Player of the Week: Logan Hoffman
His season might be over, but Tipton’s 6-foot-4 power forward, Logan Hoffman, did not go down without a fight.
Last Monday, when district play started, the junior bruiser netted 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a win over Mediapolis; a great night for most, but a rather pedestrian effort by Hoffman measures.
Then, in a district semifinal win over West Burlington, Hoffman put together one of his best performances of the season; an efficient 34 point, 13 rebound game to help his team advance to a district final against West Branch (what would be Tipton’s final game).
“My players got me the ball, and the refs were calling fouls and I was taking the ball to the hoop pretty well; and the free-throws really got me involved in the game for the most part,” said Hoffman, who knocked down 20 of his 22 free-throw attempts in the West Burlington win.
“And everything was working for us as a team, and our guys were knocking down 3s, and that made getting into the lane a little bit easier for me.”
Hofffman was unbelievably efficient in the district semifinal win, connecting on seven of his nine field goal attempts in addition to his 91 percent free-throw shooting (20-22).
He says the 20 points from the line is a manifestation of what he and his teammates have been working on every day behind closed doors.
“We really focus on free-throws in practice,” said Hoffman. “And that game my shot felt good, and everything felt good, and it just seemed like everything was going in.”
His big week — 27 points (63 FG%), 12.5 rebounds per game — was no flash in the pan either, Hoffman has been torrid all season, and finished his junior campaign with averages of 22.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Hoffman was quick to credit his teammates for his individual success.
“My teammates had the trust in me on a night-to-night basis, and they got me the ball,” he said. “And our JV team, every single day, brought it in practice; and that really helped so much.”
All week the votes were tallying at a high and consistent rate for Hoffman, who beat out Sioux City East standout Van Rees by 298 votes, and accrued an eye-opening total of 1,711.
It was his network of support voting from all over the country, and with whatever device they could get their hands on, that sealed the win for Hoffman.
“I’ve got to thank my family and friends; my uncle out in Des Moines, he works for Nationwide, and he tweeted it out to all his business guys out in Idaho and Arizona, so I had all them voting for me,” said Hoffman.
“And everyone here at home was voting on every device they could. And the school was just insane, what they did to help me win it.”