Slinger’s Jack Kohnen had known for some time where he wanted to play college basketball.
The 6-foot-6 forward finally let the world know on June 13 that he would be the latest prized prospect from Wisconsin to play at Iowa State. The class of 2027 recruit was also being heavily pursued by Nebraska and Iowa.
“I’ve been thinking about it obviously for a pretty long time here, and I had it down to two to three schools for quite a while,” Kohnen told the Journal Sentinel. “And then, after talking with [Iowa State] for so long, just the relationship and trust that I’ve built with the whole coaching staff.
“I’ve talked to all of them, met all the new ones right away when they came in. Just the relationship I’ve built with them over the last 1½, two years has kind of just separated them from everyone else.”
Iowa State has many Wisconsin ties
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Kohnen is the No. 59 recruit in his class. He joins Freedom’s Donovan Davis, Kohnen’s AAU teammate on Team Herro, in Iowa State’s 2027 recruiting class.
The Cyclones have plenty of Wisconsin ties, starting with head coach T.J. Otzelberger, who played at St. Thomas More High School and UW-Whitewater. His assistants include former Milwaukee-area prep stars Diante Garrett and Allan Hanson.
The roster is littered with ex-Wisconsin prep standouts: Jamarion Batemon (Milwaukee Academy of Science), Yusef Gray Jr. (West Allis Central), Xzavion Mitchell (Oshkosh North), Anthony Rise (Brookfield Central), Jaquan Johnson (Pius XI) and Leon Bond III (Wauwatosa East).
“I work out with Jamarion Bateman in the summer,” Kohnen said. “We lift together.
“There’s just those micro relationships that get put into it.”
Wisconsin’s 2027 class loaded with basketball prospects
Kohnen’s versatile game is what made him a standout recruit. He averaged 20.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as a junior in leading Slinger to its first state tournament. He likes the way those skills can fit at Iowa State.
“Doing whatever you can just, first of all, to get on the floor and make winning plays is the first thing they say,” Kohnen said. “Then, second of all, turn it into, like, they call it a decision-maker, advantage-creator.
“Trying to just get downhill, be it on ball a little bit. Get into action-making, setting people up. So whether that’s getting downhill, getting a paint touch and kicking out to a shooter or just being that shooter or just ending up scoring at the basket. So it’s kind of doing that little bit of everything, but it kind of all evolves around creating an advantage and getting everyone involved with it.”
Kohnen is part of a loaded 2027 class in the state, which also includes Davis, Milwaukee Juneau’s Dooney Johnson (committed to Gonzaga), Wauwatosa West’s Jalen Brown (committed to UW) and Wisconsin Lutheran’s Kager Knueppel (uncommitted).
“I think this class has kind of just been pretty unique because everyone has kind of just put their egos aside, and a lot of us work out together,” Kohnen said. “We all play together and then just accept that we’re all going to get better together rather than trying to do our own things.
“It’s been pretty cool that everyone’s bought into that, and it gave everyone a chance to get better together.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why Slinger’s Jack Kohnen became Iowa State’s latest commit from Wisconsin
Reporting by Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
