Iowa offers rising 2021 prospect

During the Covid-19 pandemic there have been a few 2021 high school basketball prospects who have blown up on the recruiting trail while not even playing a game in front of college coaches.

One of those prospects in the Midwest is Will Tschetter, a 6-foot-9 forward from Stewartville, MN. He has gone from around ten offers at the mid-major level when the pandemic hit in March to 17 scholarship offers on the table from the likes of Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Arkansas, and now, Iowa.

What has helped Tschetter become a Rivals Top 150 prospect in 2021 and turned him into a highly sought prospect by college coaches?

Some of the credit goes to a 15 minute highlight film from his high school season that he put together and with the help of his Minnesota Heat AAU Coach Willie Vang, they started getting that video in front of college coaches.

We did work pretty hard in getting his film out there to coaches and various schools,” Vang said. “It’s from his high school season and he averaged 33 points a game and shot 40% from three, so he had a lot of impressive performances. I think what also helped was the fact that he had the mid-major offers, so the high major programs felt comfortable offering.”

Iowa is the latest school to jump into the fray with an offer on Tuesday. The Hawkeyes had been in touch a little bit in the past month with assistant coach Billy Taylor leading the charge. Tuesday it was Fran McCaffery making the call and extending the offer.

Will be behind other high major schools potentially hinder the Hawkeyes chances of being a contender for the three star forward?

“I don’t think so,” Vang said. “Iowa’s campus isn’t all that far from where he lives and I’m sure that will help them. I think Iowa probably checks a few boxes, so the timing isn’t going to really be a factor.”

There’s a pretty strong appeal in the game of college basketball for a player with Tschetter’s skill set and that seems to be a pretty good fit for the way Iowa likes their big men to play.

“He is the classic new age big man. He shoots the three ball really well and can put it on the deck,” Vang said. “He’s a classic stretch four man and he fits with what basketball is becoming. I think that’s why he has blown up this spring because when you are 6-9 and can shoot it over 40% from three, college coaches want those type of players on their roster.”

As far as a timeline for his decision, Vang feels like Tschetter and his family are more advanced in the process than a lot of prospects, so he could decide sooner rather than later. But, that likely means a decision could come in the fall, depending on if and when campus visits can start to take place.