Hoops Recruiting Notebook: First spring evaluation period was kind to Iowa preps

A lot of Iowa high school basketball players took advantage of the first spring evaluation period last weekend, and many experts took notice.

Preps from the Hawkeye state were all over the country competing in grassroots tournaments while college coaches could watch and take notes. Some stayed here in Des Moines while others made trips down to Texas and beyond.

A slew of Iowa teams went to Dallas for the Lone Star Invitational, where experts came away impressed. Bettendorf’s D.J. Carton, playing for Quad City Elite, continued to raise his profile with more stellar performances.

“Nobody affects the game as much as this rising sophomore,” wrote Evan Flood, a Wisconsin recruiting insider for 247Sports. “Even when Carton is not scoring, he locks his man down, gets work done on the glass, orchestrates the offense, and even blocks/alters shots.

“He’s an aggressive attacker that can finish above the rim. Carton has an excellent pull-up jumper off the bounce and excels from mid-range … college coaches are falling in love with Carton after his performances and the offers are coming.”

Carton was just as stellar for the Bulldogs over the winter, helping them to an 18-6 record while averaging 10.5 points per game. The 6-foot-1 guard has received interest from Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska, and received an offer from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis over the weekend.

Plenty other Iowans impressed while in Dallas. North Scott’s Corvon Seales, also of Quad City Elite, flashed the ability the hit the open shot. Seales was just a junior this past winter, during which he scored 13.6 points per game and dished out 74 assists for the Lancers.

“Seales made some big plays in QCE’s early game, getting to the cup off the bounce for a couple of scores, which helped him get to the line a couple times,” wrote Nick Aiello, a recruiting evaluator for NY2LA Sports. “… He was able to capitalize on a couple open looks from the three-point line.”

Norwalk’s Luke Vaske, playing for Martin Brothers, also impressed scouts in attendance. The 6-foot-1 junior showcased his game-management skills by facilitating his team’s offense while also hitting shots with efficiency. Vaske scored 20.1 points per game for the Warriors this past season.

Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Matthew Mims also drew some good reviews. The 6-foot combo guard caught the eye of Aiello with his playmaking ability in transition. He also “doled the ball out well, but also finished plays off well shooting it,” wrote Aiello. Mims led the Saints to their second consecutive Class 3A state title this past winter.

A trio of freshman also made some noise in Dallas. Winterset’s Easton Darling, Highland Riverside’s Zack Lasek and Waterloo West’s Jaden Keller all received mentions in postgame evaluations. They will be names to watch in future seasons.

Wieskamp among the best 2018 shooters?

Rivals released another list on Wednesday — The top pure shooters in 2018 class — and Iowa commit Joe Wieskamp made the cut.

Wieskamp’s scoring abilities were put on full display this past season. The 6-foot-6 guard from Muscatine led the state at 30.4 points per game on 56.1 percent shooting this past season. He also drained 41.1 percent from three and shot 81.1 percent from the line.

His performances during the season were incredible, drawing enough attention for Rivals to tab Wieskamp as a four-star recruit and the No. 44 overall player in the 2018 class. Eric Bossi, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals, believes Wieskamp is among the best when it comes to pure shooting.

“There will be some others out there who shoot higher percentages from deep,” Bossi wrote, “but Wieskamp’s combination of size, range and confidence are tough to beat. He wants a shot from deep when it matters and his size allows him to shoot over almost anybody.”

Wieskamp recently put his shooting skills on display last weekend, when he helped the U17 Iowa Barnstormers to a 3-1 record at the Adidas Gauntlet Series in Dallas. He shot 30-of-55 over four games, good for 20.3 points per game. That includes a 10-of-25 showing from deep.

Nebraska’s Morrow to visit Iowa State this weekend

Iowa State’s busy recruiting period continues with another visit this weekend. Nebraska transfer Ed Morrow will be on campus. He is a sit-one, play-two transfer, and he averaged 9.4 points on 51.4 percent shooting and 7.5 rebounds per game in the 2016-17 season.

The Cyclones have been hit-and-miss with transfers during the regular signing period. The lone acquisition so far has been Virginia’s Marial Shayok, who will sit next season and play his final year of eligibility in 2018-19.

Iowa State still has three open scholarships remaining for the 2017-18 season. In addition to Morrow, the Cyclones are also pursuing Shakur Juiston, a power-forward junior-college transfer from Hutchinson C.C.

Juiston, the NJCAA Player of the Year, stands 6-foot-7 and would provide immediate scoring for the Cyclones. He’s visited Iowa State, DePaul and UNLV, and also holds offers from Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.

Commitments

A slew of Iowa high school players announced their commitments and also received some offers over the last week.

Brady Ernst, a former player for Clinton, Iowa State and Indian Hills CC announced his commitment to Florida Gulf Coast. He averaged 9.4 points on 63.7 percent and 6.5 rebounds per game for Indian Hills this past season.

Zach Parson of Northeast Goose Lake announced his commitment to the University of Dubuque. The 5-foot-11 senior averaged 15.1 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting and recorded 50 steals this past season.

Clinton’s Jaden Mixon announced that he’s headed to Mount Mercy. Mixon, a 6-foot senior, averaged 15 points per game and shot 40 percent from deep this past season.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Royshawn Webb committed to Iowa Central CC. Webb, a 6-foot-1 guard, led his team in scoring, at 15.3 points per game, and in total rebounds, with 139, this past season.

Cody Goodwin covers high school sports, college basketball recruiting and Drake athletics for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.