Josh Dix's big weekend, other observations on Iowa hoopsters from basketball showcase
Matthew BainWOODBURY, Minn. — Everywhere he plays, Josh Dix opens eyes.
It was no different over the weekend up in the Minneapolis suburbs, where the Council Bluffs Lincoln 2022 combo guard was one of the top performers at the Minnesota high school showcase, one of a series of scholastic events across the country that Division I college coaches were able to attend.
Dix showed off his routinely high-level dribbling, shooting, passing and decision-making on Friday. His shot wasn't falling as much on Saturday, but he still was able to impact games off the ball and with his length on defense.
The result? Another high-major has its eyes the versatile 6-foot-4 guard.
Dix told me Minnesota assistant coach Jason Kemp reached out after the showcase and asked if Dix would want to visit campus in the future. The plan is for Gophers head coach Ben Johnson to reach out on Monday.
Plenty of other coaches were courtside for Dix's games, including Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger and assistant coach Kyle Green, Drake head coach Darian DeVries and Marquette head coach Shaka Smart. Dix performed well on the adidas circuit with OSA Crusaders this spring, and he's poised to have a big July.
Dix, our No. 2 in-state 2022 prospect, visited Iowa on June 8 and he's set to officially visit Wake Forest June 22-23. Visits to Nebraska and Drake for either June or July are also still in the works.
There were nine other Iowans invited to compete at the showcase in Minnesota: Cedar Falls point guard Trey Campbell; Johnston wing Steven Kramer; Johnston point guard Trey Lewis; Dallas Center-Grimes shooting guard Cole Glasgow; Pella Christian power forward Eric Mulder; North Polk shooting guard Jevin Sullivan; Boyden-Hull point guard Tanner Te Slaa; Spencer point guard Karter Petzenhauser and Waukee Northwest 2023 wing Pryce Sandfort.
Here are some observations, notes and takeaways on those in-state prospects:
Steven Kramer remains on a tear
No Iowan had a better state tournament than Johnston 2022 wing Steven Kramer.
He has continued his stock-rising performances since then, earning his first offer from South Dakota in June, and he had two days of quality play up in Minnesota. He's standing right around 6-5 or 6-6 with good bounce and playmaking abilities.
College coaches I talked to after March's state tournament wanted to see him shoot consistently from 3-point range during the AAU season. His shots beyond the arc were falling in the games I saw last weekend, and he also showed off a pretty mid-range game, with turnaround jumpers falling more often than not.
"I've been working on it a lot lately," Kramer said of his 3-point shot. "I've been in the gym every single night."
Kramer has visited South Dakota, South Dakota State and North Dakota. He's still hearing from Iowa, and programs such as Princeton and IUPUI have gotten involved. South Dakota assistant coach Casey Kasperbauer is Kramer's lead recruiter. A native of Carroll, Iowa, Kasperbauer helped the Coyotes land Mount Vernon shooting guard Keaton Kutcher in the 2021 class.
"That was huge, just to get the first one," Kramer said of the South Dakota offer. "It takes a lot of pressure off. You have school paid for. But I'm definitely not satisfied, for sure."
Kramer is our No. 5 in-state 2022 prospect. He told me Loyola Chicago has reached out to him since he returned home from Minnesota.
Is Pryce Sandfort going to be taller than Payton Sandfort?
My money says, yes, Waukee Northwest 2023 wing Pryce Sandfort will wind up taller than his older brother, Iowa freshman Payton Sandfort, who's close to 6-8. Pryce thinks he'll be taller, too.
"Hopefully," he said with a smile.
It feels like he's grown a little bit every time I've seen him. He stands about 6-6 right now and his body is starting to mature and support more muscle. Known throughout the Midwest as a smart, tough player who can shoot, Sandfort didn't hit as well as he wanted in Minnesota, but he was quite productive off the ball.
Here's how one 30-second sequence played out in his final game: Sandfort drew a foul while boxing out on a rebound; he then stole a pass in the paint on the next possession; he dished a pass to lead the fastbreak; and he got the ball seconds later in the paint, where he touch-passed the ball to an open shooter for a corner 3.
Those are winning plays. Otzelberger, Iowa's Fran McCaffery, Drake's Darian DeVries and Northern Iowa's Erik Crawford were all watching that game.
"I moved pretty well. Just didn't shoot it well, really at all," he said. "But I did what I could."
Sandfort told me Iowa State, Iowa, UNI, Drake, Indiana State, Clemson, Butler and Omaha are the main schools showing interest right now, with the four in-state schools making it clear they'll pay close attention in the coming months. Sandfort also plays on the adidas circuit for OSA Crusaders, so he'll play in front of lots of coaches in July.
