Leading Returning Assisters: Class 2A
As part of our high school season preview coverage, we’re taking a look at some of the top returning players in each class. In this article, we’re taking a look at the top ten returning assist men in Class 2A.…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAs part of our high school season preview coverage, we’re taking a look at some of the top returning players in each class. In this article, we’re taking a look at the top ten returning assist men in Class 2A.
1.) Braden Gibbons Braden Gibbons 5'10" | PG Madrid | 2020 State IA , Madrid (182 assists)
Gibbons’ 182 assists rank tied for first among returnees, regardless of class (BGM’s Noah Beck Noah Beck 5'9" | PG BGM | 2020 State IA in 1A). He also led the Tigers in scoring at 22.0 points a game, meaning that he contributed at minimum an average of 38 points a game to Madrid’s attack last season.
2.) Bryce Phelps Bryce Phelps 6'2" | PG Denver | 2021 State IA , Denver (150 assists)
The 6-1 junior guard was a revelation last year for the Cyclones, as he also averaged 15.7 points a game and led Denver in steals in addition to his passing prowess.
3.) Hunter Dekkers Hunter Dekkers 6'1" | PG West Sioux | 2020 State IA , West Sioux (125 assists)
The future Iowa State quarterback is also great at distributing the ball on the hardwood, helping pace a Falcons attack that averaged 74.5 points a game last year. Like Gibbons and Phelps, he’s also a big-time scorer, averaging 22.5 points a game, and his assist numbers should get a boost this year with the addition of high-scoring guard Bryce Coppock Bryce Coppock 5'10" | SG West Sioux | 2020 State IA , a transfer from Newell-Fonda.
4.) Caleb Delzell Caleb Delzell 6'8" | SF Camanche | 2020 State IA , Camanche (115 assists)
The biggest player on this list, Delzell is a 6-7 point guard who paces a Camanche attack that should be explosive this season with the addition of Clinton transfer LJ Henderson LJ Henderson 6'2" | SG Camanche | 2020 State IA . The Indians are our #1 team in 2A to open the year. In addition to his distributing, he led the team in rebounding and contributed just under 15 points a game last year.
[player_tooltip player_id="796105" first="Cooper" last="DeJean"]
t5.) Cooper DeJean Cooper DeJean 6'2" | CG OABCIG | 2021 State IA , OABCIG (114 assists)
Perhaps the best player in 2A, Dejean is an explosive athlete who led the Falcons in every major category outside of steals last year. They’ll need him to be great this season, as no other OABCIG returnee scored more than 13 points last year.
t5.) Jack Stogdill Jack Stogdill 6'2" | PG Treynor | 2020 State IA , Treynor (114 assists)
The lead guard for arguably the most successful 2A program over the last decade, Stogdill will pace a Treynor team that we have ranked #3 to open the year and that returns four starters.
7.) Brad Tornow, Mid-Prairie (110 assists)
The 5-8 lead guard isn’t much of a scoring threat (averaged just 6.3 points a game last year), but he takes care of the ball (110-75 assist-to-turnover) and led the team in steals last year.
8.) Bryce Achenbach Bryce Achenbach 6'3" | PG Woodward-Granger | 2020 State IA , Woodward-Granger (108 assists)
Achenbach led the Hawks in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last year, and should see his assist numbers tick up again this year with six of the top seven scorers from last year’s team back.
[player_tooltip player_id="721190" first="Michael" last="Keegan"]
9.) Michael Keegan Michael Keegan 6'4" | SF Beckman Catholic | 2020 State IA , Dyersville Beckman (102 assists)
One of the most uniquely talented players in the state, Keegan has a nice selection of offers from Midwest Division II programs to choose from. The 6-4 lead guard led the Blazers in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks last year.
10.) Jackson Curnutte Jackson Curnutte 6'1" | PG Chariton | 2020 State IA , Chariton (101 assists)
Curnutte had a better than 2-1 (101-49) assist-to-turnover ratio last year for the Chargers. With a pair of double figure scorers graduated, he’ll be asked to step up his scoring this year.