Brawl for the Ball – Saints 16U

Sioux Falls, SD - On Saturday and Sunday, Prep Hoops hosted a variety of Midwest teams in Sioux Falls at the Brawl for the Ball. One team, Swarm, represented Iowa across age divisions. Here's a breakdown of their 16U squad.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/05/brawl-for-the-ball-swarm-15u/">Brawl for the Ball – Swarm 15U-1</a>   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/05/brawl-for-the-ball-swarm-15u-2/">Brawl for the Ball – Swarm 15U-2</a>   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/05/brawl-for-the-ball-swarm-16u/">Brawl for the Ball – Swarm 16U</a>    A player I wanted to watch after getting a first look at the rosters for the Brawl for the Ball, [player_tooltip player_id='3581751' first='Xavier' last='Derocher'] was what I was looking for as a 6-foot-6 big.   A product of West Monona, Derocher effectively uses his length to finish at the rim, looking to attack off paint touches. Always looking to get the offensive board, Derocher is an annoying matchup for opposing teams on the glass. He's also a switchable defender on the other side of the ball, making him a major plus in the pick and roll in drop coverage or switching, where he can use his quickness, length and athleticism to garner pass deflections or switch onto smaller, quick guards.     Coming off the bench for the Saints, [player_tooltip player_id='3592743' first='Braylon' last='Dean'] is a long wing that can serve as a non-turnover prone, secondary ball-handler.   A high IQ, pest of a defender, Dean knows where he's at relative to the ball, taking advantage of lackadaisacal ball-handlers and forcing turnovers. With less than 30 seconds before half, he blitzed an opponent who picked up his dribble, poking the ball away and getting out in transition for an easy deuce.     The primary ball-handler for the Saints, [player_tooltip player_id='3581539' first='Colin' last='Grom'] faced fullcourt pressure on almost every possession in the game I was able to watch. He handled it well, and often made the opposing team pay. Rather than giving up turnovers, Grom would use his speed to blow by defenders and either dump off a pass to a big, or take it himself.   Taking on help defenders at the rim, Grom adjusted well in the air to finish at the rim -- he finished two good looking reverse layups on Sunday -- or he took a foul and went to the free throw line.     One of the day one standouts in Sioux Falls, [player_tooltip player_id='3624051' first='Cooper' last='Schmitt'] is a physical forward that will impose his will in the paint, either looking to score or grab rebounds.   Willing to put his body into someone in the paint, Schmitt can create with a power-dribble at the rim, opening up space to go up and finish a layup. Off rebounds, Schmitt looks up to start the fastbreak, finding either an outlet to keep the ball moving, or looking all the way down to the court to find a teammate for a layup. Able to step out and hit the three, too, Schmitt does a lot of different things for the Saints that make him a problem for opposing teams.     A plus defender with his size and length, Simon Malualdit was a major asset for the Saints on defense, especially. Used to pressure the ball late in the game facing a deficit, Malualdit has the frame to defend multiple one though four, possessing athleticism to keep up with wings and forwards and the size to matchup with bigs.   With room to grow as an offensive player, Malualdit would benefit from working on his handle and his jumpshot.

Sioux Falls, SD - On Saturday and Sunday, Prep Hoops hosted a variety of Midwest teams in Sioux Falls at the Brawl for the Ball. One team, Swarm, represented Iowa across age divisions. Here's a breakdown of their 16U squad.