IA Freshman Showcase: Team 2 Evaluations

Competing at the 2023 IA Freshman Showcase were 60+ players, separated into 8 different teams. As well as being a scout in the building for the day, I was also a coach on Court 1. I had the privilege of coaching Team 2 a handful of times throughout the event, giving me an inside look as to what each player excels at individually and what they need work on moving forward. I will be listing each player by their jersey number assigned at the event (for video purposes if someone wants to look back on BallerTV), name, current height, current position, & high school they will be attending this fall. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!   Lets meet the players..   #211 - Khairi Harper - 5'7 - PG - North Scott High School   Khairi Harper's game is smooth. He moves effortlessly with the ball in his hands as he comes down the floor. When watching basketball a good amount you start to notice players that have a "feel" for the game and players that "float" with the ball in their hands, Harper is both of those. He has an advanced "feel" for the game, while being a legit ball-handler that floats when he is in motion. On Sunday, Harper did a little bit of everything. He was an important part to his teams success on the court, while always trying to get his teammates involved. Overall, I saw some nice glimpses of what he could be over the next few years. An impact player for North Scott.   #214 - [player_tooltip player_id='2401396' first='Prince' last='Weagbah'] - 5'6 - PG - Sioux City North High School   [player_tooltip player_id='2401396' first='Prince' last='Weagbah'] is a smaller point guard that can handle his own on the basketball court. On Sunday as the day went on, Prince got better and better. In his last contest of the day Prince had 15+ points, a few steals, a handful of rebounds, and a couple of assists for his team. He was lighting it up from deep and making some really tough buckets over bigger players that switched onto him. I'm not sure of SC North's high school roster going into this winter exactly but I do know that over the next few years, if Prince can become extremely efficient shooting the ball and distribute at the rate he did Sunday, he is going to be a important piece over the next few years in that program. Only time will tell though.   #217 - Isaiah Snead - 5'6 - PG - Kennedy High School   Some maybe surprised by this but when we are talking about players on Sunday at the Freshman Showcase who have high ceilings, Isaiah Snead of Kennedy is definitely in that conversation. Snead is a fundamental and efficient player. He keeps it simple and because of that, he makes a lot of good things happen. He lets the game come to him and does really well producing without the ball in his hands. He does a fantastic job of understanding his spacing and where he needs to be to receive an open pass from a teammate or make a pass to an open teammate himself. Over the next few years I would keep an eye on Snead. As he gets older and physically bigger, he could come out of nowhere to be a known player throughout the state of Iowa.   #223 - J.J. Seay - 5'7 - PG/SG - Des Moines North High School   [player_tooltip player_id='2420807' first='JJ' last='Seay'] is a player that is going to have a nice high school career if he stays dedicated to the craft. Seay is a gamer. A competitor. A player that has an aggressive offensive demeanor, while being crafty with the basketball in his possession. On a number of occasions on Sunday, Seay was a positive influence on the court for his team. Wether it was scoring the ball or helping his team on defense, it didn't matter. Whatever would help his team, Seay was about it. He displayed good knowledge for the game and understood his role really well. He was a player that consistently made the right play on Sunday, something that really stood out to myself and the other coach on the floor.   #254 - [player_tooltip player_id='2419796' first='Jaxson' last='McIntire'] - 6'0 - CG - Clear Lake High School   [player_tooltip player_id='2419796' first='Jaxson' last='McIntire'] has size, strength, and a nice guard skill-set to go along with both of those. McIntire was all over the court for his team on Sunday. If he wasn't flying on the ground for a loose ball, he was knocking down a shot from deep or getting all the way to the rim for a tough finish. McIntire was one of the strongest kids I had the privilege of coaching all day at this Showcase. He understands his body and the advantage he has VS smaller/weaker opponents. If he expands his range, while physically growing over the next few years, he could be an interesting college prospect as he gets more experience under his belt.   #260 - William Van Vark - 6'0 - SG - Knoxville High School   Williams Van Vark plays hard. A guard whose natural first reaction is to put the ball on the floor, does a good job of keeping his dribble and getting all the way to the hoop against his opponents. On several occasions at the Showcase, Van Vark caught on the perimeter and got to the rim in 2 basic dribbles against his defender, just basically blowing by them with his mixture of speed and power. If he wasn't driving, he was catching the ball from behind the arch and letting it fly, making about half of his shot attempts from deep on the day. Knoxville high school is going to have something here with Van Vark. If they use him in the correct way, he could be trouble for opponents over the next few years.   #269 - [player_tooltip player_id='2265812' first='Fami' last='Yusuf'] - 6'3 - CG - Sioux City East High School   [player_tooltip player_id='2265812' first='Fami' last='Yusuf'] was my player of the day. An athlete who works hard, has a ton of skill, and can jump out of the gym. There wasn't anything that Yusuf couldn't do. He was the point guard for his team taking it coast-to-coast for a dunk on occasions, he moved to shooting guard position and knocked down a few pull up jumpers in each contest, he would post up whenever he had a smaller guard switch onto him, and he defended all positions with major success. Moving forward, remember the name. The ceiling for this kid is high and his future is bright when it comes to the sport of basketball.   #274 - [player_tooltip player_id='2419840' first='Cayden' last='Larson'] - 6'5 - C - Prairie High School   One of the most fundamental players that competed on Sunday in the Freshman Showcase was Caden Larson. Larson stands at 6'5 going into his freshman year, with great footwork and hands near the basket. Honestly, that's what was most impressive about his game. He knows his size well and how to use it. When a double team comes, he knows to step through it or pass to an open teammate across the floor. When kids are growing into their bodies they can be awkward and uncoordinated as they learn, you can tell that Larson doesn't have this issue. His foundation is solid. He just needs to keep working on the right things and he is going to have a nice high school career at CR-Prairie high school.

Competing at the 2023 IA Freshman Showcase were 60+ players, separated into 8 different teams. As well as being a scout in the building for the day, I was also a coach on Court 1. I had the privilege of coaching Team 2 a handful of times throughout the event, giving me an inside look as to what each player excels at individually and what they need work on moving forward. I will be listing each player by their jersey number assigned at the event (for video purposes if someone wants to look back on BallerTV), name, current height, current position, & high school they will be attending this fall. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!