Prospect Spotlight: Keaton Ballestad (2018)
Keaton Ballestad spent the grassroots season playing with ECI Select, joining some of the top players in North Dakota and playing against teams all over the midwest. Ballestad, a 5-foot-10 guard from West Fargo Sheyenne, said the experience was very…
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Continue ReadingKeaton Ballestad spent the grassroots season playing with ECI Select, joining some of the top players in North Dakota and playing against teams all over the midwest.
Ballestad, a 5-foot-10 guard from West Fargo Sheyenne, said the experience was very beneficial for his development as a player.
“I struggled to knock down shots over the summer but I thought I played okay,” Ballestad said. “I feel like when I’m playing with my AAU team or my school team, I’m a guy that focuses more on distributing the ball. I’m not looking to shoot too often but if it’s falling then I’ll adjust. I think I was able to help the team in other ways despite my shot not always falling.”
ECI Select was undersized for most of the season but made up for it with speed and shooting ability. Ballestad was a spark plug in that cause and excelled as a distributor and slasher.
“I thought that we could shoot the ball really well,” said Ballestad. “We moved the ball around pretty well. We had some times maybe where we probably shot a few too many outside shots but we did well overall.”
Ballestad wants to play college basketball if he can and is hoping to draw college interest with a strong senior season with Sheyenne.
“I’d like to play if the opportunity presents itself,” said Ballestad. “I definitely would play in college. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. We’ll see. I’m hoping I can draw some interest this winter. We’ve been playing together for a long time. The chemistry has always been there. I feel like we’re a really good team. We’ve gone through these team camps over the summer and we were pretty dominant. So we’re excited.”
*Photo Credit: West Fargo Pioneer*