Recruiting Report: Cole Sienknecht (2018)
Cole Sienknecht leaves little gray area when explaining just how eager he is to begin his final season of grassroots basketball.
“I’ve never been more excited for anything in my entire life,” the 6-foot-1 2018 guard said. “It’s the last spring and summer I’ll be able to play for The Force. We’ve been working out a lot. Me and my coaches have been working relentlessly, just trying to be prepared for this next summer. We’re just training until we can’t train anymore.”
The Force 17U squad will have a new look this spring, bolstered by additions that include Overland players Daijon Smith, Tucson Redding and Goy Wang and Rocky Mountain guard Xavier Johnson. The squad also returns a number of player’s from last season’s 16U Elite squad, and Sienknecht is a big part of that contingent.
As a junior at Manitou Springs this past season, Sienknecht helped lead the Mustangs to a 22-3 season and a berth in the Class 3A quarterfinals by averaging 13.7 points per game. He hit 38 3-pointers and shot 84 percent from the free-throw line.
The tough, skilled guard caught our attention last fall when he was one of the standouts at the Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo, more than holding his own against players from top classifications. He followed that performance up with a junior season that had Manitou Springs targeting a state title for much of the season.
Sienknecht hasn’t rested much since the high school season ended earlier this month. He has been working with Force 16U coach Bryce Velasquez on his jump shot and driving ability. With 17U coach Chris Lambrecht the focus is on footwork and mastering the nuances of the game through fundamentals that can help Sienknecht be a stronger lead guard.
“The combination of the two kind of molds together perfectly,” Sienknecht said.
Sienknecht is eager to show colleges this spring and summer what hard work over the past year has done for his game. We can view him as a potential Division II lead guard, particularly as he continues to strengthen his frame and expand his offensive skill-set.
He’s also eager to see what kind of damage a team full of new faces can do when the club season begins in earnest with the Prep Hoops Spring Kick Off on April 7.
“We’ve changed a lot since last year,” he said. “We’ve had four full practices and everything seems to be clicking in pretty quick.”