Van Gorp reaching new heights for Central men's basketball

PELLA— Fortunately for the Central College men’s basketball team, there’s no obvious answer to the obvious question for Dutch opponents.

How do you stop 6-foot, 10-inch center Joshua Van Gorp (5th-year, Pella)?

It’s not as though teams haven’t tried. Van Gorp, Central’s first-ever NABC All-America pick, has seen a little bit of everything from defenders.

“A lot of teams do it differently,” he said. “There are some teams, they’ll have a defender standing in front of me and a guy right behind me or, when I catch it, they’ll send another guy. I kind of have to adjust every game.”

Regardless of what the defenses throw at him, Van Gorp is likely to continue spitting out statistical double-doubles each night he steps on the floor. He’s racked up 30 for his career, including in all 10 of this season’s games he’s played, ranking second in the NCAA Division III. He’s also  fourth in  Division III in field goal percentage (67.3%), seventh in field goals (101), seventh in rebounds per game (12.7) and 15th in points per game (23.7). 

“You can almost pencil him in at 20 and 10 (points and rebounds) and he’s actually had a few 30-point games this year,” coach Joe Steinkamp said.

The only thing to even slow him thus far was an injury during a post-Christmas practice that forced him to miss a pair of games over the weekend. 

But he’s expected to return soon as he closes in on Colby Taylor’s (2013-17) career scoring record of 1,856 points. Van Gorp has 1,594 with at least 13 games remaining. The two-time American Rivers MVP is averaging 23.7 points and 12.7 rebounds while shooting a torrid 67.3% from the field.

But the only record Van Gorp really cares about is his team’s.

“It’s great to have a leader who’s completely unselfish and only cares about winning, even though he gets all these stats” Steinkamp said. “He’s a humble star and just really fun to coach. I think he’s a great model for all of our young guys.”            

Rigorous strength training has helped Van Gorp absorb the accompanying pounding he takes that doesn’t always draw an official’s whistle.

“It’s gotten pretty physical, but my body can keep up with it because of the work I put in over the off-season,” he said. “It’s just something I have to adjust to.”

A pair of 6-8 freshmen, Alier Agau (Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) and Anthony Gott (Davenport, North Scott HS), share the daunting assignment of guarding Van Gorp in practice. There’s a steep learning curve.

“It is difficult because he’s got a lot of experience,” Agau said. “He’s used to having to fight back a lot of bigger guys. I spend a lot of time just figuring out how to stop him.

“He knows how to leverage his size. I remember, even before I came to Central, watching him play. He just moves people around effortlessly. He has a good amount of post moves that he can use, but it’s mostly just being able to move himself right through people."

Steinkamp said the two rookies haven’t backed off.

“Alier and Anthony are getting pretty good at it,” he said. “They’re bigger guys that have a little weight to them and they have great wingspans. There are times at practice that we feel like those two guys guard him as well as the guys that we see in the game. Those two guys are going to be really high-level players themselves, but it’s a challenge. We talk to those guys a lot about not getting discouraged and just trying to do your best because he puts big numbers on even the best of players.”

Van Gorp also takes time to share a few lessons in Big Man 101.

“A lot of times during practice, the coaches will have the guards doing shooting drills,” Agau said. “So Josh usually takes us aside and does a little post work with us, so I’ve been able to learn there. And just watching, I’ve been trying to adapt some of his habits into my game.”

Yet those skills aren’t as valued as they once were by some. Unlike the days of teams building around dominant post players, once as common as Converse Chuck Taylor high-tops, height is no longer as prized as quickness, with coaches focus shifting to positionless lineups. That at least partly explains why Van Gorp didn’t generate a lot of recruiting buzz, despite standing 6-10 and helping lead his Pella Christian High School squad to the state tournament. And it’s how 6-10 Luka Garza could win national player of the year honors for the University of Iowa in 2021, then languish until the 52nd pick of the NBA draft.

“I’ve heard (Purdue coach Matt Painter) say they get these five-star recruits that never threw the ball into the post in their whole life,” Steinkamp said. “The AAU game is such a five-out, spread, pick-and-roll game. It’s kind of a lost art so we have to spend a lot of time on throwing the ball inside. But the guys know they’ll get really good shots if they’re able to do it.”

But Van Gorp received plenty of recruiting attention from Central and former Dutch coach Craig Douma.

“Coach Douma really wanted me and I didn’t look too much into other schools,” Van Gorp said. “I just kind of felt like Central was where I was meant to be.”

Any apprehensions about Steinkamp taking over for Douma prior to Van Gorp’s junior season quickly faded.

“I didn’t really know what was going to happen but (Steinkamp) has been amazing and all I could have asked for,” Van Gorp said. “He and (assistant) Conor Riordan make quite the duo. They make my life pretty easy. They build the offense around me, get me the ball and they really make it so that we’re playing to my strengths. It helps me out a lot.”

Feeding Van Gorp is an ongoing challenge. Steinkamp and Riordan morph into chess masters, immersing themselves in video of games from across the country searching for new tactics and counter-tactics.

“That’s kind of what’s fun for us, just trying to find new ways to get him the ball and new ways to attack the double team,” Steinkamp said. “We’re starting to get good at trying to figure out where the double team is coming from and how we need to change our schemes accordingly. We actually watch a lot of Purdue from the last couple years when they had (7-4 center) Zach Edey, who kind of plays a similar style to what Josh does.”

