Mr. Basketball Coon will be a Hawkeye

By DANA BECKER

dbecker@messengernews.net

STORM LAKE — As Ben McCollum and the Iowa men’s basketball team made their surprising march through the NCAA Tournament, Jaidyn Coon took note.

Coon, the all-time scoring leader at Storm Lake High School, committed to the Hawkeyes on Thursday. Coon had decommitted from Creighton after long-time head coach Greg McDermott announced his retirement.

“Thank you Lord for blessing me with an opportunity of a lifetime,” Coon wrote on social media in announcing his commitment. “I dreamed as a kid playing at the collegiate level. Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this process.”

Regarded as one of the top prospects in the state of Iowa alongside Nebraska commit Colin Rice and Illinois commit Landon Davis, Coon led the Tornadoes to back-to-back appearances in the Class 3A state basketball tournament.

Storm Lake dropped a heartbreaker in the semifinals to ADM in a double-overtime classic that saw Coon score 36 points with 18 rebounds. He was named to the 3A all-tournament team for his efforts.

Coon averaged 22 points and over nine rebounds per game this past season, earning Mr. Basketball in the state from the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association and Iowa Basketball Coaches Association. He was also a multi-time first team all-stater.

He also received offers from Iowa State, Illinois, Nebraska and TCU during the recruiting process. McCollum, who grew up in Storm Lake and graduated from Storm Lake St. Mary’s, offered Coon when he was the head coach at Drake.