Soukup Twins Skills Clinic Notebook
For six weeks in the fall, former Danville standout guards Michael and Steven Soukup run a skills clinic for southeast Iowa players at Danville High School. This past Sunday evening was the final skills session and scrimmages of the fall. Below we take a look at some of the standouts among the 16 players in attendance.
2019 6-4 W Gavin Kies (Burlington Notre Dame)
Far and away the most impressive player throughout the evening was this Burlington Notre Dame wing. At 6-4, he has good size and length. He competes on the glass on both ends of the floor, is a solid ball handler and an effective scorer from all three levels. The area where he shone, though, was with his shooting. He was tearing the nets apart with a beautiful, smooth stroke from deep. He gets the ball high and shoots it at a high level both off the catch and the dribble. He shot just 27% from the arc last season, but certainly didn’t look like a 27% shooter on Sunday night. He’s brimming with confidence, and looks like he’s primed for a massive senior year with the Nikes.
2019 6-7 PF Keaton Mitchell (Wapello)
The Division II Truman State commit has become much more fluid with his post moves over the last year or so. It used to look like he was perhaps thinking too much about it when he was making a move, and it looked a bit robotic. He’s now letting the game flow naturally and as a result, he’s much quicker and smoother with his moves. He has the ability to finish with either hand at the rim, rebounds and protects the rim. He’s adding range to his jumper, displaying a smooth shot from the free throw line and in now.
2019 6-11 C Alex Wolter (Keokuk)
Wolter is an intriguing big man for JuCo programs to take a look at, and it’s because this young man is HUGE. He’s got a big frame and is fairly agile for a young big man with his size. He has solid touch with either hand around the rim, and if he gets early position, good luck to the defender. I’d like to see him post up more aggressively in the halfcourt, and he needs to rebound at a higher level for his size, but there are some tools here to work with. You can’t teach size, and he has some physical tools here to play with as well.
2019 6-3 W Rhett Zeglen (Mount Pleasant)
Mount Pleasant loses their top five scorers from last year’s state qualifying group, and Zeglen is the leading returning scorer. He had a strong showing on Sunday night, particularly shooting the ball from deep. He’s a high-level shooter from the arc who is deadly when given a bit of space. The Panthers are his team now, and he’ll need to play at a high level for them to be successful.
2019 5-11 PG Bryce Carr (Danville)
Carr was far and away the assists leader for the Bears last season with 151 (the next closest was 52), and he put on a passing clinic during 5-on-5 play. He’s constantly looking to push the tempo, full steam ahead off of makes or misses, and he has fantastic court vision. In the halfcourt, he made some really nice pocket passes in the pick-and-roll, hitting his roll man with perfect dimes for layups. He’s a strong finisher at the rim, with the ability to absorb contact and finish through it. He’s not much of a shooter, but with his passing ability and ability to break down a defense and get to the rim, he doesn’t really need to be.