We had a chance to observe Zionsville High School’s open gym on Tuesday. They have a bunch of players that understand the game and move extremely well without the ball. That is very rare to see in an open gym setting. We also had a chance to chat with Derrik Smits and  Andrew Dakich about their recruitment.

{iACL type=!userid 1,62,91,110,187,64,171,166,122,802,391,162,475,1084,1207,171,1293,1307,167,92,169,362,157,63, 64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,76,77,79,80,82,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,96,97,98,99,1383,1384,163,1410,1411,1414,1415,1416,1417,1418,1419,1420,1421,1422,1423,1424,1425,1426,1427,1428,1429,1430,1431,1432,1433,1434,1435,1436,1437,1438,1439,1440,1441,1442,1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025}You must be a subscriber to read the rest of the article...click here to sign-up {/iACL} {iACL type=userid 1,62,91,110,187,64,171,166,122,802,391,162,475,1084,1207,171,1293,1307,167,92,169,362,157,63, 64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,76,77,79,80,82,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,96,97,98,99,1383,1384,163,1410,1411,1414,1415,1416,1417,1418,1419,1420,1421,1422,1423,1424,1425,1426,1427,1428,1429,1430,1431,1432,1433,1434,1435,1436,1437,1438,1439,1440,1441,1442,1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025}

Derrik Smits (6’9” C 2015) is expecting Purdue and Boston College at open gym on Thursday. Xavier is also supposed to stop by at some point this month. Smits has not visited anywhere so far this fall, but does plan to visit Purdue in October.

Smits is still growing and getting used to his body. He does have a nice skill set though. He has a good mid-range jumper and has a fundamental base around the basket. He will likely end up around 7-feet tall. Smits must be more aggressive and look to use his body more in order to reach his full potential. Those two things have improved, but have a long ways to go.

Andrew Dakich (6’0” PG 2013) is receiving new college attention from Chaminade University (D2 in Hawaii that hosts the Maui Classic every year) and the University of Indianapolis. He also said that he wants to go Division I and if he doesn’t get a D1 offer, he might go to prep school for a year. Dakich commented that he might walk-on at Butler or Indiana if he does not get an offer to his liking this season. Butler coach Brad Stevens has already told Dakich that he is welcome to walk-on at Butler.

Will Dixon (6’1” G 2013) will likely not be with the Zionsville basketball team this year due to off the court problems. That is a blow to the Zionsville team if he cannot compete. Dixon led the team in scoring as a junior with 12 points per game and was a nice small college prospect.

Alex Sibila (6’5” F 2014 )is an athletic forward that should be able to contribute this season. He saw limited playing time last season as a sophomore.

Braden Hall (5’8” PG 2015) was hurt for most of the club season. He could be a big factor for Zionsville though. Hall is a good outside shooter, handles the ball well, and knows the game extremely well. He will not be afraid to play against the top competition as a sophomore.

Dalton Judd (6’1” SG 2013) is shooter that will benefit from the great passing ability of Dakich and Hall. He does a lot of little things to help his team win as well.

Scotty Penola 6’4” PF 2013 and Parker Dunshee 6’2” SF play football and were not at the open gym, but expect them to have big roles for Zionsville this season. {/iACL}