First Team 2022: Des Moines TOC

After the Nike Tournament of Champions was split into sessions around various spots in the country, Des Moines was the beneficiary and gained three sessions. Over the course of July, I was able to see over 100 games that included well over 1,000 different players from 14 different states. There was a lot of talent on display ranging from top players in the country to players who will be going to college for other sports. Over the course of this week and into next, I will be recapping all of the action that I saw at the three sessions. First, I will be going through and mentioning the top 20 performers in each grade level broken up into “four teams”. Players will be named for how well they performed, not what their talent level is. I tried to see as many teams as possible but even with that, I was not able to watch every team. Some players that are not mentioned here possibly had a better month but they will not be listed simply due to the fact that I wasn’t able to watch them play. After I go through the top 20 performers in each grade level, I will then start to post my mass evaluations from the sessions that will run through next week. Below are the top five 2022 performers from the month of July at the TOC. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95167" first="Lauren" last="Betts"] - 6’7 C - Grandview HS (CO) - Colorado Premier EYBL</strong> Betts is our top-ranked player in the 2022 class nationally and she certainly played like it at the last session. She’s an imposing force in the paint and her footwork and hands are top-notch around the basket. She can also stretch it out and knock down a jumper with some consistency. Betts is a player who is going to dominate at the high school level and will be a great piece to a high major program that likes to work through their post players. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155421" first="Emily" last="La Chapell"] - 5’11 PG/SG - Appleton East HS (WI) - Wisconsin Flight UAA 2021</strong> La Chapell had a great summer and through July has picked up a ton of offers including a couple Power 5 offers. She can score the ball all over the floor and has a tremendous frame that can hold more strength as she matures. She’s skilled with the ball and has shown the ability to create space on her own. She was able to boost her stock a ton over the month of July. She is ranked #57 in our 2022 national rankings. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155423" first="Lily" last="Krahn"] - 5’8 PG/SG - Prairie du Chen HS (WI) - Wisconsin Flight UAA</strong> Krahn really jumped onto the scene this summer as she performed exceptionally well in July. She first jumped out to me in the first session when I saw her make a few really good moves to create space for her shot. After that, she just kept getting better scoring the ball which has led to a few offers. She’s a tremendous shot creator and also has very good court vision allowing her to run the show in transition. Look for Krahn to garner some more offers through this fall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171810" first="Aaliyah" last="Smith"] - 5’7 PG - Madison LaFollette HS (WI) - Wisconsin Flight UAA 2021</strong> Smith is a beast on the floor and she showed that all month long. She’s a bulldog on the floor and she has shown the ability to bully her way to the rim. Smith has great body control and can score around and through both stronger and taller players. She played all July with a high motor and performed very well. She’s a high major recruit and is one of the top guards in the country. She is ranked as our #19 player in the country. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63580" first="Brooke" last="Loewe"] - 5’8 PG - Ballard HS (IA) - All Iowa Attack EYBL</strong> Loewe hit her stride in July as she was moved up to the EYBL team for All Iowa Attack. She has been playing more confidently with the ball and with more aggression. She’s a coach’s dream at the point guard spot as she can facilitate and score the ball. Loewe seems to play better as she has better players around her and in July she fit right in along the top talent in the country. She’s a stock riser in the 2022 class in Iowa and should start to see more college interest come her way.