A look at 2020 hoops recruiting targets
Desmond Polk could be a top shooting guard target for Iowa in the Class of 2020.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
The first live evaluation period of the spring is in the books and unlike most years, there wasn’t a whole lot of action on the new offer front for the Iowa basketball program.
Iowa did extended a few new offers, but in past years that number was generally a little higher. That could mean a couple of things. It could mean they feel pretty comfortable where they sit with a few targets, which would be a good thing. Or, the targets that they had on the radar for potentially picking up an offer didn’t show the Hawkeye coaches that they were to the level of offering at this point.
Of course, that could change as we head into the summer months, but right now it feels like Iowa is holding steady with who they have on their board and don’t feel the need to move on from some of their highly ranked prospects.
One thing that could be factoring into their decision-making process right now with the Class of 2020 is they want to figure out what their roster will look like moving forward. With Tyler Cook staying in the NBA Draft process and Isaiah Moss and Maishe Dailey transferring, Iowa currently has three scholarships that are open.
At this point, Fran McCaffery and his staff are engaged with three potential transfers this spring. They hosted Notre Dame transfer D.J. Harvey last week and they are waiting to hopefully schedule official visits with Marquette transfers Sam and Joey Hauser. Harvey should be making his decision soon, possibly this week, while the Hauser’s appear to be taking their time, pushing back their visits to Michigan State and Virginia, after already taking a visit to Wisconsin.
McCaffery and his staff are probably going to wait and see how the transfer situation sorts itself out this spring. It’s likely that a few new names from the transfer marketplace will emerge in the coming weeks and then once the roster is settled for this upcoming season, Iowa will know how many scholarships they have to play with for the Class of 2020.
What was once looking like a big class for the Hawkeyes could end up being just two scholarships with only Jordan Bohannon and Ryan Kriener as graduating seniors. It will all depend on if McCaffery fills all three open scholarships and if he does so with regular transfers who would have to sit out a year or a graduate transfer, which means the scholarship would come open.
Basically, what I am getting at here is the 2020 recruiting class could be as high as five or as low as two. Where that number lands will go determine how many the Hawkeyes take and then they will have to prioritize which positions.
Based on the roster, my feeling is the top three positions of need would be adding a post player, finding a shooting guard, and probably a point guard.
With all that in mind, let’s look at where things stand in early May for Iowa hoops recruiting.
FRONTCOURT: Iowa put two new offers on the table last week to Davion Brandford from the St. Louis area and John Hugley from Ohio. Both are low post players who has a good first evaluation period and added offer from power conference schools.
Iowa’s top target as far as big men is in-state five star prospect Xavier Foster. He has been on Iowa’s campus several times and if the blue blood programs don’t end up getting seriously involved, then it could come down to a battle between Iowa and Iowa State. Duke was front and center for Foster’s games during the April evaluation period and if Coach K puts and offer on the table it’s going to be hard for him to turn down.
Iowa has also been out to see four star big man Hunter Dickenson this spring, so there is certainly some level of mutual interest from the Maryland prep standout.
The Hawkeyes have put in a lot of time and effort into a trio of players from Minnesota big men in Dawson Garcia, Ben Carlson, and Dain Dainja. All three were prospects that former Iowa assistant coach Andrew Francis was primarily involved with, so that could impact Iowa’s standing. Garcia did make an unofficial visit to Iowa in March. Jamari Sibley from Wisconsin is another power forward name to watch. He’s had a very good spring on the AAU circuit and Iowa has built a solid relationship with him.
Another name to watch who currently does not hold an offer from Iowa is Iowa City West standout Even Brauns. The 6-foot-9 post player has started to get more mid-major offers after a strong weekend. July will determine if he ends up with high major offers, potentially including one from Iowa.
BACKCOURT: As mentioned earlier, it seems like Iowa could be putting an emphasis towards the backcourt, not only in the transfer marketplace, but with the Class of 2020.
Shooting guard should be a priority unless Iowa lands a multiple year transfer and Iowa has a couple of targets that they might be fading with a bit due to other offers. Iowa was among the first schools to offer Bryce Thompson from Oklahoma. We were able to see him live last month and he’s a very talented and aggressive wing prospect. He’s also in the process of becoming a Top 40 prospect after a strong April evaluation weekend that resulted in a scholarship offers from Michigan State and North Carolina.
The other target who had his recruitment change quite a bit is shooting guard Anthony Leal. Iowa and everyone else’s chance with him faded quite a bit when Indiana extended a scholarship offer. Leal is from Bloomington, IN and has family ties to the Hoosiers, so they have become the odds on favorite.
Iowa’s top shooting guard target that they have the most realistic opportunity to land at this point is probably Desmond Polk. The athletic wing player would be ideal for the style of play that Fran McCaffery likes to execute on the court.
At point guard, Iowa was always bit of a long shot with five star Jalen Suggs. He had a very strong bond with assistant coach Andrew Francis and once he left the Iowa program, the Hawkeyes chances probably faded quite a bit.
The Hawkeyes remain in contention for Ty Berry from Kansas, but if the Jayhawks offer, then his recruitment will completely change. Iowa is still involved with Tyler Beard from Chicago as well and they have been out to see four star prospect Ethan Morton in the past few weeks.
Two players that Iowa will continue to watch from the point guard pool in 2020 are Bowen Born and Nijel Pack. Born has started to gain some steam on the recruiting trail, picking up mid-major offers from Valley schools. Pack had a very strong weekend on the AAU circuit, but the high major schools have still held off from offering.