Van Gorp watches as well.

“I kind of like Edey,” Van Gorp said. “It’s fun to look and see what other bigs do. And obviously, I watched (Luka) Garza at Iowa. It’s kind of the same. A lot of us do the same kind of moves. You just have to get your guy in position and once you feel where he’s at, you can go up and finish.

“We have a lot of plays where it kind of isolates me so there’s just me one-on-one, and I can score about every time. Coach Steinkamp does a really good job. He’ll watch film and see how the team doubles the other teams’ bigs, so we can kind of plan for how they’re going to double me.”“                

Playing to Van Gorp’s strengths has translated to winning basketball for the Dutch. Picked to finish last in the conference in 2021-22, Central captured its 18th title while posting an 18-7 record. Injuries hindered the Dutch last season, but they still finished 17-9. 

Meanwhile, Van Gorp’s numbers continue their ascent in the Central record book. He already holds the career field goals mark with 678 and set the season field goal percentage mark with a sizzling 70.5% in 2021-22. Particularly memorable was his record-setting 48-point night in a 94-75 romp at nationally ranked Coe College Jan. 27. That topped the 45-point school standard set by Jeff Verhoef in 1979 and tied by Steve Kraayenbrink in 1981.

“I knew the record was something in the 40s,” Van Gorp said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it during the game. I don’t know what I had at halftime, 20 or something. But then once I got in the 40s I was like, ‘Oh, man.’”

He does have one regret from that outing. 

“I missed the layup for 50,” he said. “My grandma reminds me of that all the time. But that’s OK. It just keeps me humble.” 

More importantly at the time was the significance of the game for the Dutch in the conference standings. Performances like that are unpredictable.

“Sometimes I really know I’m in the zone,” Van Gorp said. “I know it’s going to be a good night. Other nights, sometimes I just get going and I get in the zone. It’s like I don’t even really know what’s going on, but I’ll feel like once the game’s starting, if I’m a lot stronger than the other guy, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s going to be a long night for him.’ It is fun.”

It’s even intoxicating.

“It’s just a great feeling,” Van Gorp said. “It’s like I’m not tired and I really don’t even hear the crowd. I’m just thinking one thing, get to my spot on the block, hold my seal for as long as I can and then score.”

The thirst for more hoops highs made the decision to postpone graduation and return for a fifth season easier than Van Gorp let on.

“I told people I was debating it a little bit, but I knew in my mind I was going to come back,” Van Gorp said. “I told people I was thinking about it. I thought, maybe something happens where I don’t come back. But I was like, if I’ve got another chance to go back and do it again, I’m going to do it again. That’s pretty much what I was thinking the whole time.

Van Gorp couldn’t walk away from the sport he’s loved since third grade.

“Everyone told me you don’t want to regret it,” he said. “If I just go start working, I’d look back at it and be like, ‘Man, I wish I was out there playing.’ I can work my whole life and I’ve got one chance to come back and do it. I’m not going to have that regret of what could have happened? What could we have done?”

One thing Central hasn’t done during Van Gorp’s career is crack the NCAA Division III Tournament field, narrowly missing the cut the past two years. If Van Gorp needed any extra motivation to return for a fifth season, that void on his career resume provided it.

“It’s a good goal for us to get back and do it this year,” he said. “It definitely fueled workouts.”

Getting Van Gorp onto the NCAA tournament stage is a priority for Steinkamp.

“It’s really important,” he said. “Conor (Riordan) and I talk about it all the time. He’s had one of the best careers in the history of Central College basketball. And we want to be playing in the NCAA tournament, not only for him but for this program. We think we’ve been an NCAA tournament team the last couple years and just haven’t gotten in, so that’s kind of the ultimate goal.”

It’s attainable, even with a young squad, Steinkamp said.

“We continue to be really excited about our team,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of guys that have been in double figures, we’re just searching for consistency right now. But we have a lot of ball handlers, a lot of shooters, a lot of passers and a lot of guys that are good defensively, too. We’re trying a lot of things and a lot of different lineup combinations, trying to figure out what works. But I think once the guys get more reps and get confident, we’ll be playing our best basketball.”

Even the end of the season might not mark the close of Van Gorp’s basketball career. Steinkamp thinks playing professionally, likely in Europe, will be an option and that he could adapt to the European style of play.

“The game continues to evolve,” Steinkamp said. “The fact that he can move so well helps. The game is a more free-flowing game there, but I think with his ability to ball screen, roll and catch it around the rim and finish, I would think they’d be able to find ways to use him. Even in the NBA, you see some of these bigger guys coming in now that they figure out ways to use them, so I think it’s a really smart brand of basketball. I’m sure with his skill set, the right coach would be able to figure it out.”

Van Gorp admits he’s intrigued.

“I might look to keep playing,” he said. I might give it a shot and see what’s out there, maybe overseas, I don’t know. That’s not set. It would be a little different because I’ve lived in Pella my whole life, but it would be a really fun opportunity."

Regardless, Van Gorp’s Central legacy is already secure, said Steinkamp.

“Seeing him develop over the course of his career, how much time he put in the weight room, running, working on his post plays.,” he said. “He’s just one of those guys who kept getting better, even coming into this, his fifth year. He’s still adding to his game, still getting better and getting in better shape. So I think we’ll talk about him for a long time and try to motivate other kids that come into the program to show how much you can accomplish if you work really hard.”