Conference Preview: War Eagle
The Teams
Akron-Westfield (8-15)
Nick Jacobs was the definition of volume shooter last season, he canned a whopping 100 3-pointers, more than anyone in Iowa not named AJ Green. Jacobs back for his senior senior and will light up the War Eagle this winter.
Clay Central-Everly (2-20)
Just two wins was all the Mavericks could muster last season. However, with three of the top scorers back from last season, including top point-getter, John Glam, this season should see the Mavs in the win column more than just twice.
Gehlen Catholic (14-10)
Last season’s 14-win squad was senior-laden, making this season’s version of the Jays mostly a new-look one. Jacob Nemmers returns for his junior season, he was good as a sophomore, going for 9.6 points and two assists per game.
Harris-Lake Park (11-12)
It’ll be the Bubba Sohn show for the the foreseeable future in Lake Park. The Wolves are a team that will be looking to break out of the middle of the pack, and into the upper echelon of the War Eagle standings.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (8-14)
Although the Hawks struggled to just an 8-14 record last season, there’s a silver lining in it all. That team was comprised of mostly juniors, meaning those now-seniors gleaned the experience needed to make a decent run this winter.
Hinton (4-16)
Without Jay Small there to light up the scoreboard, Hinton was not very good last year. They won just four games a season ago, and will look to exponentially improve this season with a slew of talent and experience returning.
MMCRU (3-19)
MMCRU was not very good last season, and that was with a senior-laden squad. This season it’ll be guys like Andrew Prescott and Robert Russell to shoulder the load. But it could be another tough season in Marcus.
South O’ Brien (19-6)
Since we’ve been covering basketball at Prep Hoops Iowa, South O’ Brien has been among the elites in Class 1A. The Wolverines won a state title in 2016, and will try and get back to the state tourney this season with junior Jackson Louscher leading the way.
St. Mary’s, Remsen (26-2)
The Hawks advanced all the way to the 1A semifinals last season, before dropping a tough one to eventual state champs, Grand View Christian. That St. Mary’s team was chock-full of seniors, but we expect Spencer Schorg and Co. to remain among the conference’s elites this winter.
Trinity Christian (6-16)
Senior Shane Kooima and a legion of juniors return to try and get this Tigers team out of the bottom half of the standings. Sophomore Anthony Kooiker could be vital to this unit’s success this season.
Unity Christian (15-8)
One of the more balanced scoring teams in the state last season, the Knights managed to win 15 games despite not having one guy average double-digit points. Amazingly seven guys averaged between five and nine points, and good news for the Knights, four of those guys are back this season.
West Sioux (15-7)
Hunter Dekkers is starting to really make a name for himself. The junior was astonishingly good this season while quarterbacking the Falcons to a 1A football title. And he established himself last season as one of the best young guards. The Falcons will be very good this season with Dekkers and other key returners on the roster.
Projected Order of Finish
1 West Sioux
2 South O’ Brien
3 St. Mary’s, Remsen
4 Harris-Lake Park
5 Unity Christian
6 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn
7 Gehlen Catholic
8 Trinity Christian
9 Akron-Westfield
10 Hinton
11 Clay-Central Everly
12 MMCRU
Analysis
We have West Sioux pegged as our ninth-ranked squad in the preseason Class 2A poll, no other team in the conference made that list. It’s not just Hunter Dekkers that makes the Falcons dangerous, but also Kade Lynott, Chase Koopmans and Baxter Walsh bring back a significant amount of scoring. The top half of the conference here is strong, wins will be tough to come by for anyone of those top eight or nine against one another.
Preseason Player of the Year
Hunter Dekkers, West Sioux — 2019
Also a football standout, Dekkers just quarterbacked his Falcons to the Class 1A title. He’s threw for 3,641 yards and 48 touchdowns this season, yeesh. On the hardwood, he’s as effective, and spent his sophomore season terrorizing opponents. This season, he’ll be a terror once again while leading our 2A preseason ninth-ranked West Sioux hoops unit.
Biggest Sleeper
Jacob Nemmers, Gehlen Catholic — 2020
A preseason honorable mention all-conference guy, We wouldn’t be surprised if Nemmers outpaces that prediction in gets into first or second team all-conference consideration. He is the leading returning scorer of a Gehlen Catholic squad that’s had a lot of success over the past several seasons. He could average 15 -20 points per game this winter, and the Jays will go as he does.