2A State Tournament: Breakout Candidates
Dev Patel (Camanche)
Not much was known about this junior point guard coming into the season, but he’s made a big splash with the Indians, averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game. Look for the 6-foot standout to stuff the stat-sheets at Wells Fargo Arena next week.
Haris Hoffman (Cascade, Western Dubuque)
Just a sophomore, Hoffman will get his taste of playing a major role down at the state tournament. Last season he played sparingly as a freshman. This season he comes in with averages of 11,3 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game.
Brock Simon (Cascade, Western Dubuque)
Another in a stable of very solid Cougar juniors, Simon was critical to the success of Cascade this season, and at 6-foot 3, could be a match-up problem for other guards at the tournament. Simon — who averages 10.8 points per game — leads the Cougars in assists and steals.
Parker Badding (Kuemper Catholic)
Badding has been on our radar for awhile now, since we saw his two summers ago balling with Tryon Gym. But to the rest of the state, this will be a great opportunity for him to shine. A 6-foot-1 guard, Badding is averaging 11.1 points per game and shooting 40 percent from deep this season. And he leads the Knights in assists, for good measure.
Sam Auen (Kuemper Catholic)
This 6-foot shooting guard has been shredding nets all season with his precision shooting; he’s connected on 54 3s at a 44 percent clip. If he can stay that hot down at Wells Fargo Arena, the Knights will be very tough to beat.
Conner Hill (South Hamilton)
The younger brother of Collin Hill (who we recently featured in our “Stars at State” article), Conner is an up-and-coming star in Iowa’s 2019 class. The 5-foot-10 All-Iowa Attack product leads the Hawks in 3s made (61), and shoots it efficiently, making 42 percent of his deep tries. Conner has scored and assisted well all season too.
Ryan Schmitt (Van Meter)
Without a doubt a star in the making, this 6-foot-8 sophomore was the straw that stirred he post for Van Meter this season. Schmitt is averaging team-bests 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds this season. And gets it done defensively too, swatting 1.8 blocks per game.
Grant Johnson (Van Meter)
Part two of the Van Meter twin towers, Johnson is efficient on offense, netting 8.8 points per game on 63 percent shooting. But his defensive prowess is what differentiates him from the pack. Johnson leads the Bulldogs in blocked-shots; he’s sending away 2.8 per game (third best in 2A).
Cameron Soenksen (Camanche)
Another little bro to make this list, Cameron and Dylan (recently featured in “Stars at State” article) make up quite the duo for Camanche. Cameron is a 6-foot-1 freshman who is averaging 14 points per game heading into state. He could make a strong case for a high ranking when the initial 2020 rankings are released in May.
Jabob Vis (Western Christian)
This sophomore big-man has been coming off the bench to make very valuable contributions for the Wolfpack this season. At 6-foot-6 he’s the tallest player on the team, and his 71 percent field goal percentage and 1.4 blocks per game are telling of his value.