Averi Porter '23 Recruiting Profile

My motto is, “I don’t want to play for the best team, I want to beat the best team.” This is how I’ve chosen my club basketball teams, and this has what has made the biggest wins that more special. I started my club experience with the CY Select Wolves, as they were the toughest defenders in our state, and I wanted to learn the defensive side of the game better. Our team went on to beat the top ranked All Iowa Attack team in our age group on several occasions. After attaining that goal, I then moved to Kingdom Hoops to focus on my offensive game. I stayed with this club for 2 years to play with many of my high school teammates and further develop our team chemistry. I was recruited by CY Select for my final summer of club basketball (2022) to play with other D1/D2 recruits at the highest level possible.

Family, friends and coaches often say that I’m the hardest worker on the court. If I lack in some way in a skill, I make up for it in effort. I feel my drive to constantly improve is there 100% in whatever sport I play (basketball, track, soccer), both in practice and in games. If I put in the effort in every practice like I’m playing in a game, it translates to more success on the court for myself and my team. As a college player, I hope my effort is contagious. The harder I push myself and my teammates, the better we all will be.

I believe I’m an unselfish player, putting my team first with every decision I make.  I know when to score, but I live for setting my teammate up with a pass for a bucket.  As a point guard, I’ve always had good court awareness. I attribute this to playing highly competitive soccer since I was 5 years old.  The two sports complement each other nicely and soccer has helped me become a better basketball player. I also enjoyed what volleyball and softball brought to my game awareness and will always be thankful for the opportunity I had to play each sport at the most competitive level growing up in such a large town.

While a freshman at Ankeny Centennial, a 5A school, I completed my first season on the Varsity squad earning a letter on a team ranked in the top 10 in the state. I have been a 2-year varsity starter where we were ranked as high as 8th in state my sophomore year and 2nd in state my junior year. We made it to the semi-finals, losing to the eventual state champions my sophomore year, and we reached the state quarterfinals as a junior, losing to a team that made it to the finals. I’m blessed to play for Scott DeJong, the Centennial Head Coach. He’s been instrumental in my development as an all-around player. Coach DeJong is in the Iowa Hall of Fame, has won six state championships and has been named the Girls Basketball National Coach of the Year.  

Pre-coronavirus, I had set the goal to letter in all three high school sports I was participating in as a freshman. I was on track for this goal until the pandemic hit.  Our high school soccer team was likely going to contend for the state title. At the beginning of my track season, I had the 5^th fastest speed test of all women, freshman through senior, out for track. In 8^th grade, my distance medley team earned the title of Drake Relay Champions, a flag I display proudly in my bedroom. I know this speed will be an asset moving forward in all competitive sports. As an athlete, I love playing all sports.  I will compete in anything if given the opportunity and time. I will use my grit, power, agility, strength, speed, endurance, and strong mental understanding of each sport to always help my current team. I would want to be this type of role-player in college as well. I do not care if I “shine” as long as I make every attempt to help my team shine and win at the highest level attainable. 

Going into my junior year at Ankeny Centennial, I am grateful I have parents that have instilled in me a strong work ethic and independence in academics and life.  Academics have fortunately come relatively natural for me. I have maintained a 3.99 (unweighted)/4.160 (weighted) GPA through my Junior year while taking some advanced classes such as AP Calculus, AP Literature, Enriched Physics and Spanish IV. Being a college student-athlete that sets the curve academically for my team is my number one goal. I’m often playing 2-3 sports at a time between club and school sports which has prepared me to balance academics and sports to be the best I can be.

When something is going wrong in life or with a given skill in my sport, I use my mental toughness to get through the hurdle. If I’m struggling in a game with getting the ball through the defender, I focus on my strength of speed or my knowledge off the ball to get open. There are so many components to sports, so if you are having a bad day in one there is always something you can do in a different area to help your team. I believe in using this thought process with myself and all my teammates by cheering them on and helping them find their strengths. If we all play off each other’s strengths (while working hard in practice on our weaknesses), we will all have more success. Hopefully, this determination and mental toughness will help my current high school team contend for the State Title in March 2023, where we are showing we are the team to beat!