Four of Iowa’s Top Basketball Recruits Play at the Same High School
The college scholarship offers have come from Iowa, Iowa State, Creighton, Florida, Drake, Minnesota, Stanford, Illinois, Nebraska, and Georgia, just to name a few. Yes, the college basketball world has its eyes on a team in central Iowa that's loaded with superior talent.
The boy's basketball team at Waukee was 23-3 last season and were the runner-up in 4A, after an 8-point loss to Ankeny in the championship game. This year, expectations are even higher as four of Iowa's top recruits will likely spend a lot of time on the floor together. It just might be the best semblance of talent on one team in Iowa high school history. Let's begin with one of the seniors.
Tucker DeVries, a 6'6" 190-pound small forward, averaged 21.4 points per game during his junior season. 247 Sports ranks Tucker the top Iowa prospect in the 2020-21 class. He received scholarship offers from six schools, ranging from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference. One of those came from Drake, where his dad is the head coach. He signed his national letter of intent to play for the Bulldogs in October.
Payton Sandfort, the state's 3rd-ranked prospect, is a 6'8" 210-pound power forward. He averaged 19.8 points a game last season and entertained scholarship offers from seven different schools. He signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes in October.
I think you'll agree he's going to be a good fit for what Fran McCaffery is doing in Iowa City.
Now, for the sophomores. You may have noticed in the family photo above that there was a tall young man standing in Payton's signing day picture. That's Pryce Sandfort, who is already receiving interest from both Iowa and Drake. The 6'6" 160-pound small forward started every game for Waukee during his freshman season. He averaged over nine points-per-game, made 54 three-pointers, and had 56 assists while turning the ball over just 16 times. As a freshman.
It seems impossible to say this, but I saved the best for last. The player that 247 Sports calls the #4 high school prospect in the entire nation for the 2022-23 school year. ESPN lists him at #8. Omaha Biliew is a 6'8" 200-pound power forward who played for Dowling Catholic last season. About the time Omaha was finishing up the 8th grade in May of 2019, the University of Iowa became the first school to offer him a scholarship. Five more schools have offered him a scholarship so far this year, including fellow Big Ten schools Illinois and Nebraska.
After having their first two games of the 2020-21 season canceled, Waukee is slated to open the year next Monday night (December 21) against Ankeny, the team that knocked them off in the state championship game this spring. It's the start of what should be a fun boy's high school basketball season at Waukee... and a very long one for those on their schedule.