Coach’s Take: Kingdom Hoops 17U Elite (Part III)
For several years now, Kingdom Hoops has been establishing itself as one of Iowa’s strongest grassroots programs. And this past season, it could be argued that — in terms of sheer numbers — they had more talent within their 17U program than any other in Iowa. The Des Moines-based organization had so much to work with, that they were able to put two elite teams on the floor. Both were successful, and both were chock-full of Iowa talent. Here, we allow first-year boy’s basketball director and 17U coach Vance Mosley to give his take on each of his elite squad players.
Boy’s basketball director and 17U Elite coach, Vance Mosley
Steve Borneman, 6’2 G (Dallas Center-Grimes)
“His motor, man, that guy has a motor. You’re never going to outwork him, and guys like that, you can never really count out. He’s a guy that does a little but of everything; he can rebound, he can handle it, he can knock down the open shot. He can do those skill things, but his best skill is his motor. He’s never out of gas. It’s a thing with him where he uses that to his advantage, and he’s going to outwork his opponent, and get to his spots and rebounds and fights, and will do it for a full game. DC-G has a really good player with Steve. The biggest thing with him that we’re working on right now is just leading. He’s a leader. Guys that work that hard are leaders, and he needs to understand that. I believe they’re going to go back to state this year, and it will be fun to watch him.
James Betz, 6’6 F (Garner-Hayfield-Ventura) *2019 playing up
“Everybody knows the talent that he has, and he’s every bit of a Division I talent. He went mid-major, and he’s a guy that is a high-major talent, and I’ll stand by that. the best thing about James, is he is a great young man. At the end of the day, you’re going to be a man much longer than a basketball player. He’s a guy that leads, he encourages, he’s positive, he gets on guys and holds them accountable. And then he has his talents to go along with that. We all know about the basketball side of James, he’s bouncy, he can shoot it. But my favorite part about James is he’s truly a fun kid to be around and to watch lead.”
Camden Vander Zwaag, 6’3 SG (Johnston)
“I think he’s one of the best shooters in the state, if not the best shooter in the state. He’s a guy who is at Kingdom Hoops almost as much as I am, and I’m there quote a bit. He’s a gym rat, and that’s what I love about him. He loves to get in the gym and work on his shot and his game. He really expanded his game to more than just a shooter this year. He’s got the one-dribble pull-up, two-bounce pull-up, floater, and he’s really holding himself accountable on the defensive end. The fact that he didn’t box himself in as just a shooter is exciting. A lot of kids, they give themselves these roles or titles, and he wanted to expand on that. Don’t get me wrong , the kid can shoot it, but he can do more than that now. He’s a great all-around basketball player now.”