Block’s Week 3 Roundup-Senior Performers

Recapping some of the basketball action I saw in week 3 of Iowa High School basketball from the senior class.   [player_tooltip player_id="796181" first="Taurice" last="Grant"], Meskwaki Settlement High School (2021) Going up against a taller interior presence, in Monday’s game against Grand View Christian, Meskwaki found it tough to go inside. Grant did do well for himself shooting 40% from the perimeter and helping his team continue to keep it close with a good Thunder team. Grant would finish the game with 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. He’s definitely one that his teammates look to facilitate offense for himself and for them to play off of. His athleticism helps him get by defenders with speed, and pick the pocket of opposing ball handlers. Though the Warriors did end up dropping the game to Grand View Christian, they were competitive the entire game, and showed they could be a player in the Class 1A race. [player_tooltip player_id="964848" first="Marvion" last="Jackson"], West Burlington High School (2021) One of the more impressive performers from my week of watching games. The 6’5 Jackson, was kind of known to me as a post player, but in the game against New London he showed he can do more than that. Though he only stepped out and shot the 3pt shot one time throughout the game, he made it and it looked good coming off of his hands and in rhythm. He finished the game with a stat line of 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He showed that he could hit a 15 foot jumpshot, and that he can take the ball to the basket off the bounce against a tough matchup in [player_tooltip player_id="956872" first="Kade" last="Benjamin"] of New London. Jackson has good athleticism, and should be one to watch for in Class 2A. [player_tooltip player_id="964909" first="Darian" last="Johnson"], West Burlington High School (2021) The Falcons second leading scorer on the team so far this year, Johnson, impressed me with his defensive intensity. His first half matchup against [player_tooltip player_id="956871" first="Blaise" last="Porter"], was done well by the senior, and I thought he did a nice job defending Tigers top man. Though he had a night to forget shooting the ball from the perimeter, he made other things happen offensively to end the game with 14 points for his team. The pesky guard will need to continue his defensive prowess throughout the rest of the season for the Falcons to go deep into the season. [player_tooltip player_id="964813" first="Trey" last="Baker"], Martensdale-St Mary’s High School (2021) The 6’4 senior got off to a slow start in the game against Nodaway Valley, but over time kept getting things going. He started inside by getting buckets around the hoop off of post moves, dump downs, or offensive rebounds. He then started hitting jumpshots on the perimeter ending the game shooting 50% from the outside. The thing that most impressed me with Baker was the way he didn’t seem like he stopped playing, always playing to the whistle and getting after loose balls. Things that don’t show up on the stat line but are important for team success. Baker ended the game with a stat line of 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists for the Blue Devils as they have started the season 5-0. [player_tooltip player_id="796177" first="Carson" last="Elbert"], Martensadale-St Mary’s High School (2021) The thing that Elbert did well in the win against Nodaway Valley was find the open man. He was good at moving the ball and finding where the ball should go for a good shot within the offense. He didn’t have his best shooting night, but did end up with 10 points and 7 assists on only 1 turnover throughout the game. The way the Blue Devils share the ball is definitely the reason for the success they have been having early on in the season and Elbert plays a big part in that. [player_tooltip player_id="796180" first="Jack" last="Franey"], Martensdale-St Mary’s High School (2021) Another part of the Blue Devils high level of sharing the ball, is [player_tooltip player_id="796180" first="Jack" last="Franey"]. The senior, listed at 5’7, is someone who leads the team in assists per game at 8.4 and ended the game against Nodaway Valley with 8 assists to go along with 12 points. He contributed 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the win as well. You can tell with Franey that the ball is going to get into the right spot for the offense to succeed. [player_tooltip player_id="964879" first="Toby" last="Bower"], Nodaway Valley High School (2021) On the other side of this game, Nodaway Valley showed resilience to keep this game tight, and when it looked like the Blue Devils could take control of the game, the Wolverines would string some possessions together and get right back into it. Bower was a big part of that, as he finished the game with 15 points, and 6 rebounds on 42.9% shooting from the field. Bower is the leading scorer for the Wolverines at 17.7 points per game, and will continue to be a big part of their offense on a competitive Class 1A school. [player_tooltip player_id="796121" first="Kyle" last="Kelley"], West Delaware High School (2021) Even though his day ended early for the Hawks because of fouls, Kelley is definitely the player that is looked at to score points for this team. He didn’t have the greatest shooting game against Beckman on Friday, but what he did was got the offense going and drew defensive attention to himself which helps his teammates get better shots. The senior also helps his team on the boards as well as he brought in 8 to go along with 12 points and 2 assists. I liked his aggressiveness throughout the game to search for his shot. [player_tooltip player_id="964934" first="Mason" last="White"], Beckman Catholic High School (2021) The Trailblazers are off to a good start in the young season, and [player_tooltip player_id="964934" first="Mason" last="White"] is a big part of why. White is an efficient scorer for his team, leading the way with 21.4 points per game. He put that on display on Friday as he came out and shot 60% from the field, 66.7% from 3pt range and helping close out the game on 10/12 shooting from the free throw stripe. I was impressed by White’s patience with the ball, at the beginning of the game he didn’t have much space to operate in, but as the game wore on he started creating more space, but even in the beginning he didn’t come out jacking up shots that weren’t good shots. He will need to continue that patience in order for Beckman to continue success in Class 2A. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Jack-Gehling.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1027413" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Jack-Gehling-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="964931" first="Jack" last="Gehling"], Beckman Catholic High School (2021) The 6’5 senior put in a good performance on Friday for the Trailblazers finishing the game with 13 points and 8 rebounds on 57.1% shooting from the field. He had his shooting touch with him against West Delaware as he made a couple catch and shoot jumpshots from all-around the court. The Hawks didn’t really have an answer for either White or Gehling throughout the game. With the emergence of Gehling, and if he can be consistent scorer for this team, Beckman will be a player. [player_tooltip player_id="964868" first="Blayde" last="Bellis"], Wapsie Valley High School (2021) In a game full of runs from both teams, Wapsie Valley ended up victorious on Saturday in a game played at Upper Iowa University. The heady lead guard Bellis, was good for the Warriors, finishing the game with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists with only 2 turnovers on the game. Bellis brought a calm presence to a game that could’ve gotten out of control on either side, but timely made shots, and taking care of the ball Bellis would help his team take control of the game.