Prospect Spotlight: Avery Mellman (2020)
After exploding onto the scene during a marvelous performance against Martin Brothers in a 15U title game earlier this spring, Mason City 5-foot-10 point guard Avery Mellman is officially on the map.
The strong lead guard was slicing and dicing competition, making shots from all over the court, and off the bounce, while also adeptly setting his teammates up for success.
“What I like to do most is to get my teammates open a lot and help them succeed. And then just create for others and just handle the ball and take care of it,” said Mellman.
“And on defense I like to challenge myself a lot with full-court defense, with quick feet and getting in front of my guy and not fouling.”
The skilled lead guard was recently named Iowa’s 12th-ranked 2020 in the inaugural rankings. And last season he played up with the Mohawks’ Sophomore team.
“It was good, it challenged me playing against bigger, faster and stronger kids. I knew I was going to be doing that in the summer too,” said Mellman. “I thought I played well. I never backed down and always tried to beat them.”
And it’s with the help of a recently former Mason City point guard that Mellman has been learning to master his game.
“I talked to my coaches about maybe becoming the point guard at Mason City (varsity) next year. I work out with Kyle Lang almost everyday, and he’s taught me a lot about how he used to be,” said Mellman, who elaborated on his relationship with Lang, Iowa’s 30th-ranked 2017.
“We’re really close. We’ve always been working out, and he noticed I was one of the top kids in my class when I was littler. He reached out to me and I reached out back, and he’d come and pick me up and we’d go work out and just push each other.”
Mellman is also pushed by his teammates on an athletic 15U Beyond Ball squad. That’s who he’ll hoop with this summer during the July live periods.
“The workouts with them are tough and competitive, and it’s a good atmosphere,” said Mellman. “I’m looking forward to working with them and getting better with them over the summer.”