He said Iowa is looking at him to potentially play point guard. After playing at Waukee his first two seasons, Sandfort will man Waukee Northwest's backcourt next year with Cade Kelderman, playing both guard spots.
Trey Lewis is 5-11 now. And he's still really good.
I'm about 6-1 when I've got my shoes on. And, when talking to Johnston 2022 point guard Trey Lewis after his final game, we were close to eye-to-eye. He told me he checks in at about 5-11 right now.
"We're getting there," he said with a smile.
He's got a great attitude about his height because it's been what guys like me have asked him way too much over the past couple years. The thought with Lewis has long been that he has no shortage of talent, but will he have the size for Division I?
That, of course, is out of his control.
What he can control is his quality of play, and he continued to impress in Minnesota.
His long-range shot has blossomed into an elite strength, with his range forcing defenses to guard him soon after he crosses half court. He pairs that shot with quickness and a tight handle, and he is a pest on defense.
North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Omaha, Cal and Oregon have kept their eyes on Lewis for a long time, and he told me those are still the main schools watching him. He said Cal reached out after he got home from Minnesota, saying they liked how Lewis’ game had developed.
"They like how I control the game, how I play with pace," Lewis said of interested schools. "They like how I can shoot it, obviously. They like my ball-handling and my competitiveness, and pressuring up on defense on guards."
Lewis first got some good exposure when, as a rising sophomore, he played up with Xavier Foster on Pure Prep's 17U team. Now, he's the leader of that team and he'll have a summer to show off what he can do.
"Big-time July," he said. "Coaches will actually be able to come watch me play on my AAU team and see how I control the game on my own team."
Lewis is our No. 11 in-state 2022 prospect.
Catching up with Cole Glasgow
Dallas Center-Grimes 2022 shooting guard Cole Glasgow has been busy with visits lately. He's taken unofficial trips to South Dakota, North Dakota State and St. Thomas in the past few weeks, and he's planning a visit to Toledo in August.
He holds offers from South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota State and St. Thomas. I mentioned South Dakota's Iowa connection earlier with Kasperbauer. Well, former Iowa State basketball player and Kirkwood head coach Bryan Petersen is an assistant coach at SDSU, and former Drake player and DMACC head coach Josh Sash is an assistant coach at NDSU.
"Coaches really wanted me there," Glasgow said of his visit up to Fargo. "They seemed really interested in me. They would like a decision soon. So that means a lot, knowing that they want me there."
Glasgow played on the same team as Lewis and Kramer. He can do some good things both on and off the ball, and he has a knack for shooting 3-balls off screens. His on-ball defense is a lot of fun to watch, too.
Glasgow is our No. 8 in-state 2022 prospect.
A familiar name … and a new one
Speaking of visits, Cedar Falls 2022 point guard Trey Campbell took an unofficial visit to UNI a couple weeks ago. The Panthers are Campbell's only offer at the moment, but Drake has also shown consistent interest. (UNI also just offered Campbell in football.)
After quality performances in Minnesota, where he showed off his 6-4 length at the point guard position, Campbell told me he has heard from Appalachian State and Loyola Chicago since returning home.
Campbell is my top-ranked pure point guard behind Ames' Tamin Lipsey in Iowa's 2022 class, at No. 6 overall. He knows how to run a team, and his length is uncoachable.
You probably already knew about him.
But do you know about Pella Christian 2022 power forward Eric Mulder?
Mulder is an agile, 6-9 lefty post who can get out and defend on screens and turn around to throw down some dunks on the other end.
He averaged 14.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last season while shooting 61.8% overall and 33.3% (13-for-39) from 3-point range. He enjoyed somewhat of a breakout spring alongside Kramer on Kingdom Hoops, and he deserves to be on the Midwest low-to-mid-major radar.
Milwaukee, Butler, UIC and Lehigh are showing recruiting interest, Mulder said.
A linebacker shooting 3s
I've had several people ask me about North Polk 2022 shooting guard Jevin Sullivan recently, after he earned top-30 honors at the Pangos All-American Camp a couple weeks ago. Until last weekend, I had only seen film of the physical 6-4 Sullivan.
And after watching him in person, I should really emphasize physical.
This guy looks and plays like a linebacker, using his oversized frame for a guard to get in good positions for shots or to draw a foul. He has proven he can shoot it well, too, as he knocked down 39.5% of his 3s last season. He'll need to continue to shoot at a good clip from outside, because otherwise he feels more like an undersized power forward.
Sullivan told me he's hearing the most from Princeton, VMI, San Diego, South Dakota State and Omaha.
He is our No. 16 in-state 2022 prospect.
Matthew Bain covers recruiting, Drake basketball and pretty much anything else under the sports sun for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.