Iowa’s Premier Performers (Week 2)
Each week, there’s a handful of individual performances around the state that are eye-catching. And each Tuesday, we’ll highlight those stat-lines here. Triple-doubles and 50-point performances are sought-after for these “Premier Performers” lists. We also like high efficiency games and…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingEach week, there’s a handful of individual performances around the state that are eye-catching. And each Tuesday, we’ll highlight those stat-lines here. Triple-doubles and 50-point performances are sought-after for these “Premier Performers” lists. We also like high efficiency games and total stat-stuffers. Below, you’ll find 10 striking performances from this past week.
Nick Reid, Central City — 57 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals
This was a record-breaking performance for Reid, the previous Central City single-game high was 56. Reid connected on a technical free-throw with a minute left in the game to give him his 57th-point. Which was kind of fitting, being that he connected on 22 free-throws in the game. Reid’s 57 points is the most we’ve seen in a game since we started covering hoops in the state five years ago.
Jake Hull, Grinnell — 37 points, 16 rebounds
This performance Hull strung together on Friday against Newton comes as a very small surprise to us. We watched Hull dominate opponents down in Kansas City this summer with Iowa Intensity 16U, like routine 40-point games while dominating the glass. So why wouldn’t he did the same come winter? Here he is, doing it.
Parker Hitt, Mormon Trail — 44 points, 9 rebounds, 9 steals, 4 assists
This came on Tuesday during a 40-point win over Diagonal. Here’s a stat: Hitt outscored the entire Maroons roster in this game, 44 to 43. The points here are great, but look at those steals numbers. Mormon Trail likes to get up and go, and Hitt clearly is adept at turning defense into offense. He’ll land on this list again sometime soon, we think.
Andrew Gibb, St. Edmond — 40 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
We knew it wouldn’t be long before this veteran sharpshooter landed on this list, and it only took two weeks. He dropped 40 on Southeast Valley last Tuesday night, and impressively did so on 14-19 shooting. This is the first of what could be several 40-point games for the lengthy senior.
Tyrese Nickelson, Waterloo East — 34 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
What’s most impressive about this performance is it came the game after another outstanding 27 point, 9 rebound, 7 assist night. This 6-foot- guard is absolutely lighting up the scoreboards this season, the 34 points here is his season-high so far, his 29.8 points per game is second-best in 4A.
Kieran Nichols, Knoxville — 37 points, 3 assists
This guy has gotten off to a blistering start this season, and is definitely one of the early-season surprises in Iowa. The 37 points here is what’s striking, but he’s been scoring at a high clip all season. As of now, Nichols’ 29.3 points per game is the best in the state for Class 3A.
Collin Lister, Carlisle — 37 points, 5 steals, 4 assists
Here’s a guy that we definitely consider a stat-stuffer, and that’s what he did in a Carlisle win over Perry last Friday night. How about the efficiency here, Lister scored the 37 points on 17-21 shooting. The five steals suggest that he’s putting forth max effort on both sides of the ball.
Braden Gibbons, Madrid — 16 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds
Triple-doubles are always likely to make these lists, and Gibbons has been flirting with them plenty throughout Madrid’s 6-0 start to the season. He got one last Thursday during an 83-52 win over Baxter. The double-digit assists are the tough number to get in a trip-doub, but since Gibbons is averaging that so far this season (10.6 APG), he could be among the state-leaders in the feat by season’s end.
Ryan Schmitt, Van Meter — 18 points, 24 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks
Schmitt, who is also a Player of the Week candidate, had two performances that could have been on this list. We chose this one because the rebounding prowess here is ridiculous. The 24 boards is the highest rebound total in the state so far this season. In his other game last week, the 6-foot-10 post had nine blocks. He’s going to be dominant all winter.
Tyreke Locure, Des Moines North — 37 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals
We might as well just reserve a spot for Locure each week on this list. He’s been putting up video game numbers since he was a freshman, and now, the wily senior is ramping it up a bit. It’s just silly the stat-lines he stringing together this season. The unstoppable South Alabama recruit put together this gem of a game against Norwalk during an 80-65 win last Saturday.