Last month, the top teams and players from the state of Iowa took to the road to participate in some of the top summer basketball tournaments in the country. Many players impressed enough to land scholarship offers while younger players put their name on the recruiting map for the future.
Now that the travel team season has come to an end we have decided to take a look back at how the teams performed. After our review we came up with team rankings based upon how they did this past season. That said, here's a look at how we thought they stacked up.
17U Team Rankings
1. All-Iowa Attack Red – They started off the season a little erratic and even lost Harrison Barnes, but since then they have performed very well and even won the Next Level Invitational to go along with an earlier title at the Jayhawk Invitational. They are a nice looking bunch led by Iowa commitment Zach McCabe and TrayVonn Wright.
2. Iowa Barnstormers – This team has been solid, but not spectacular this season. They never won anything big, but they always competed well against top level competition. They are led by the dynamic duo of Will Artino (Creighton) and Nate Buss (UNI).
3. Martin Brothers – This group is hard to put a finger on. They lost to the Barnstormers, but defeated Attack Red. They looked good at times, but then would look merely average at others. They have been led all season by Doug McDermott and Jordan Dykstra.
Just missed: Iowa Mavericks Black and All-Iowa Attack Black
16U Team Rankings
1. Iowa Barnstormers – Consistently good is the best way to describe this team. They went deep in everything they entered and proved that they could compete with anybody. They never played against AIA Red, but they did face Martin Brothers in a game they easily rolled to victory. They are led by Josh Oglesby and Seth Tuttle.
2. All-Iowa Attack Red – This team is a close second as they proved they could also compete with anyone this summer. They weren’t as consistent as the Barnstormers, but when they clicked they were special to watch. They were led by sharp-shooter Kelly Madison and Grant Lang.
3. Martin Brothers – It’s hard to describe this team. On paper they look great, but on the court they never really put it all together. Something seemed to be missing. However, they did make a nice run to win the Gold bracket in Milwaukee. Leading the way was Matt Bohannon and Tavian Pomlee.
Just missed: Iowa Mavericks Blue and Bound 4 Glory
15U Team Rankings
1. Martin Brothers – They are the top team in this age group and it isn’t even close. These kids are fun to watch as they go out and win game after game. The trio of Marcus Paige, Mike Gessell and Adam Woodbury are fantastic in just about every way imaginable. Expect big things out of this team in the future.
2. All-Iowa Attack Red – This team was good throughout the season. Most years, this team would be ranked #1, but being #2 on this list isn’t so bad. This squad is led by Cory Meyers and Amarra Darboh.
3. Iowa Barnstormers – Sometimes this team looked very, very good and at other times looked very, very bad. They have some talent, but just don’t seem to have the maturity or leadership to keep them focused on playing to win. If they figure things out this team might surprise next season. They are led by Taylor Olson and Anthony Shaw.
Just missed: Iowa Stars and Bad Boys
14U Team Rankings
1. Iowa Barnstormers Gold – They have a talented squad and it showed all season long as they won a bunch of games. They also notched a couple victories over the other top programs in the state to include our #2 and #3 ranked teams. They won the USSSA Midwest Showdown and the Iowa 8th grade AAU state championship. They are led by nationally ranked power forward Josh Weeber.
2. All-Iowa Attack Red – This team was a close second to our #1 ranked team. Led by Peter Jok, who one service has ranked #1 in the nation, this team was very successful and won their fair share of games and tournaments. They are talented group and it will be fun to see how these guys fair this winter with their high school teams.
3. Iowa Storm – Over the last few years this has been the team to beat. This year, the pack finally caught up them and passed them just a little. Though they didn’t win as often as they did in the past, they went deep in most tournaments and had chances to win them. They were led by guard Jared Jones.
Just missed: The Pack and All-Iowa Attack Black
Now that you have seen our rankings, share your thoughts with us.
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You hit it on the head with the 15u stormers, needed a leader(s) to emerge and maturity was an issue. When they were good they could beat almost anyone but didn't show that consistency needed to be great. And I am speaking as their coach and as their coach take responsibility for that; however; I do expect HUGE things from this group next year as they mature. This group did grow leaps and bounds from the prior year but next year needs to grow and be consistently good!!! We can do it fellaz!!!
ReplyDeleteOverall I think the rankings look good IAHOOPS team!!
14U, the Attack should be #1. Yes, the Barnstormers did beat them but with Peter Jok who can drop 30 any game, they should be #1. Nothing against the Barnstormers, they have a very very good team. But when you make the rankings for the 14U group. You need to watch the freshman from Des Moines Roosevelt and Des Moines Lincoln high schools. These 2 schools look to have some GREAT PLAYERS in this age group. (Des moines Roosevelt has 2 players off of the Iowa Storm and 2 players off of the Attack, one being Peter Jok. Des Moines Lincoln has a very athletic forward with the last name of "Young" and a lights out shooter with the last name of "Decker". In the 3 games I watched them play both Decker and Young combined for about 40 points.) And as always Dowling Catholic and Linn Mar have some great players.
ReplyDelete-AAU coach (14U age group)
I agree, Des Moines players look to have more talent this year than in the years past
ReplyDelete