Mustangs announce men’s basketball recruits
Morningside men’s basketball coach Jim Sykes announced the names of 13 high school recruits who will join the Mustangs for the 2016-17 season.
Morningside men’s basketball head coach Jim Sykes announced the names of 13 high school recruits who will join the Mustangs for the 2016-17 season.
The recruits are:
Jared Bacon, a 5-11 guard from Johnston, Iowa. Bacon was the leading scorer at Johnston High School with an average of 15.1 points per game to compliment a norm of 2.4 rebounds per game this past season. Bacon also led Johnston with 30 steals and was second on the team with 56 assists. He made a team-high 51 3-point field goals in 140 attempts for 36.4 percent and was Johnston’s best free throw shooter with 56 free throws in 71 attempts for 78.9 percent.
Ty Benson, a 6-2 guard from Sioux City. Benson averaged 8.5 points per game as a senior at Sioux City East High School and was the Black Raiders’ third leading rebounder with a norm of 3.7 caroms per game. Benson led East with 32 steals and finished second on the team with 49 assists. He made 70 of 155 field goal attempts for 45.2 percent and 20 of 50 3-point field goal attempts for 40.0 percent.
C.J. Cetta, a 6-3 forward from Castle Rock, Colo. Cetta is a 2016 graduate of Douglas County High School, where his coach was 13-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran Earl Boykins. Cetta was Douglas County’s leading scorer and rebounder this past season with averages of 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game to compliment a norm of 1.5 steals per contest. He had season’s highs of 22 points against Heritage and 13 rebounds in games against Ponderosa and Broomfield.
Cetta averaged 10.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a junior to lead Douglas County in rebounding and rank second on the team in scoring. He also led the team with 31 steals for an average of 1.3 per game.
Trystan Cummins, a 6-4 guard-forward from Ankeny, Iowa. Cummins was one Iowa’s best 3-point shooters during his senior season at Ankeny High School when he drilled 43 of 83 attempts for 51.8 percent to rank second in the state in 3-point accuracy among players who made at least 40 3-pointers. He was Ankeny’s second leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Cummins made 84 of 173 field goal attempts for 48.6 percent and 49 of 65 free throw attempts for 75.4 percent.
Austin Greenwalt, a 6-6 forward from Elko, Minn. Greenwalt averaged 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this past season for a New Prague High School team that posted a 20-8 record, won the Wright County Conference championship, and led the state in team scoring defense with an average of 48.8 points per game. Greenwalt earned first-team all-conference honors and was named New Prague’s Male Athlete of the Year.
Matt Hahn, a 6-3 guard from Fremont, Neb. Hahn earned honorable mention all-state recognition from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star this past season after he helped lead Fremont High School to a runner-up finish in the Class A state tournament. Hahn averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He made 101 of 239 field goal attempts for 42.3 percent, a team-high 56 3-point field goals in 147 attempts for 38.1 percent, and 51 of 73 free throw attempts for 69.9 percent. Hahn scored a season’s high 19 points in games against Lincoln Southwest and Bellevue West.
Hahn also earned honorable mention all-state recognition from the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star as a junior when he was Fremont’s second leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and made a team-high 50 3-point field goals in 117 attempts for 42.7 percent.
Jackson Lazzo, a 6-2 guard from Olathe, Kan. Lazzo earned second-team All-East Kansas League honors this past season at Blue Valley Southwest High School. Lazzo was his team’s third leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 9.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game to compliment norms of 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals per contest.
James Maher, a 5-10 guard from Mead, Colo. Maher averaged 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this past season at Mead High School. He led the team with 117 assists for an average of 4.5 per game and finished second on the team with 45 steals for a norm of 1.7 per contest. Maher made 88 of 189 field goal attempts for 46.6 percent, 37 of 100 3-point field goal attempts for 37.0 percent, and 76 of 109 free throw attempts for 69.7 percent. Maher had season’s highs of 25 points against Sierra, nine assists against Pueblo Centennial, eight rebounds in games against Erie and Longmont, and six steals in games against Erie and Skyline.
He led the team with 110 assists and 39 steals for averages of 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a junior to compliment norms of 7.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. Maher averaged 5.3 points per game, led Mead with 54 assists, and ranked second on the team with 29 steals in his sophomore campaign.
Elijah Rodriguez, a 6-1 guard from Highlands Ranch, Colo. Rodriguez averaged 3.0 points per game and dealt 49 assists for an average of 2.1 per game as a senior at ThunderRidge High School. He was one of the team’s top long range shooting threats with 13 3-point field goals in 28 attempts for 46.4 percent.
Ben Simons, a 6-1 guard from Ashland, Neb. Simons scored 1126 points, made a school-record 204 3-point field goals, and helped lead Bishop Neumann High School to Nebraska Class C-1 state championships in 2016 and 2014 during his prep career. Simons was a first-team Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star all-stater and a first-team All-Centennial Conference selection this past season when he averaged 12.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He made 102 of 208 field goal attempts for 49.0 percent, 53 of 121 3-point field goal attempts for 43.8 percent, and 40 of 54 free throw attempts for 74.1 percent.
Simons was a second-team Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star all-stater and a first-team All-Centennial Conference selection as a junior when he averaged 13.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and made 55 of 150 3-point field goal attempts for 36.7 percent. Simons averaged 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and made 57 of 145 3-point field goal attempts for 39.3 percent for Bishop Neumann’s state championship team as a sophomore to earn honorable mention all-state recognition from the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star.
Kyle Wagner, a 6-4 guard-forward from Manning, Iowa. Wagner scored 1535 points and made 219 of 548 3-point field goal attempts for 40.0 percent during his career at IKM-Manning High School and was the team’s leading scorer each of the past three seasons. Wagner averaged 22.5 points 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocked shots per game this past season to earn first-team Class 1A all-state honors from the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) and the Des Moines Register. He made 222 of 470 field goal attempts for 47.2 percent, 56 of 150 3-point field goal attempts for 37.3 percent, and 62 of 86 free throw attempts for 72.1 percent.
Wagner was a second-team Des Moines Register all-stater as a junior when he averaged 16.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He made 134 of 279 field goal attempts for 48.0 percent and 58 of 145 3-point field goal attempts for 40.0 percent. Wagner averaged 17.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.7 steals per game and made a career-high 66 3-point field goals in 164 attempts for 40.2 percent as a sophomore. Wagner started as a freshman and averaged 8.6 points per game and made 39 of 89 3-point field goal attempts for 43.8 percent.
Tyler Westendorf, a 6-1 forward from Onawa, Iowa. Westendorf was a four-year starter and scored 1293 points during his career at West Monona High School. Westendorf earned first-team All-Western Valley Conference and third-team Sioux City Journal All-Northwest Iowa honors this past season when he averaged a double-double with norms of 20.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Aside from leading the team in scoring and rebounding, Westendorf also topped the Spartans with 56 blocked shots and 47 steals for averages of 2.2 blocked shots and 1.9 steals per game to compliment an average of 3.0 assists per contest. Westendorf made 176 of 409 field goal attempts for 43.0 percent, 43 of 140 3-point field goal attempts for 30.7 percent, and 116 of 148 free throw attempts for a team-high 78.4 percent.
He was a second-team all-conference performer as a junior when he averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game. Westendorf averaged 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore and 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a freshman.
Austin Wubbels, a 6-8 center from Waverly, Neb. Wubbels averaged 5.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocked shots per game and shot 49.3 percent as a senior at Waverly High School. He averaged 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 blocked shots per game as a junior.
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