STATE TOURNAMENT: Thursday Preview
1A Semifinal: No.1 North Linn (26-0) vs No.4 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (25-2), 10:30 a.m
Analysis: This will be the battle of elite point guards; sophomore Jake Hilmer for North Linn and senior Joe Smoldt for Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Both were very good in their teams’ quartefinals wins, with Smoldt — an Upper Iowa-signee — going for 29 points and Hilmer filling the stat-sheet with 18 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. So with those two cancelling each-other out, it will come down to which guy has the better supporting cast. We will see.
Players to Watch
North Linn: Ryan Miller (No.81, 2018), Jake Hilmer (No.6, 2019), David Seber (59, 2019)
Gladbrook-Reinbeck: Joe Smoldt (No.13, 2017), Caden Kickbush (2018)
Our Pick: Gladbrook-Reinbeck 64, North Linn 63
1A Semifinal: No.2 Grand View Christian (25-1) vs St. Mary’s, Remsen (25-0), 12:15 p.m.
Analysis: Both of these teams played very, very well in their quarterfinal games. Grand View Christina got an especially strong performance from junior point guard Grant DeMeulenaere, if he can have the same success again, the Thunder will be tough to beat. St. Mary’s got by a talented New London squad on Monday, and if they can get by them, then they can likely get by anyone. The Hawks had big games from Jacob Wesselmann and Nicholas Ruden in that win. They’ll both need to play that way agin if they’re to win this one.
Players to Watch
Grand View Christian: Stephen Glenn (No.47, 2017), Grant DeMeulenaere (No.48, 2018), Arturo Montes (No.54, 2019), Mach Nyaw (No.79, 2019)
St. Mary’s, Remsen: Jacob Wesselmann (No168, 2017), Collin Schroeder (No.198, 2017), Nicholas Ruden (No.117, 2018)
Our Pick: St. Mary’s 65, Grand View Christian 63
2A Semifinal: No.1 Western Christian (22-2) vs No.4 Camanche (23-2), 2:00 p.m.
Analysis: Western Christian did not look great early against South Hamilton on Tuesday, but when they turned it on and erased their substantial deficit, they looked like the best team in the 2A field. The Wolfpack can ill afford to get out to a slow start against this talented Camanche squad. The Indians have so many legit weapons on their roster — including super freshman, and super bouncy 6-foot-1 guard Cameron Soenksen.
Players to Watch
Western Christian: Ben Gesink (No.61, 2017), Jesse Jansma (No.171, 2017), Tyson Kooima (No.164, 2017)
Camanche: Dylan Hundley (No.110, 2017), Dakota Soenksen (No.127, 2017), Dev Patel (No.132, 2018), Cameron Soenksen (2020)
Our Pick: Western Christian 71, Camanche 65
2A Semifinal: No.2 Pella Christian (21-4) vs No.3 Kuemper Catholic (23-2), 3:25 p.m.
Analysis: Kuemper Catholic was without a doubt the best team in the 2A field during the round of eight. They had a strong shoring from start to finish against a formidable G-H-V squad, and the Knights routed them to the tune of 51-31. South Dakota State-bound Matt Dentlinger is a 6-foot-7 forward who can dominate at the rim at the 2A level, but if need be he’ll step out and hit a triple. Levi Jungling and the Eagles won a thriller in overtime against Van Meter. They bring in plenty of experience and will be plenty poised, especially bouncy senior point guard Jungling. If Jungling goes off, the Eagles have a shot.
Players to Watch
Pella Christian: Levi Jungling (No.39, 2017), David Kacmarynski (No.166, 2017), Alex Pringle (2017)
Kuemper Catholic: Matt Dentlinger (No.23, 2017), Jacob Schafer (No.199, 2017), Parker Badding (No.136, 2018), Sam Auen (No.145, 2018)
Our Pick: Kuemper Catholic 58, Pella Christian 54
3A Semifinal: No.1 Waverly-Shell Rock (23-1) vs No.4 Xavier (14-11), 6:35 p.m.
Analysis: This will be a much anticipated match-up for Northern Iowa fans, 6-foot-9 Waverly-Shell Rock power forward Austin Phyfe will be a Panther next season, and he’s continuing his march to a title against the defending 3A champs. Max Techau is a talented 6-foot-7 post for Xavier, he’ll have his hands full with the Panther-signee. Jackson Joens and Matthew Mims were key to the Saints’ championship run last March, and those two will be key in this one as well. An X-factor for Xavier is Nolan Butkowski, he brings intangibles; for Waverly-Shell Rock it’s big-man Mosai Newson.
Players to Watch
Waverly-Shell Rock: Austin Phyfe (No.3, 2017), Jacob Bahe (No.157, 2018), Luke Velky (No.81, 2019), Mosai Newson (No.88, 2019)
Xavier: Max Techau (No.28 in 2017), Matthew Mims (No.9 in 2018), Jackson Joens (No.11 in 2019), Nolan Butkowski (No.145 in 2017), Quinn Schulte (No.48 in 2019)
Our Pick: Xavier 59, Waverly-Shell Rock 54
3A Semifinal: No. 2 West Delaware (25-0) vs No.6 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (16-9), 8:15 p.m.
Analysis: Sergeant Bluff-Luton pulled off what could be considered the biggest upset of the tournament so far when they took down No.3 seed Pella on Tuesday night. The Warriors have several weapons on their roster, and in that quarterfinal upset it was sophomore Conner Groves who was MVP. Keegan Savory and Chris Kroll are also capable of filling up the stat-sheet on any given night. West Delaware has not yet lost this season, and advanced to the semis after a 66-58 win over Dallas Center-Grimes. Derek Krogmann is a 6-foot-7 power forward for the Hawks, he’s got a North Dakota offer, and is our 4th-ranked 2019.
Players to Watch
West Delaware: Derek Krogmann (No.4 in 2019), Tyler Kelley (No.112 in 2018), John Nagel (No.83 in 2017), Ryan Trainer (No.220 in 2017)
Sergeant Bluff-Luton: Chris Kroll (No.71 in 2017), Jackson Wright (No.155 in 2017), Keegan Savory (No.186 in 2017), Conner Groves (2019)
Our Pick: West Delaware 61, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 59