My personal opinion regarding Walker is that he is a very, very good player that would fit in perfectly with the style of ball we're likely to run. To me, Walker makes more sense and would provide more than Leuer would even though people are really high on Leuer right now. The best thing in my opinion is that Kenton really wants to play at Iowa State and for TJ and he will put 120% of his effort into becoming the best he can be.
I am totally with you there. Kenton looks like a good rebounder, who has continually played against solid competition in California and with his AAU team. We had a bunch of tall guys who could shoot from deep with guard skills last year, and we went 16-14 with our leading rebounder being a SF. Give me a guy who can bang down low and play hard for a great developer like McDermott every time.
I've heard these quotes from a High School coach in Minnesota as well:
"I live and coach about 20 miles from Orono and would tell Hawkeye fans to wait and see on this guy. He averaged 20 points a game, but his team was 14-12 and was never guarded by a division 1 level player all season! Several games he played he was held to 10-12 points by a player less than 6-4. He could end up being a gem but was no standout last year. I will post more when I see him this winter, I will come across him several times in scouting games of common oponents."
Then in response to him blowing up in AAU:
"I would answer your AAU info this way. AAU teams don't play and don't play against defenses, particularly at the level we are talking about. AAU tourneys of this size are all about scoring, and any defense is usually a one on one block attempt. High school basketball during the regular season teaches a defensive system that will be geared to stop this kid from scoring. When that happens, big kids who are softer drift outside and shoot the ball which is exactly what the opposing team wants. Can this kid than hit the shot? He can now, but in college he won't be able to drift out and hit the shot because of the defensive speed, and if this kid can't create his own shot, like I haven't seen him do, then what will he bring to an Iowa roster?"
These things are very worrisome to me. I wish the best to that kid, I do, but I think with Kenton Walker you know exactly what you'll be getting. Leuer looks like a flavor of the month prospect who will actually take a few years to become a contributor.
Edit: Obviously I got this from a Hawk board, because they think they are getting him, and was looking for information on him. We'll see what happens with him.
