts may very well find a steal out of this group." Tony's take: The guard play here is very good, headlined by the obvious ones, Hunter Strait and Derrick Diggins. Strait is one of the best passers in the state, with elite court vision and the ability to fit passes into windows that few players around can. He's a top-notch ball handler, pushes in transition and is a very good player in the pick-and-roll. Diggins is a high-level athlete who excels in transition, finishing above the rim. His jumper is streaky, but when he gets it rolling, he's tough to stop as it opens up his penetration. They've got some nice role players alongside those two with Touro, Frey, Taylor and Arnold. Taylor has great size and can handle and pass it. Touro is a good ball handler and shooter, Frey is a winner and Arnold can shoot the ball and has good size. He also rebounds it well. Campbell and Bachmann give them some size and physicality in the paint. This will be a huge summer for this group, with a number of smaller level prospects, while Strait and Diggins will be working to garner Division I attention.   16U Red Head coach: Kenyon Murray

Name		School
Luke Young		Iowa City High
Keegan Murray		Cedar Rapids Prairie
Ross Snitker		Cedar Rapids Washington
Logan Burg		Cedar Rapids Prairie
Hayden Passmore		Linn-Mar
Kris Murray		Cedar Rapids Prairie
Keith Keahna		South Tama
Zach Hirst		Davenport North
David Seber		North Linn

  Murray says: "Team Iowa Red 16U is a mix of some very talented players that mostly played on sophomore teams last year, but excelled there. They will be led by Kris and Keegan Murray (Prairie) on the perimeter. Both players received a lot of varsity action last year for Prairie and look to solidify their place as college basketball prospects this spring/summer. Keith Keahna (South Tama), David Seber (North Linn), Ross Snitker (Cedar Rapids Washington) and Luke Young (City High) also played varsity minutes this year and will be keys on this year's team. Sleepers on our roster include Hayden Passmore (Linn-Mar) and Logan Burg (Prairie), as both played sophomore basketball this past season, but had their seasons interrupted by injury." Tony's take: This group will be led by the Murray twins. Both are top-notch shooters who are working to expand their all-around skill sets. They'll both be major pieces for a Prairie team that will be among the top 10 in 4A next year. David Seber adds some additional shooting alongside the Murrays, so this team will be capable of torching opponents from the arc. I'm looking forward to seeing Hayden Passmore, a player I've heard good things about but have yet to see. Zach Hirst (Davenport North) gives them some size and athleticism on the interior. He had a really strong Dynasty Fall League in September.   16U Silver Head coach: Nikki Rowland

Name		School
Michael Allen		Waterloo West
Kaden Bowie		Cedar Rapids Washington
Matt Duesing		Linn-Mar
Chandlir Haug		Cedar Rapids Washington
Dymonte Hawkins		Cedar Rapids Jefferson
Joe McKinstry		Cedar Rapids Washington
Gabe Peterman		Starmont
Imanuel Rowland		Cedar Rapids Washington
Silver Schmitz		Union, La Porte City
Sebastian Simmons		Cedar Rapids Prairie
Brayden Wright		Cedar Rapids Washington

  Murray says: "Team Iowa Silver 16U has a roster full of players ready to have breakouts this AAU season. Most of the roster is comprised of players that had limited minutes on varsity, but showed flashes of their ability. Silver Schmitz (Union), Joe McKinstry (Cedar Rapids Washington) and Gabe Peterman (Starmont) are the only players that played varsity minutes. Some sleepers on this team will be Brayden Wright, Kaden Bowie and Imanuel Rowland, all from Cedar Rapids Washington. Washington has some talent to work with over the next few years!" Tony's take: Silver Schmitz is the only player from this group that I've seen so far. He had an efficient season for Union, shooting 53% from the floor. He has good size and can score at all three levels. I'm looking forward to learning more about the rest of this roster, in particular the kids at Washington. That program is in need of some talent, and it looks like they have some on the way.   Schedule

Dates	Event	Location
April 2 (17U)	Nothin' but Net	Cedar Rapids, IA
April 21-23	Midwest Live!	Des Moines, IA
April 28-30	Midwest Live!	Omaha, NE
May 12-14	Prep Hoops Battle at the Lakes	Minneapolis, MN
May 20-21	Prep Hoops Midwest Cup	Ames, IA
June 3-4	Mississippi River Classic	Dubuque, IA
July 12-16	GASO	Wichita, KS
July 20-23	Hardwood Classic	Lawrence, KS
July 27-30 (17U)	Fab 48	Las Vegas, NV
July 27-30 (16U)	Summer Slam	Kansas City, KS