Prospect Spotlight: Hogan Hansen (2022)
Waverly-Shell Rock freshman Hogan Hansen put his name on the map last winter by leading the Go-Hawks in scoring.
Now, he’s impressing on the grassroots circuit while playing up a grade with Iowa Intensity 16u.
Hansen — a 6-foot-2 guard — is a marksman first and foremost, that, paired with his ability to handle the ball certainly makes him an intriguing hoops prospect.
“I feel like I’m a pretty good shooter, I like to shoot off the dribble and I like to hit a floater in the lane,” said Hansen. “I’m pretty good at ball-handling and passing, but I’m working on my full-speed dribbling and passing on the run, things like that.”
Hansen came into his freshman season with the Go-Hawks expecting to have some role with the varsity; but as a result of last year’s leading scorer Luke Velky sustaining a season-ending injury, Hansen wound up taking on a much larger role than anticipated.
“I had a bigger role in the offense than I thought I was going to heading into the season, and I thought I played alright, but I didn’t shoot as good of a percentage as I wanted to,” said Hansen, who averaged 14.0 points and shot 38% from deep.
Also a talented golfer, Hansen — who is named after legendary golfer Ben Hogan — is one of the state’s best on the links, too.
This spring and summer, he’ll be balancing offseason hoops with golf.
“I’m playing with Iowa Intensity and we’re playing mostly around the Midwest, and in June I’ll play in a bunch of school tournaments as well; and I’ll be playing some summer golf, too,” said Hansen.
As for which sport he prefers, it’s basketball. But he hasn’t ruled out pursuing golf at the next level.
“If I could choose, I’d pick basketball over golf,” Hansen said. But it really depends how I get recruited.”