Underclassman Names You Need to Learn
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William Terrones, Gilbert 2026: The Tigers young PG caught my attention right off the bat in their matchup with now #1 in 3A Bondurant-Farrar. Terrones pushes the ball exceptionally in transition, fires crisp passes, and guides his teammates to open…
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Continue ReadingWilliam Terrones, Gilbert 2026: The Tigers young PG caught my attention right off the bat in their matchup with now #1 in 3A Bondurant-Farrar. Terrones pushes the ball exceptionally in transition, fires crisp passes, and guides his teammates to open spots. He can turn on another gear in transition and few cats can catch him in the open court. He showed great poise, pivoting, and head fakes to help spring himself to open looks and cash in on a few floaters offensively!
Brock Badding, Kuemper 2026: Kid can fill it up in bunches! It doesn’t take much time, and, or, space for the freshman sharp shooter to get off a look for the Knights. He’s made great reads coming off screens and has caused fits for defenders trying to stay attached. Defenses will key in on him and are still struggling to prevent him from letting a deep ball fly with his pure shooting stroke. Hitting at a clip of over 37%, Badding provides a nice shooting spark off the bench for a solid Kuemper Knights squad.
Kyle Cason, Valley 2025: The 6 foot sophomore guard and the Valley Tigers are hitting their stride! Cason is a part of a very talented Valley 2025 class on the hardwood, and the group has settled in, gotten healthy, and have them in prime position to make a deep postseason run. Cason is not a high-volume scorer but he doesn’t force passes or shots, makes efficient offensive reads and isn’t afraid to do the dirty work. In the upset win over previous #1 and undefeated Waukee NW, Cason was a smooth sailor, stepped to the line 8 times, and drained all 8 (most of which were high pressure/late game foul shots). Cason is also shooting a blistering 48% from deep!
Prestige Taylor Prestige Taylor 5'11" | PG Johnston | 2025 State IA , Johnston 2025: The Johnston Dragon plays about as fearless as I have seen from a player this season! He showed he was willing to put his body on the line with tough take after tough take in traffic in a win over Urbandale. Taylor just needs a sliver of space to attack his defender and he ends up in the paint creating scoring chances for himself or feeding an open teammate after the defense has been drawn to him. The sophomore showcased great defensive pressure, active hands, and a quick vertical off the floor to stuff the stat sheet in more than one way. Excited to watch his development and growth the next few years!
Nitish Sankaranthi Nitish Sankaranthi 6'7" | SF Waukee Northwest | 2025 State IA , Waukee Northwest 2025: I have become a big fan of Sankaranthi and his game through watching him a few times this season in big conference games. The sophomore forward has a knack to keep his feet moving and positioning himself well in scoring spots in the Wolves offense. Standing at 6’7 already, Sankaranthi provides a big hand in an exceptional defensive presence for one of the top 4A teams in the state. Battle tested against some of the best forwards/centers in the state, Nitish continues to hold his own, protect the rim, and become more well-rounded on the court!