Hard Work Region Kickoff: Sunday Standouts

<p>The Hard Work Region Kickoff wrapped up on Sunday in Iowa. Here are seven of the best prospects that I saw on the final day of action: </p> <p><strong>Ty Pflughaupt -- 6-foot-5 -- F -- Iowa Prep 2024</strong></p> <p>Pflughaupt may have earned himself a spot on the 16U all-tournament first team after his performance on Sunday morning. That’s how good he was. Using his 6-foot-5 frame with long arms, Pflughaupt was able to finish around the rim at some pretty unique angles. The forward also showed off a smooth stroke from deep, as he drained four threes in a blowout win for Iowa Prep. Pflughaupt finished with 20 points on eight made field goals. </p> <p><strong>Griffin Gerdes -- 6-foot -- PG -- Iowa Prep 2024</strong></p> <p>For a younger player, I was really impressed with Gerdes’ poise under pressure. Opposing defenders were in guarding him closely all game, but Gerdes didn’t panic. He used his tremendous ball handling skills to slickly navigate around defenders and drive to the rim for easy layups. The PG finished with 11 points in the winning effort for Iowa Prep. </p> <p><strong>Da’jon Sharkey -- 5-foot-10 -- PG -- Waterloo Salvation 2024 </strong></p> <p>Sharkey has one of the quickest first steps that I have seen at the 16U level. He uses this speed to leave opposing defenders behind him while he drives to the hoop for a layup. When he gets to the rim, Sharkey has a strong build, which he uses to finish through contact in the paint. The point guard doesn’t just get his work done around the hoop, though. He is also capable of knocking down outside shots. </p> <p><strong>Dezmund Jackson -- 6-foot-3 -- SG -- Iowa Mavs 2024</strong></p> <p>Jackson had a really solid weekend. He led his team to a 4-0 record and raised his stock. In the last game of the weekend, the shooting guard got off to a bit of a slow start. He had a couple of turnovers and missed some shots. But he quickly got on track and played his best when it mattered most. Down the stretch, Jackson couldn’t be stopped. He scored six points in the closing minutes and pushed his team to victory. The SG finished with 17 points in the winning effort. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="956879" first="Tate" last="Petersen"] -- 6-foot -- PG -- Iowa Mavs 2023</strong></p> <p>Even though his team lost a heartbreaker in overtime, I thought that Petersen played well. The 6-foot point guard is one of the top prospects in Iowa’s 2023 class and he certainly played like it. A confident shooter, terrific passer, and overall solid floor general, Petersen was no doubt one of the better players in the gym on Sunday. He was able to score 14 points in the losing effort. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1167718" first="Colby" last="Dolphin"] -- 6-foot -- PG -- Iowa Prep 2023</strong></p> <p>I really like the way that Dolphin plays. He isn’t the type of point guard to make it all about him. Even though he does have the ball in his hands most of the time, Dolphin looks to pass to open teammates before he begins to worry about his own scoring stats. However, even though scoring isn’t always his first priority, the point guard does know how to put the ball in the hoop. He scored 13 points for Iowa Prep in a blowout win on Sunday. </p> <p><strong>Jabari Lee -- 6-foot-5 -- SF -- Together As One 2025 </strong></p> <p>Lee is going to be a prospect to track in Wisconsin’s 2025 class. He still has a lot of developing to do, but what I saw on Sunday was very impressive. The small forward had multiple big dunks and also was able to swat a few shots. With his athletic ability and size, I think that Lee could end up being a real problem at the high school level.  </p>