Preseason All-Conference: Little Hawkeye
Preseason Players of the Year: 2020 Bowen Born Bowen Born 5'11" | PG Norwalk | 2020 State #401 Nation IA , Norwalk & 2020 Xavier Foster Xavier Foster 7'0" | C Oskaloosa | 2020 State #71 Nation IA , Oskaloosa…
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Continue ReadingPreseason Players of the Year: 2020 Bowen Born Bowen Born 5'11" | PG Norwalk | 2020 State #401 Nation IA , Norwalk & 2020 Xavier Foster Xavier Foster 7'0" | C Oskaloosa | 2020 State #71 Nation IA , Oskaloosa
Is it a cop out to not pick one of the two? Perhaps. But there is no player in the state who makes a bigger impact on the offensive end of the floor than Born, and no player who makes a bigger defensive impact than Foster. These are the two best players in the state right now, and Little Hawkeye fans are lucky (or unlucky if you’re a fan of the other teams in the league) to have them around.
First Team
2020 Bowen Born Bowen Born 5'11" | PG Norwalk | 2020 State #401 Nation IA , Norwalk (27.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.9 steals, 79 3PM)
The future Northern Iowa scoring guard is the best offensive player in the state, and the biggest reason we have Norwalk ranked #1 to open the year in 3A. He’s the league’s leading returnee in scoring, assists, steals and made 3-pointers, and the skilled lefty is a threat to average north of 30 a game this year for the Warriors.
2020 Xavier Foster Xavier Foster 7'0" | C Oskaloosa | 2020 State #71 Nation IA , Oskaloosa (14.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 6.2 blocks, 53.6 FG%)
The most versatile and dynamic defensive player in the state, Foster’s rim protection changes games, and was a major reason that Oskaloosa won their first state title last year. His 148 blocks last year were more than all but four TEAMS had (all 1A schools), and in a December 21 game against Pella, he blocked 14 shots, which is more blocks than 20 TEAMS recorded all year. That type of defensive production is invaluable. The seven-footer is a highly coveted prospect who has trimmed his list to Iowa, Iowa State, Baylor, Providence and Virginia Tech.
2020 Tyler Johnson Tyler Johnson 6'4" | SF Norwalk | 2020 State IA , Norwalk (13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 62 3PM, 45.6 3P%)
A skilled, versatile 6-4 wing, Johnson was second behind Born in scoring and assists last year for the Warriors. He’s a lights-out shooter from deep, knocking down 62 3s last season at a 45.6% clip.
2020 Jake Hull Jake Hull 6'3" | SF Grinnell | 2020 State IA , Grinnell (20.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 46.4 3P%)
The 6-4 wing is the league’s second leading returning scorer and rebounder, and his 46.4 3P% is third among returnees with at least 50 3PA last year. He should have a huge year for a Tigers team that should be much improved.
2020 Logan Shetterly Logan Shetterly 5'11" | PG Pella | 2020 State IA , Pella (17.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals)
A do-it-all guard, Shetterly ranks highly in a number of categories among returnees: scoring (third), assists (third) and steals (second). He’ll be the focal point of a Pella team that should challenge Norwalk and Oskaloosa at the top of the league.
Second Team
2021 Luke Rankin Luke Rankin 5'10" | PG Dallas Center-Grimes | 2021 State IA , Dallas Center-Grimes
2022 Cole Glasgow Cole Glasgow 6'2" | SG Dallas Center- Grimes | 2022 State IA , Dallas Center-Grimes
2020 Josh Van Gorp Josh Van Gorp 6'9" | C Pella Christian | 2020 State IA , Pella Christian
2020 John Oltman John Oltman 6'2" | SG Pella | 2020 State IA , Pella
2022 Adam Mattes Adam Mattes 6'3" | SG Newton | 2022 State IA , Newton
Honorable Mentions
2020
Tyce Johnson
Tyce
Johnson
6'3" | SG
Indianola | 2020
State
IA
, Indianola
2020 Kyle Long, Newton
2022
Noah Allen
Noah
Allen
5'11" | PG
Pella | 2022
State
IA
, Newton
2020
Dan Jungling
Dan
Jungling
5'11" | PG
Pella Christian | 2020
State
IA
, Pella Christian
2021
AJ Wilkins
AJ
Wilkins
6'1" | CG
Grinnell | 2021
State
IA
, Grinnell
2021
Cole McGriff
Cole
McGriff
5'11" | SG
Grinnell | 2021
State
IA
, Grinnell
2022
Karl Miller
Karl
Miller
6'4" | SF
Pella | 2022
State
IA
, Pella
2020 Izsac Schultz, Oskaloosa
2020
Scott Anderson
Scott
Anderson
6'0" | PG
Norwalk | 2020
State
IA
, Norwalk