The Final Countdown: 2017’s 10-1
1 Connor McCaffery (Iowa City West)
Our wire-to-wire top player in 2017, McCaffery is a 6’5 combo guard, with a sweet lefty stroke and a big enough frame to handle younger guards in the paint. It’s likely that McCaffery may have garnered a slew of high-major Division I offers had he not have committed to his dad at Iowa early in his career (we know Notre Dame was in on him early). Also a baseball standout, McCaffery will play both sports next season at Iowa. And the question is always asked: how good can McCaffery be at Iowa? We think he can excel for Hawkeyes hoops.
2 Devontae Lane (Iowa City West)
The second part of one of the most lethal duos to ever exist in Iowa high school hoops. Lane closed the gap between he and McCaffery over the past three seasons, and even generated some top-spot talk later in his career. He’s a bullish guard with a thick build, but still quick enough to blow-by opponents. His jumper is solid, and defensively he’s menacing. The 6-foot point guard was offered by Iowa State during the Hoiberg regime, but that offer dissipated after that staff left. Lane will play at renowned JuCo Indian Hills next season before landing at a mid-to high major D1 after that.
3 Austin Phyfe (Waverly Shell-Rock)
His dad played with Northern Iowa and Phyfe wasted no time making his commitment with the Panthers too. A smooth 6-foot-10 power forward, Phyfe can hit a 3-ball and dominate the paint. He can handle the ball a little bit too, and is seemingly a perfect fir for Ben Jacobson’s system in Cedar Falls. His Waverly Shell-Rock teams played in two state tournaments over his four year career, and Phyfe was a mainstay with the Iowa Barnstormers during that time. Look for him to be a household name for Panthers fans in a couple of years.
4 Douglas Wilson (Hoover)
Kingdom Hoops program director Jake Sullivan once told us that Douglas Wilson was the best rebounder he had ever seen; which is especially eye-opening because Sullivan played in the Big 12 for four seasons. Wilson is a 6’6 power forward with remarkable bounce and an uncanny ability to get buckets around the hoop. Amazingly, he averaged 17.9 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game his senior season at Hoover. That means he accounted for 36 percent of the team’s scoring, 49 percent of its rebounding and 80 percent of the team’s blocks. This kid was certainly an Iowa Mr. Basketball candidate. He’ll play JuCo at Kirkwood before landing at a D1 in a year or two.
5 Bailey Basala (North Scott)
Nobody in the class of 2017 had more offers on the table than this 6’5 wing. In all, eight D1 programs asked Basala to come play for them, and from all over the country; North Dakota, Air Force, UC Davis, Albany, Central Michigan, Duquense, Holy Cross and American were all enchanted with Basala’s size and skill. He was originally an Illinois kid, but made the move to North Scott before his junior season, and played with the Iowa Barnstormers during the summers. He’ll play with Air Force next season.
6 Jal Bijiek (Des Moines North)
The bouncy and lengthy Des Moines North forward is certainly a unique talent, who mixes great leaping ability with height, length and a skill-set that’s only scratching the surface. He can hit a jumper, and his jump-shot is well on its way to becoming a consistent threat. What he’s best at is flying high and wrecking rims, and that’s surely what Texas Tech likes too. The Big 12 school offered Bijiek no more than a week after he had gone down to Texas for prep school. The future is very bright for this Polar Bears legend.
7 Cade McKnight (Grinnell)
Big and versatile, McKnight was able to nab a handful of D2 offers and a partial scholarship from D1 North Dakota before committing to Truman State late in his senior year. The Bulldogs will be getting a 6’8 stretch-four who averaged 20.8 points on an astounding 66 percent shooting, and he can step out and hit the 3-ball. He also led the Tigers with 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. McKnight should be able to come in and contribute right away at the D2 level.
8 Jay Small (Hinton)
An all-around athlete, Small was also one of the state’s best football and baseball players at 2A Hinton throughout his high school career. But he excelled most at hoops. He was nabbed early in his career by one of the Midwest’s best grassroots programs, Omaha Elite. That allowed the sharpshooter proper exposure to be seen by D1 South Dakota which offered in the summer of 2015. Ultimately, Small elected to take the JuCo route, and he’ll team up with Douglas Wilson at Kirkwood next year, before presumably landing at a D1 one or two years from now.
9 Abe Kinrade (Maquoketa)
In the summer of 2015 this kid blew up. He was way under-the-radar up to that point, and then the Iowa Barnstormers picked him up after a solid sophomore season. And after a lukewarm spring, he seemingly figured it out that summer, and put himself firmly on the map. North Dakota, Army and Air Force were intrigued by his rangy 6’6 frame, and each offered. He’ll play with the Falcons next season, alongside No. 5 in 2017 Bailey Basala.
10 Quinton Curry (Valley)
When we think of Quinton Curry, the first thing that will always come to mind is his otherworldly block in the 2017 state quarterfinals, in crunch-time, to help seal a win over Des Moines North. He skied as high as we’ve ever seen a high school guy get up for a block, and denied a Tyreke Locure bucket. Most impressive, is he was less than nine months removed from a ACL injury when he did it. Curry is very, very bouncy and very well built. Illinois D2 Rockhurst got a steal with this smart, athletic state champion.