AAU Preview: Beyond Ball 2020
With the end of the high school season, we are ready to turn the page and begin to look at the upcoming AAU season with a series of previews. Some teams have already gotten underway, but the majority don’t get underway until the calendar turns to April. These are individual looks into teams for this upcoming season. The first is a look at the Beyond Ball 2020 team coached by Chris Morrow.
Beyond Ball 2020
# | Name | HT | POS | Class | High School |
14 | Katie Keitges | 5’8 | SG | 2020 | Knoxville |
5 | Grace Plummer | 5’10 | W | 2020 | West Des Moines Valley |
24 | Cheyenne Shaw | 5’9 | G | 2020 | North Mahaska |
3 | Jaeda Whitner | 5’5 | G | 2020 | Mason City |
33 | Jorja Hanselman | 6′ | F | 2021 | Van Meter |
23 | Anna Bernhard | 6’ | F | 2021 | West Des Moines Valley |
4 | Maggie Hall | 5’7 | W | 2020 | West Des Moines Valley |
Kendall Nead | 5’11 | F | 2020 | Johnston | |
Elizabeth Elfvin | 5’6 | G | 2020 | Dallas Center Grimes | |
Aniya Hickman | 5’1 | PG | 2020 | West Des Moines Valley | |
Rachel Puok | 5’9 | G | 2020 | Des Moines East |
Roster Breakdown
This is a solid roster that is going to be very lengthy with a lot of size in the post. The inside duo are both 2021s, but both hold a lot of potential in the long run. They do have some wings who have the ability to drive the ball as well as shoot it. It will be interesting to see who steps up as a secondary and third scoring threat on this team as there are a lot of options.
One to Watch
Fresh off an offer from Texas Tech, Katie Keitges is the most heralded recruit of this bunch. She has insane range shooting the ball and has the ability to attack the basket. An avid defender, Keitges give her all on both sides of the floor. Texas Tech was her first offer from any level, so it will be interesting to see who else checks in on her this summer. After a big high school season, she is going to look to keep it going this summer.
Who Should be Watching
This is a roster stock full of DII/DIII/NAIA talent and you can imagine that there will be a lot of small college coaches interested in watching this program. I think Grace Plummer and Cheyenne Shaw are both going to have big summers this year and DII/NAIA’s should keep a close eye on them. There is a wide range of talent on the team and it will be on full display this summer. Keitges will be the attracting force behind the DI schools this summer, and Kendall Nead should attract the low majors too, but I’m not sure that it’ll be a team that has high major schools flocking to watch them. The money will be made with those small colleges.
Schedule
DATE | EVENT | LOCATION |
April 13-14 | Spring Tune Up | Ames, IA |
April 26-28 | Windy City | Chicago, IL |
May 18-19 | Bring Your Best | Ames, IA |
June 14-16 | Summer Jam | Minnesota |
July 5-8 | Run 4 The Roses | Louisville, KY |
July 10-13 | Battle of the Boro | Louisville, KY |
July 20-22 | Peach Splash | Atlanta, GA |
July 23-25 | National Championship | Atlanta, GA |
Schedule Breakdown
This is a nice schedule for this bunch. I would have rather seen them stay closer to Iowa for one of those July events due to the regionalized recruiting of small colleges but it does allow them to be seen by schools who wouldn’t get to see them otherwise. There is going to be a lot of exposure opportunities for this group this year.