Joe Wieskamp named Mr. Basketball

Muscatine star Joe Wieskamp has been named Iowa's Mr. Basketball for 2018 One of the most prolific high school careers the state has ever seen has come to a close, but Muscatine's Joe Wieskamp is adding one more bullet point to his resume before heading off to Iowa City, as he was named Mr. Basketball by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association over the weekend. Wieskamp, who averaged 33.7 points and 13.5 rebounds for the Muskies this season, edged out serious contenders like Cedar Falls' AJ Green and Newton's Garrett Sturtz to take the award. And while he's generally not one for individual accomplishments, he did note that this was a personal goal of his. "Obviously my biggest goal this season was to get our team to the state tournament, but I also set some individual goals and winning Mr. Basketball was at the top of that list. It's an honor to receive this award as I know a lot of great players before me have received it as well. Garrett Sturtz and AJ Green were also very deserving of this award," Wieskamp said. The skilled wing finished his career with 2,376 points, which ranks sixth all-time regardless of classification, and ranks first among players in Class 4A. He also pulled down 908 rebounds in his career, which ranks among the top five in 4A. He finished with career averages of 26.1 points and 10 rebounds on shooting splits of 53-37-80, despite facing constant double-and-triple teams throughout his career. But perhaps his most shining achievement was getting Muscatine back to the state tournament for the first time since 2002 "My favorite memory from my career at Muscatine was hands down the moment the clock ticked to 0 against Linn-Mar (substate final). The emotions just flowed as they had been built up for a long time. It might've been the most happy I've ever been after winning a game," Wieskamp said. "We worked so hard to get our community to the state tournament, and we finally did it. Our crowds were great all year, and I know that we got a lot of people excited about Muskie basketball." In the fall, the nationally ranked prospect will be taking his talents about 35 miles northwest to Iowa City, where he figures to be a prominent piece of a rebuilding University of Iowa club. But first, some rest is in order after a grueling spring and summer that proved that basketball is now a 12-month-a-year sport. "I plan on taking a couple weeks off to heal my body. This year has been a grind. Coming straight off camps all over the country and AAU and then right into the high school season. After that I'll just be working on my game and my body. Fine tuning things and trying to become a better overall player so that I can produce right away for the Hawks."