Urbandale Shootout: Saturday Standouts (Part I)
2018 AJ Costello, 6’5 SF (Urbandale)
Perhaps the best surprise of the day, this versatile J-Hawk threat has grown considerably since we last saw him, and his skill-set has sharpened too. The lefty came out red-hot in the first game of the day, canning four triples to set the tone for Urbandale’s 104 point outburst against Creston. He’s tall and very lengthy and can score around the rim or from deep. He’ll make a high debut in the upcoming 2018 rankings.
2019 Kylan Smallwood, 6’3 G/F (Creston)
Nobody scored more in a single game — that we saw — than this physical Creston guard did. And he was doing it with tough, gritty buckets. Only one field goal made was a 3-ball, and the rest of his 36 points came at the rim or from the free-throw line.
2018 Evan Jacobson, 5’8 G (Creston)
We saw a lot of outstanding shooting performances today, but Jacobson’s eight 3s made takes the cake. Those deep balls accounted for 24 of his 32 points, and he was getting to the line with regularity too, where he hit six free-throws during a loss to Urbandale. He’s a highly skilled sharpshooter, and college coaches should be paying attention to him.
2018 Ben DeKruyf, 6′ SG (Urbandale)
Urbandale hit a whopping 20 3-pointers in the first game of the day against Creston, and this sharpshooter was largely to thank for that. The well-built off-guard canned seven of them in the J-Hawk win, and when he hits, his low-rising arch pops in the hoop like a dagger. When this kid gets hot, watch out.
2019 Peter Ngo, 6’4 SF (Roosevelt)
The transfer from Des Moines North looks like he’ll come in and make a big and immediate impact with the upstart Roughriders. The ball was in is hands more than anyone else, and the box-score reflected that; he notched a team-high 18 points in a win over Atlantic. Very athletic, but still a bit raw, the ceiling is high for this junior-to-be.
2018 Austin Alexander, 6’6 PG (Atlantic)
Certainly one of the best college prospects we saw today, Alexander is at the very least a Division II guard, and it seems he might be able to muster some low-major D1 offers by summer’s end. He’s tall and rangy and handles the ball remarkably well for his size. His jumper is also a strong suit, and he soaked six 3s en route to a team-high 27 points against Roosevelt.
2018 Blake Brinkemyer, 6’8 PF (Valley)
The first bucket of Valley’s 2017 Urbandale Shootout was a monster alley-opp from Carter Frey to Brinkmeyer, and those monster dunks would become a theme throughout Valley’s win over Newton. Brinkmeyer was all over the rim, and notched four dunks in all. He’s got a UNI offer, and it’s plain to see why. What we liked most, was seeing him hit a turnaround 8-footer. And it was good-looking too.