Season Preview: Class 4A Stars to Watch (Part I)
As we continue our march towards the start of the high school season, we take a look at some of the top players to watch in each class. We’ll take a look at 20 of the best players in each…
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Continue ReadingAs we continue our march towards the start of the high school season, we take a look at some of the top players to watch in each class. We’ll take a look at 20 of the best players in each classification to keep an eye on this winter. In Part I of our Class 4A series, we take a look at the first seven standouts to monitor.
2020 Ty Anderson (North Scott)
The future UNI Panther forward is a dominant, athletic two-way player for the Lancers, who are always one of the best teams in 4A. The 6-7 forward has really worked on expanding his game and adding range to his jumper, which should be on display this year after showing glimpses last season. He averaged 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds last season, and with Cortaviaus Seales graduated, this will be his team.
2020 Even Brauns (Iowa City West)
The 6-9 power forward has committed to play college ball at Belmont, and should enjoy a huge senior season with the Trojans. After transferring from 2A Regina, it took him a while to get acclimated to playing 4A basketball in the MVC, but he was great down the stretch, helping lead West to their state record-tying ninth straight state tournament. He averaged 11.0 points (on 67.8% shooting) and 5.5 rebounds a game last year, but expect to see numbers more consistently in line with what he did against Chicago’s Whitney Young last year (17 points, 13 rebounds) this year, following the graduation of Patrick McCaffery.
2021 Payton Sandfort (Waukee)
No player in the state had a more productive summer than Waukee’s junior sharpshooter, who picked up Division I offers from Iowa, Minnesota, Utah, Air Force, Drake and Loyola (IL). The 6-6 scorer is more known for his offensive abilities, which are outstanding, but he also impressed on the defensive end last year, especially when he was matched up with Dubuque Senior forward Noah Carter (now at UNI) at State. After averaging 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds last year (54.9 FG%, 44.8 3P%) off the bench, look for Sandfort to emerge as one of the best scorers in the state, not just in 4A. Waukee lost a lot of production, and he’s poised to fill in in a big way.
2021 Tucker DeVries (Waukee)
Another long junior sharpshooter from Waukee, DeVries enjoyed a strong first season with the Warriors following his move from Omaha when his dad got the Drake job. At 6-6, he’s long and versatile on both ends of the floor. He made 62 3-pointers last year (at a 41.1% clip), while averaging 9.6 points a game for a team that spent a large chunk of the year ranked #1 in the state. Like Sandfort, he should see his scoring numbers skyrocket following the graduations of Dylan Jones, Noah Hart, Andrew Curran, Michael Vicente and Dante Jenkins.
Photo credit: Sioux City Journal
2020 Jaleque Dunson (Sioux City East)
The leading returning scorer in 4A at 15.8 points a game, Dunson is a long, athletic, 6-3 wing who is next in line to star at East, following the graduation of Aidan Vanderloo. Dunson has the ability to score from all three levels, and we should see some of his playmaking abilities this year as well, as he should have the ball in his hands a bit more for a Black Raiders team that really likes to push the tempo. Don’t be surprised to see him average well north of 20 points a game, and be battling it out with guys like Sandfort and Hempstead’s Michael Duax for the 4A scoring crown.
2020 Cody McCullough (Ankeny Centennial)
A 6-7 power forward, McCullough is efficient (61.5 FG%) and led the Jaguars in scoring (11.9), rebounding (8.7) and blocks (28) last year. He should be the focal point of a Centennial team that we have ranked #8 to open the season in 4A.
2020 Will Berg (West Des Moines Valley)
The 6-9 combo forward didn’t post eye-popping numbers last year for the Tigers, but individuals rarely ever do post huge numbers at Valley, given the remarkable depth they have every year. A versatile big man who is switchable on the defensive end, runs the floor and can shoot it a bit, he should be a coveted commodity at the next level, and his offer list proves it. He currently holds Division I offers from UMKC, UMBC, New Hampshire, UW Milwaukee, Air Force and North Dakota.