Iowa recruit Cordell Pemsl not sure of position, just that he wants to play right away

CEDAR RAPIDS — For Cordell Pemsl, the 'R' word is a four-letter word. He doesn't want to use it.

The Dubuque Wahlert senior doesn't want to be a red-shirted next season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He wants to play and play a lot.

'I've been hearing all types of things about 'Oh, you're going to get red-shirted. Oh, you're not going to play a lot,'' Pemsl said, after taking part in Wednesday night's Eastern Iowa All-Star Game prep basketball event at Kirkwood's Johnson Hall. 'I use that as self motivation. The season just ended a little over a week ago, so I took last week off just to get my mind right and everything. I'm going to be meeting here soon with the University of Iowa to figure out what they want me to do, position wise.'

The 6-foot-8 all-stater has been strictly a center at the prep level, but he knows that's not going to happen in college. He'll play one of the forward positions.

He's not sure which one.

'I'm kind of in a tough spot where I'm between a '3' and a '4,'' he said. 'So we're going to meet with them, see what they want me to do the next three months before I'm finally on campus. Then use the summer to get as good as I can before the season comes around. These next three months before I get on campus are really big for me. It's no joke anymore. It's not middle school, it's not high school. This is the Big Ten now, so I know I've got to take this seriously, not take anything lightly.'

Pemsl averaged 21.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for Wahlert, which saw its attempt at a Class 3A state championship three-peat end at the hands of Cedar Rapids Xavier in the title game. He's got a Big Ten Conference body, and being left handed probably will help him.

He's completely healthy, which is a significant plus, too. He was nicked with shoulder and knee issues throughout his high school career and had major offseason knee surgery last spring.

'I trusted in the doctors at the University of Iowa, I trusted in my physical therapist ... when they told me I was going to be OK,' he said. 'There was a lot of trust there the whole season. I knew I could go out and give it my all, 110 percent, and know that I was going to be injury free. At least that I could control.'

Pemsl said his court vision, willingness to make the pass and learning to go to his secondary offensive moves (facing double and triple teams defensively all season) are pluses he hopes will help him get immediate court time for Iowa. He's also cognizant of the things he needs to work on to make sure that happens.

'I'd like to improve my jumping and attack the boards harder,' he said. 'And just be able to defend out on the perimeter. I was stuck in a weird position at Wahlert because I was playing the '5' a lot. When I get to the Big Ten, I'm not going to play the '5.' So just to be able to improve my quickness and be able to guard a '3' out on the wing is going to be huge.'

The South all-star teams won both the boys' and girls' portion of Wednesday's double-header.

Iowa City High's Courtney Joens scored a game-high 19 points and was named MVP of the 68-61 girls' game. On the boys' side, Iowa City West's Wali Parks (20 points) and Pleasant Valley's Will Carius (18) were Co-MVPs of an 88-85 victory.

Durant's Janey Botkins and Iowa Mennonite's Eli Gingerich won the event's 3-point shooting contests, with Botkins besting Gingerich in a head-to-head encounter.

GIRLS: AT JOHNSON HALL

SOUTH GIRLS (68): Maci Griffith (Vinton-Shellsburg) 3, Joniqua Clark (C.R. Washington) 2, Anne Visser (C.R. Washington) 11, Taylor Schuring (Decorah) 4, Arika Wooldridge (Center Point-Urbana) 4, Alecia Kimball (Dunkerton) 6, Charlotte Flynn (Dubuque Wahlert) 4, Taylor Huber (Alburnett) 9, Morgan Boer (North Linn) 4, Megan Maas (Western Dubuque) 13.

NORTH GIRLS (61): Allyson Simpson (West Branch) 9, McKenna Anderson (C.R. Xavier) 10, Janey Botkins (Durant) 8, Sydney Hayden (C.R. Kennedy) 6, Lela Sellers (C.R. Kennedy) 5, Riley Kilbride (Burlington Notre Dame) 9, Alyssa Wiebel (Benton Community) 0, Olivia Usher (C.R. Prairie) 0, Courtney Joens (Iowa City High) 19, Jolissa Kriegel (BGM) 3.

BOYS: AT JOHNSON HALL

SOUTH BOYS (88): Eli Gingerich (Iowa Mennonite) 3, Nathan Stenger (Iowa City Regina) 2, Camden Chrisman (Fort Madison) 0, Tommy Hook (Mount Vernon) 3, Wali Parks (Iowa City West) 20, Streeter McIlravy (Solon) 10, Connor Herrmann (Mount Vernon) 13, Will Mertens (Van Buren) 8, Derek Anding (Washington, Iowa) 2, Will Carius (Pleasant Valley) 18, Micah Martin (Iowa City High) 6.

NORTH BOYS (85): Jared Printy (Linn-Mar) 3, Mitchell Burger (C.R. Xavier) 7, Tim Doering (Waterloo Christian) 11, Kolin Schulte (Anamosa) 3, Derrick Howard (Clinton) 21, Colin Squiers (Dyersville Beckman) 17, C.J. Michels (Bellevue Marquette) 0, Riley Till (Dubuque Wahlert) 15, Devin Green (Cascade) 0, Cordell Pemsl (Dubuque Wahlert) 9.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com