Scouting Report: There's a lot to like about Norwalk guard Bowen Born's polished game

NORWALK, Ia. — College basketball coaches can begin calling high school prospects June 15 after their sophomore year.

Bowen Born’s phone will get a lot of calls that day. 

After a strong freshman season at Norwalk and a breakout summer performance with the Iowa Barnstormers, the prolific sophomore point guard has firmly established himself as a top-flight recruit in this state's 2020 class — which is shaping up to be on par with 2019.

"And this summer," Born told the Register last Friday, "it’ll be just as big — playing with the Barnstormers and being in those big tournaments."

Even though colleges can't yet contact sophomore prospects directly, they can talk to their coaches. Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Iowa and Drake have all expressed interest in Born through his AAU or high school coaches, Born said.

Norwalk head coach Chris Larson also said North Dakota assistant coach Jeff Horner routinely reaches out to check in on Born.

Born leads Norwalk (13-1) with 21 points per game on 51.3 percent shooting and 45.3 percent from 3-point range. He’s a lights-out shooter with the shifty speed to find room inside and create for teammates. His defensive fundamentals look more like those of a senior. In fact, Born’s size is really the only thing that makes him look like a sophomore.

Last year, Born stood 5-foot-9. Now, he’s about 5-11 with probably a little room to grow, too. His dad, Michael Born, a former Cyclones shooting guard and current scout for the Charlotte Hornets, stands 6-foot-1.

"I hope I can get up to his height — that’d be nice," Born laughed.

Born scored a game-high 22 points in Norwalk’s 72-54 win over Dallas Center-Grimes last Friday. The Register was on hand. Here’s a scouting report from what we saw.

Offense

First thing that stands out about Born? His efficient 3-point shot.

He squares his feet and elevates well — straight up with slight forward momentum. He quickly pulls the ball up for a high, hard-to-block release. He aligns his elbow directly with the basket. He wastes little motion with his shot, finishes high and follows through.

It’s a textbook shooting form, and one that will only become quicker and more refined as he progresses through high school and gets stronger. 

"Me and my dad, the first thing we do when we come into the gym is just form shooting," Born said. "I know a lot of kids now shoot the 3-pointer at a young age, and that kind of gets the form out. So, with my dad, I wasn’t able to shoot 3s until like fifth grade. That helped with being able to tune it in and not develop bad habits out of that."

Born will need to get faster and add strength for success inside in college. But, for now, he utilizes quick bursts of speed to blow by perimeter defenders and bounce his way through interior defenses. From there, he either attempt to score around defenders with his long arms or create plays for his teammates.

The lefty can dribble well and handle the ball with both hands. He’s much better driving to his left at this point. He’ll need to work on finishing to his right, but he has a nice floater from that side to keep interior defenders honest.

Defense

Born will not have a size advantage over anyone he plays this year. Heck, he might never have a size advantage. So, he needs to rely on effort and fundamentals.

Check and check.

Effort — he played all 32 minutes Friday against Dallas Center-Grimes, and he put pressure on the opposing point guard the whole time. He sprinted around and navigated through screens during man-to-man. He swarmed to the ball-handler in zone. He smothered his man when he ran the point of a half-court press.

Fundamentals — he fronted his man in the paint and never allowed an inside pass. He rapidly shuffled his feet to stay in front of his man, always keeping his hands high and away so the referee had nothing to call. He drew a charge. He was active with his hands and poked the ball away when his man got loose with his dribble.

"It’s all a mentality," Born said. "I think I’ve done it since I was young. I like to play full-court and I like to guard full-court, and I think that’s just become a mentality for me — to lock in and play defense."

Overall, there’s a lot to like about Born. He’s ahead of the curve in terms of raw basketball skills, and his talents will only shine brighter as he gets bigger and stronger.

Matthew Bain covers college football and basketball recruiting for the Des Moines Register. He also helps out with Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball coverage for HawkCentral and Cyclone Insider. Contact him at mbain@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.