Recruiting Report: Cade Moritz (2018)
Iowa’s 16th-ranked 2018, former Norwalk and current Roosevelt big-man Cade Moritz has made a meteoric rise in our rankings since we first saw him play two summer ago.
At 6-foot-8 with nice length and some very decent hops, he’s become one of the more dominant players in the state, and has about as high of a ceiling as any other big in Iowa.
It’s not just us that have taken notice, but some Division II and Division I programs are starting to recruit the up-and-coming big-man.
“Right now I’m talking a lot with the coach at Nebraska-Kearney, I’m trying to go out to one of their camps in June. I also went out and did a meet and greet with the coaches at Western Illinois. And last fall I talked a little bit with the coach from Nebraska-Omaha,” said Moritz.
“Nebraska-Kearney is talking with me the most right now, and I’m hoping this summer I can get a little more attention recruitment-wise.”
For Moritz, Division I is definitely the goal, and if he has a nice summer with the Iowa Barnstormers 17U squad, it’s certainly an attainable one.
“I’m definitely striving to play Division I,” he said. “I want to play at the highest level I’m capable of. But at the end of the day I’m happy to play basketball for whoever will want me, regardless of what level that it is.”
After transferring into Roosevelt from Norwalk, Moritz was forced to sit out the first 10 games of the season, but used that time to add strength and practiced daily with his new teammates.
“It was rough at first, sitting out the first 10 games was definitely hard, but I was able to go to practice everyday and be around the guys, so that definitely helped,” said Moritz.
“I enjoyed the season, and throughout it the CIML was a great conference. There’s a lot of athleticism and great players and it made me better.”
He came in to Roosevelt as a slender center, and has now bulked up and is close to becoming a true stretch-four.
“The biggest thing I’ve changed is my strength, I’ve been in the weight-room and gotten a lot stronger. And in addition to working on my post-game, I’ve been working on my outside shooting, so I can start pulling some bigger guys outside,” said Moritz.
“And I’ve been working on driving after I pull the guys out so I can start finding my teammates and assisting my teammates from it.”
Now, he turns his attention to the adidas Circuit, and playing his role as a primary post with one of the nation’s best grassroots teams, Iowa Barnstormers 17U.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to play with one of the best teams in the nation, and I’ll get better playing with and against them (in practice) this summer,” said Moritz.
“I’ll bring rebounding and score with the opportunities that I have, and shoot the ball at a pretty high percentage.”