Desmond Polk could be a top shooting guard target for Iowa in the Class of 2020.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
The first live evaluation period of the spring is in the books and unlike most years, there wasn’t a whole lot of action on the new offer front for the Iowa basketball program.
Iowa did extended a few new offers, but in past years that number was generally a little higher. That could mean a couple of things. It could mean they feel pretty comfortable where they sit with a few targets, which would be a good thing. Or, the targets that they had on the radar for potentially picking up an offer didn’t show the Hawkeye coaches that they were to the level of offering at this point.
Of course, that could change as we head into the summer months, but right now it feels like Iowa is holding steady with who they have on their board and don’t feel the need to move on from some of their highly ranked prospects.
One thing that could be factoring into their decision-making process right now with the Class of 2020 is they want to figure out what their roster will look like moving forward. With Tyler Cook staying in the NBA Draft process and Isaiah Moss and Maishe Dailey transferring, Iowa currently has three scholarships that are open.
At this point, Fran McCaffery and his staff are engaged with three potential transfers this spring. They hosted Notre Dame transfer D.J. Harvey last week and they are waiting to hopefully schedule official visits with Marquette transfers Sam and Joey Hauser. Harvey should be making his decision soon, possibly this week, while the Hauser’s appear to be taking their time, pushing back their visits to Michigan State and Virginia, after already taking a visit to Wisconsin.
McCaffery and his staff are probably going to wait and see how the transfer situation sorts itself out this spring. It’s likely that a few new names from the transfer marketplace will emerge in the coming weeks and then once the roster is settled for this upcoming season, Iowa will know how many scholarships they have to play with for the Class of 2020.
What was once looking like a big class for the Hawkeyes could end up being just two scholarships with only Jordan Bohannon and Ryan Kriener as graduating seniors. It will all depend on if McCaffery fills all three open scholarships and if he does so with regular transfers who would have to sit out a year or a graduate transfer, which means the scholarship would come open.
Basically, what I am getting at here is the 2020 recruiting class could be as high as five or as low as two. Where that number lands will go determine how many the Hawkeyes take and then they will have to prioritize which positions.
Based on the roster, my feeling is the top three positions of need would be adding a post player, finding a shooting guard, and probably a point guard.
With all that in mind, let’s look at where things stand in early May for Iowa hoops recruiting.
FRONTCOURT: Iowa put two new offers on the table last week to Davion Brandford from the St. Louis area and John Hugley from Ohio. Both are low post players who has a good first evaluation period and added offer from power conference schools.
Iowa’s top target as far as big men is in-state five star prospect Xavier Foster. He has been on Iowa’s campus several times and if the blue blood programs don’t end up getting seriously involved, then it could come down to a battle between Iowa and Iowa State. Duke was front and center for Foster’s games during the April evaluation period and if Coach K puts and offer on the table it’s going to be hard for him to turn down.
Iowa has also been out to see four star big man Hunter Dickenson this spring, so there is certainly some level of mutual interest from the Maryland prep standout.
The Hawkeyes have put in a lot of time and effort into a trio of players from Minnesota big men in Dawson Garcia, Ben Carlson, and Dain Dainja. All three were prospects that former Iowa assistant coach Andrew Francis was primarily involved with, so that could impact Iowa’s standing. Garcia did make an unofficial visit to Iowa in March. Jamari Sibley from Wisconsin is another power forward name to watch. He’s had a very good spring on the AAU circuit and Iowa has built a solid relationship with him.
Another name to watch who currently does not hold an offer from Iowa is Iowa City West standout Even Brauns. The 6-foot-9 post player has started to get more mid-major offers after a strong weekend. July will determine if he ends up with high major offers, potentially including one from Iowa.
BACKCOURT: As mentioned earlier, it seems like Iowa could be putting an emphasis towards the backcourt, not only in the transfer marketplace, but with the Class of 2020.
Shooting guard should be a priority unless Iowa lands a multiple year transfer and Iowa has a couple of targets that they might be fading with a bit due to other offers. Iowa was among the first schools to offer Bryce Thompson from Oklahoma. We were able to see him live last month and he’s a very talented and aggressive wing prospect. He’s also in the process of becoming a Top 40 prospect after a strong April evaluation weekend that resulted in a scholarship offers from Michigan State and North Carolina.
The other target who had his recruitment change quite a bit is shooting guard Anthony Leal. Iowa and everyone else’s chance with him faded quite a bit when Indiana extended a scholarship offer. Leal is from Bloomington, IN and has family ties to the Hoosiers, so they have become the odds on favorite.
Iowa’s top shooting guard target that they have the most realistic opportunity to land at this point is probably Desmond Polk. The athletic wing player would be ideal for the style of play that Fran McCaffery likes to execute on the court.
At point guard, Iowa was always bit of a long shot with five star Jalen Suggs. He had a very strong bond with assistant coach Andrew Francis and once he left the Iowa program, the Hawkeyes chances probably faded quite a bit.
The Hawkeyes remain in contention for Ty Berry from Kansas, but if the Jayhawks offer, then his recruitment will completely change. Iowa is still involved with Tyler Beard from Chicago as well and they have been out to see four star prospect Ethan Morton in the past few weeks.
Two players that Iowa will continue to watch from the point guard pool in 2020 are Bowen Born and Nijel Pack. Born has started to gain some steam on the recruiting trail, picking up mid-major offers from Valley schools. Pack had a very strong weekend on the AAU circuit, but the high major schools have still held off from offering.
