Coach’s Take: Beyond Ball (Part I)
It’s August, that means live action on the hardwood slows down, but our coverage of Iowa high schools hoops remains active. The grassroots season recently wrapped up, and we’re going to spend the month re-capping what went down by talking to some of the most successful team’s coaches, and getting their take on players that suited up for them all spring and summer.
We continue our “Coach’s Take” series with Beyond Ball program director John Lamb, who was at the helm of one of the state’s most talented 17U units. The squad spent very little time in Iowa, and were not only all over the Midwest this spring and summer, but all over the country. Guys like Tyreke Locure, Lino Malual, Mach Nyaw and Kenny Quinn made this one of the more formidable teams around. Below, Lamb gives detailed analysis of his guys.
Beyond Ball program director John Lamb talks…
Kenny Quinn, 5’9 PG (Des Moines Hoover)
“Kenny Quinn kept our group together. We had a lot of kids with very, very dominant personalities, and Kenny was by far the best leader I’ve ever had at the high school level. He was always prepared to play, I never had to rattle his cage, never had to do anything like that; he wanted it probably as much as I did every game. He wanted his teammates to be great every game. We were blessed enough to play all over the country, and he would guard the best player on the other teams. We played tons of EYBL teams, tons of (adidas) Gold Gauntlet teams and he accepted that responsibility every single time. I would say maybe he scored 100 points this summer, four of six points per game, but he created so many opportunities for us; whether it was one more pass, the right play, steals, any number of things. He executed things perfectly out of timeouts for me. He for sure was the glue to our entire season with our 17U team. He’s got a whole bunch of coaches keeping up with him; North Dakota, North Dakota State, a whole bunch of Division II schools. He was just a great kid. I was super, super grateful that he gave me the chance to coach him this year. He wanted to enjoy basketball again. And that hug in Vegas at the end of the season is something that I’ll never forget, because he said ‘thank you,’ and he really meant it.
Tyreke Locure, 5’11 PG (Des Moines North)
“The future is anything he wants it to be. It’s something special. I’ve been around Tyreke since he was a fourth-grader. And to watch him grow up, and people can say what they want to say about certain things, but to watch him grow up and to be there and to know what he’s battling through and is working towards, and to see how much he’s grown up as a leader, as a human being and as a man, is second to none. Obviously, he’s an incredible talent, he can score at a Power Six conference level. And his success over the next 15 years of his career is going to depend on how willing he is to defend and to compete 94 feet without the basketball. When he wants to do that, he can be, like you said, legendary. I remember when we went to New Orleans this year for a tournament, we show up in this gym there and he is a legend. He’s a legend here and he’s a legend there. There wasn’t one game where he didn’t score 40 points (in New Orleans), and when I say 40, I really mean 40. When we showed up there was 60 family members there, great-grandma came through even. A lot people will say that he has an attitude and this and that, well, if you’re wanting to play high-level Division I basketball at the most competitive position on the floor (point guard), you got to have a little grit to yourself, and he does. And he is an incredible talent, but he’s becoming more and more of a professional everyday, and I know that Coach (Richie) Riley at South Alabama is getting an absolute gem. Multiple coaches after the fact are still asking, ‘Do we have a chance?’ – higher level schools. And I say no. This is the most loyal kid you’ll ever come across, so I say sorry, pass the information out, but that’s kind of how it is. He’ll where his heart on his sleeve, and he’ll do many things for whoever believes in him.”
Mach Nyaw, 6′ G (Storm Lake)
“He’s an absolute warrior. He’s a guy that competes 94 feet every single play. He sacrifices his body for me, he does absolutely anything for me. I don’t think of one game that he had where he had to come out of the game for an injury, and he’s everywhere all the time. He can score, he can shoot it, and he’ll defend like crazy. He got the Heart & Hustle award from the Deng Camp and that’s a really prestigious award at that camp because all of those guys are fighters, honestly, when you think about their history and a lot of things. Luol Deng said something, he said ‘I’d have 100 of you on my team if I could,’ And that’s something, coming from pro that makes 17 million dollars a year, that’s pretty impressive. And that really says a lot about (Mach’s) character. He’s at Storm Lake now, he wanted fulfill some responsibilities with his family. He’s playing football, and he’s getting great grades. He’s over a 3.0, he’s qualified on all of his tests. He has a legitimate shot to be a Division I player. I have a whole bunch of Division II schools contacting me about him. He’s probably going to be one of those kids doesn’t sign (early), and signs late.”