Conference Preview: South Iowa Cedar League (East)
The Teams
Belle Plaine (14-9)
It’s going to be a fun season for the Plainsmen. A pair of preseason first-team all-conference guys reside on the roster, that’s seniors Garrett Straight and Kobe Greider. Other key returners are senior Dylan Fry and junior Trevin Straight. Those four guys were the top scorers from a 14-win team from a season ago, so there’s reason to believe Belle Plaine could get up around 20 wins this winter.
English Valleys (0-22)
One of just a handful of teams in Iowa which did not win a game a season ago, English Valley will be thirsty from some dubs this winter. Key returning players such as Nolan Grove, Clayton Moore, Jacob Glandon and Cole Stephenson will try and get the Bears into the win column this season. Don’t expect them to be world beaters, though.
Iowa Valley (6-15)
Last season was a struggle for the Tigers, and it’s going to have another uphill climb in 2018-19. It’ll be up to returning starters Noah Mumby, Derek Leonard and Ryan Becker to try and improve upon last season’s six-win team. Iowa Valley’s season will start on Nov. 29 against Alburnett.
Keota (15-7)
The division’s preseason player of the year is junior guard JD Stout, he’s coming off the heels of a remarkably successful sophomore season, and could average 25 points per game this winter. Aside from Stout, there’s not much proven varsity talent coming back. Last year’s senior-laden team has graduated, but guys like Preston McDonald and Austin Waterhouse will see their roles increase dramatically this winter.
Sigourney (10-13)
Zero, count them, zero guys are gone from last season’s double-digit win squad, that’s excellent news for the Savages. Will that experience and depth be enough to get this team a division title? It might. Brady Powers and Spencer Magill are preseason first-team all conference selections, they’ll lead the way this season for this promising squad.
Tri-County (6-15)
It could be another rough season for the Trojans. They won just six games last year, and that was with standout big-man Cameron Kumm, who was less than a rebound per game away from averaging a double-double. This season they’ll rely heavily upon junior Brayden Monrow, Tegon Fogle and Aysan Bos will be key players, too.
Projected Order of Finish
1 Belle Plaine
2 Sigourney
3 Keota
4 Iowa Valley
5 Tri County
6 English Valleys
Analysis
The top three teams are all in play here. Belle Plaine was good last season and returns a pair of preseason all-conference guys. Sigourney is intriguing simply because they lose no one from last season’s squad. Keota is always good, regardless of who returns, and it just so happens they have the best player in this division. Any of those three could take the crown here, we went with the Plainsmen because they have a slew of proven winners returning.
Preseason Player of the Year
JD Stout, Keota — 2020
A no-brainer for this honor, Stout was sensational as a freshman two years ago and even better last season as a sophomore. It will tough for him to up the ante again this season, but we expect him to anyways. Look for Stout to be one of the state’s best scorers this season.
Biggest Sleeper
Austin Waterhouse, Keota — 2019
There wasn’t a lot of playing time last season for Waterhouse, it was a senior-laden Keota squad and a dang good one at that. Now, he’s the senior, and after waiting in the wings, it’s his turn to become an essential player on the Keota roster. JD Stout will be the guy for the Eagles, but we expect Waterhouse’s scoring to increase from 1.8 per game to well over 10.0.