KU target Corprew held to six points

By Bobby Nightengale     Mar 27, 2016

John Young
Quality Education Academy senior shooting guard DaShawn Corprew puts up a shot in traffic during the Grind Sessions championship game Saturday evening at Free State High.

For most of the Grind Session national championship game on Saturday, a showcase for some of the top prep schools across the nation, Deshawn Corprew was a distributor, trying to help his teammates find open looks.

That’s not the way Corprew prefers to play. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard for Quality Education Academy (N.C.) wishes his shot was more consistent and he could’ve made a bigger impact in an 85-74 loss to Victory Rock (Fla.) at Free State High, a game played between two teams that looked tired from playing three games in about 24 hours.

Corprew, a Kansas University recruiting target, was limited to six points on 3-of-14 shooting, adding eight rebounds and a steal. When he went into the paint, he was bothered by the length of his opponents. If he tried jump shots, they just wouldn’t drop.

The Jayhawks made the cut for his final three schools, along with Missouri and Texas A&M. Missouri coach Kim Anderson saw him play Friday. Corprew said he hopes to make a decision on a school “as soon as possible,” but he enjoyed spending the weekend in Lawrence.

“It was all right, I got to see a lot of things while I was down here,” Corprew said. “It helped. Hopefully I’ll be on a visit.”

Oklahoma State commit Gorjok Gak, a 6-10, 210-pound center, had a big impact for Victory Rock, scoring 16 points and affecting numerous shots at the rim with his length. He swatted one layup attempt by Corprew out of bounds. Loren Jackson, a 5-7 guard signed to Long Beach State, had a game-high 32 points with seven three-pointers.

“It was really good to get that far,” Corprew said. “We weren’t supposed to make it that far. We had two hard games in the beginning. But I’m really proud of our underclassmen and how they fought. We just came up short this time.”

Corprew helped QEA advance to the title game with victories against Athlete Institute (Ontario, Canada), which included 7-foot KU target Thon Maker, and Sunrise Christian.

But Corprew didn’t score the ball like he usually does, averaging 31 points during the school’s national schedule. A four-star recruit by Rivals.com, ranked No. 112 in the nation, Corprew showed flashes on Saturday by dropping a floater and knocking down a long jumper with his foot on the three-point line.

When he dribbles into the lane, he looks like a linebacker racing to the line of scrimmage with his strong frame.

“It was really good,” Corprew said of the opposing talent. “I love playing against bigger players and players that are better than me. I enjoy it. I’m just happy I got a chance to play against (Victory Rock). They made me kind of better.”

“I was not consistent with my shot. Usually I am consistent,” Corprew added. “I was trying to do too much out of my game. That’s what messed me up this tournament. But I’ll bounce back.”

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