Stovall Enjoys Visit to Ames

Mineral Area Community College guard Mike Stovall liked all aspects of his visit to Iowa State.

"I liked the school and the team a lot and the coaches were real cool," he said. "I feel like at Iowa State I could fit in at whatever position they put me at. They would be my leader right now"

The 6-foot-5 Stovall mostly plays the wing and even started 9 of 12 games at Oregon State this past year before transferring to Mineral Area Community College. "I'm really enjoying it there and right now I'm just excited for the junior college camp (Jerry Mullins in Tulsa,OK) coming up," said Stovall. "I'm just hitting the weight room and working on my game with Coach P (Mineral Area Assistant Sean Pryor)."

Even though Iowa State did not offer Stovall a scholarship during the visit, there is still a solid chance it may happen in the near future. "We didn't get into it too much about a scholarship but (Iowa State) Coach (Daniyal) Robinson said that the staff was going to be watching me again at the (Mullins) camp and that they would talk to me soon after that."

One of the main reasons Stovall is so interested in Iowa State is because of his past relationship with Coach Robinson. "I first met him on my visit to Illinois State when he was recruiting me in high school and he really took care of me down there," he said. "We built the relationship right then and it has grown from there."

While on his visit to Iowa State, Stovall also got to reminisce with some of the Cyclone players about their game against Iowa State from this past season. "We talked about that game and they told me about the school and how their season went," he said. "They're real cool players and we got along real well."

According to Mineral Area Assistant Coach Sean Pryor, the team that gets the services of Stovall will be landing a player with a very bright future. "We were just at Oklahoma State and he did well there on his unofficial visit," said Pryor. "Then he came here and really enjoyed himself. Mike is just a player that has a really big upside."

Pryor even feels his game resembles a certain young star of the Portland Trail Blazers. "He reminds me of Brandon Roy in the way he plays," he said. "He's fundamentally sound and really a great athlete." Pryor also feels that Stovall's best basketball is ahead of him. "He's a young 18 who doesn't turn 19 until July," he said. "He's really working hard and has already put on 7 or 8 pounds of muscle since he got here. I feel with him maturing that he's going to be a really good player."

Stovall said that once the Mullins Camp is over in early July that he will look to possibly make a final decision on a school either this summer or in the early fall. "After the camp I'm going to sit down with my family and look at the whole situation," he said. "Once I have talked with my mom and dad I will make a decision based on whatever is best for me."