Where Are They Now? — Part V
Photo Credit: http://unipanthers.com
Spencer Haldeman (Epworth, Western Dubuque)
Iowa’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015, Haldeman — an Iowa Barnstormers product — signed to play with Northern Iowa. He redshirted his first season in Cedar Falls, and it appears — at least early in his career — that the move will pay dividends. He came into his second season as a freshman and lit it up from deep, connecting on 49 3s; which was the third-best ever by a UNI frosh. Haldeman averaged 7.6 points per game and was named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s All-Freshman Team. With still three seasons left of eligibility, the 6-foot-1 guard has set himself up for what could be an illustrious career with the Panthers.
Marlon Stewart (North Scott)
Checking in as Iowa’s 3rd-ranked prospect in the final 2015 rankings, Stewart — who played his grassroots ball with Chicago-based Team Rose — was nabbed by Big East high-major Creighton. As a freshman with the Bluejays, the 6’2 point guard played in 13 games and a total of 40 minutes. He would end up transferring to North Dakota after the 2015-16 season, where he’d be reunited with North Scott teammate Cortez Seales — the two of them helped the Lancers to a 4A state title in 2015. Because of transfer eligibility rules, Stewart had to sit out his first season at North Dakota, but will have three seasons left to play beginning next fall.
Carter Burns (Ankeny Centennial)
This 6-foot-6 forward signed his National Letter of Intent — at least according to several articles — to play with North Dakota D2 University of Mary, but instead ended up playing right away his freshman season at Nebraska-Kearney, also a D2. With the Loopers he he was the leading scorer off the bench his freshman season, averaging 3.6 points per game while seeing playing time in all 32 contests. This past season as a sophomore, Burns started in 27 games, averaging 6.7 per contest while flashing his versatility by connecting on 33 3s at a 37 percent clip. He was also the team’s second-best rebounder, pulling down 4.1 per game.
Sabonis Smith (Des Moines Lincoln)
A former Lincoln Railsplitter, Smith averaged 18.6 points and 5.0 rebounds while also leading his team in assists and steals during his senior 2013-14 season. He then left the south side of Des Moines and went 20 minutes south to D3 Simpson College in Indianola. This past season, as a junior with the Storm, Smith started all 26 games while averaging 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The 6-foot-4 guard played in all 26 games and shot 44 percent from deep two seasons ago as a sophomore with the Storm.
Spencer Pauley (Denison-Shleswig)
With great size (6’9) paired with some nice skill and bounce, it was no surprise to us when Pauley — Iowa’s 57th-ranked 2015 — nabbed himself a D2 offer from Nebraska’s Wayne State. His time at Wayne State though was short-lived, and after starting in one game and playing in 12 as a freshman, Pauley decided to transfer into Iowa NAIA Northwestern College. Last winter, Pauley sat out because of transfer rules, he’ll undoubtedly come in next season as a sophomore and make a big impact with the Red Raiders; here’s Coach Kris Korver’s quote from the team’s official webpage on adding Pauley: “Spencer brings us length and size at the post position. We believe he will be a real asset to our program and look forward to working with him throughout his career. We are excited to have Spencer join us at Northwestern.”