Urbandale Shootout Preview
Players to Watch (class ranking in parenthesis):
Urbandale — 2019 G/F Grant Garwood (27th), 2017 G Brayden Washington (85th), 2017 SF Trevor Miller (118th)
Southeast Polk — 2017 G Jackson Cole (93rd), 2018 F Grant Arnold (67th)
Atlantic — 2017 SF Garrett Franken (13th), 2018 PF Scott Leonard (57th)
Waukee — 2017 PG Drew Johnson (54th), 2017 PF Jacob Rau (34th), 2018 G/F Nathan Johnson (15th), 2018 G/F Nathan Nelson (27th), 2019 PG Noah Hart (9th), 2019 SF Dylan Jones (36th)
Valley — 2017 F Quinton Curry (5th), 2017 PF Charley Crowley (21), 2018 SG Carter Frey (44th), 2018 G Noah Samples (45th), 2018 F Blake Brinkmeyer (48th), 2018 PG Jevon Mason (91st), 2019 G Trayvion Williams (26th)
Ankeny — 2017 G Drew Maschoff (10th), 2018 G Ben Lyon (82nd)
DM North — 2017 SF Jal Bijiek (4th), 2017 G/F James Deng (80th), 2017 F Dariq Myles (125th), 2019 PG Tyreke Locure (2nd), 2019 G/F Lino Malual (32nd)
Xavier — 2017 PF Mac Techau (20th), 2018 G/F Jackson Joens (6th), 2018 PG Matthew Mims (11th)
Ankeny Centennial — 2017 SG Connor Kasperbauer (26th), 2018 G Chance Gibbons (112th)
Dallas Center Grimes — 2018 G Steve Borneman (79th)
DM East — 2017 G Fred Bickham (81st), 2017 G Cameron Cramer (91), 2017 G George Danztler (120), 2018 G Daires Adams (109)
Johnston — 2017 F Grant Kramer (29th), 2017 F Dawson Jones (38th), 2017 G Jeran Proctor (115th), 2018 SG Camden Vander Zwagg (37th), 2019 F Quinten Brown (33th)
Ames — 2017 G Choul Choul (95th), 2017 SG Eric Steyer (133rd), 2017 G Carter Mumm (155th), 2018 C Joe Evans (76th), 2019 PF Jappanah Kellogg (53rd)
Dowling Catholic — 2017 PG Joey Kern (47th), 2018 PG Sam Ingoli (3rd), 2018 PF John Waggoner (18th), 2018 C Joseph Evans (31st), 2019 PG Thomas Faber (9th), 2019 PG Jack Keough (35th), 2019 G/F Zack Prey (66th)
Iowa City West — 2017 PG Connor McCaffery (1st), 2017 PG Devontae Lane (2nd), 2017 G Izaya Ono-Fullard (172nd), 2017 SG Nate Disterhoft (173rd), 2017 G Marshawn Yarbrough (N/A), 2018 SF Hakeem Odunsi (34th), 2018 PF Seybian Sims (35th), 2018 PG Jake Anderson (40th), 2018 G/F JaQoun Hemphill (46th), 2018 PG Evan Flitz (84th), 2019 G/F Patrick McCaffery (1st), 2019 G Braydon Adock (49th)
Indianola — 2019 G Evan Gauger (14th)
The Favorites
There are several teams in this loaded field that are not only contenders to win this tournament, but that are state title contenders as well. We consider the following six teams to have the best shot at taking home the crown Sunday evening in Urbandale.
Valley: The defending 4A champions lost super point guard Turner Scott and bouncy slasher Carlo Marble, but return a superstar in Quinton Curry and what could be the CIML’s breakout player with Charley Crowley. There’s also a stable of younger talent ready to showcase themselves – consider them a serious threat next year in 4A.
DM North: Not only will this probably be the most fun team to watch in the tournament, but they have some serious talent and depth too. Jal Bijiek and Tyreke Locure are certainly one of the top duos in the state, and with Locure’s savvy and Bijiek’s athleticism, expect to see some electric plays.
Xavier: There are still some question marks on this team as far as depth, but one thing is for sure, it possesses what is definitely one of the top trios in the state. Max Techau is a long and steady post with a high motor, and that’s complimented by 2018’s Matthew Mims and Jackson Joens, both top-15 guys in their class.
Johnston: This will be a team that surprises some people next season. The Dragons have great size and length with the Grant Kramer and Dawson Jones duo, and Camden Vander Zwaag is an up-and-coming sharpshooter with great size. Jeran Proctor is a bull on defense, and sophomore-to-be Quinten Brown is best leaper in 2019.
Dowling: Like their West Des Moines counterparts, the Maroons lost a ton of talent from last season’s state-qualifying team. But they have their backcourt back with Joey Kern and Sam Ingoli, and a wealth of guys coming up through the ranks that will make them competitive next year, and for year’s to come.
Iowa City West: It’s been ridiculous for several years now the amount of talent that this one team can put on the floor, and next season will be no exception. The Trojans have the best backcourt and the best duo in the state with 2017’s top two players Connor McCaffery and Devontae Lane. And top-ranked 2019 Patrick McCaffery is a 6-foot-8 wing. In between you have a solid bunch of 2018s who will be ready and eager to finally make their mark with the varsity.