Playoff Preview: 1A-2
In this article:
The favorite: Lake Mills entered last year’s state tournament as the #1 seed in 1A before being upset by eventual champion Wapsie Valley. The Bulldogs haven’t let that bother them, rolling teams again this year, winning their first 17…
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The favorite: Lake Mills entered last year’s state tournament as the #1 seed in 1A before being upset by eventual champion Wapsie Valley. The Bulldogs haven’t let that bother them, rolling teams again this year, winning their first 17 games by an average of 31 points a game, including a sweep of possible semifinal opponent Bishop Garrigan by 26 a game. They are an overwhelming favorite here behind the strength of their senior inside-out tandem of Caleb Bacon Caleb Bacon 6'4" | PF Lake Mills | 2021 State IA (12.2, 9.9 rebounds) and Dashawn Linnen Dashawn Linnen 6'3" | SG Lake Mills | 2021 State IA (18.8). Linnen is a nightly threat to score 25+ with his ability to get to the bucket or pull from 3, while junior wing Wyatt Helming (13.3) has emerged as a strong secondary scorer. This group shares the ball at a high-level, dishing out 19.5 assists a game, and they’re excellent defensively. It would be a major upset if Lake Mills odesn’t come out of this district.
The biggest threat: A pair of sophomores lead Newman Catholic in slashing wing Douglas Taylor Douglas Taylor 6'5" | SF Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA (18.9) and point guard Max Burt Max Burt 6'0" | PG Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA (9.2, 6.7 assists), with junior James Jennings (13.0) serving as a solid secondary scoring threat. The Knights will get to play their first two games at home, and they already hold a head-to-head win over Bishop Garrigan. As of this writing, the Knights are playing their best basketball of the season, winning five straight by an average of 32.6 points a game.
The dark horse: Last year’s 1A runner-up, Bishop Garrigan, features the single most dominant player in this district in senior big man Angelo Winkel Angelo Winkel 6'9" | C Bishop Garrigan | 2021 State IA (28.3, 14.2 rebounds, 3.7 blocks). Winkel will play Division I basketball at Augustana and is an athletic big man who runs the floor, protects the rim and controls the glass. Senior wing Kyle Schaaf (15.6, 41.9 3P%) is a good perimeter shooter, but the question will be whether or not they can get enough production out of their role players to pull an upset.
Players to watch
2021
Dashawn Linnen
Dashawn
Linnen
6'3" | SG
Lake Mills | 2021
State
IA
, Lake Mills
2021
Caleb Bacon
Caleb
Bacon
6'4" | PF
Lake Mills | 2021
State
IA
, Lake Mills
2022 Wyatt Helming, Lake Mills
2023
Douglas Taylor
Douglas
Taylor
6'5" | SF
Newman Catholic | 2023
State
IA
, Newman Catholic
2023
Max Burt
Max
Burt
6'0" | PG
Newman Catholic | 2023
State
IA
, Newman Catholic
2022 James Jennings, Newman Catholic
2021
Angelo Winkel
Angelo
Winkel
6'9" | C
Bishop Garrigan | 2021
State
IA
, Bishop Garrigan
2021 Kyle Schaaf, Bishop Garrigan
2021
Dominyk Price
Dominyk
Price
5'11" | SG
North Iowa | 2021
State
IA
, North Iowa
2023 Rylan Barnes, West Hancock
The favorite: West Fork isn’t as heavy of a favorite in this district as Lake Mills is in 1A-3, but the Warhawks are still a prohibitive favorite to emerge from this group. They went nearly a month earlier in the season without a game due to COVID exposure from another team, but they’ve put together a strong 12-3 record as of time of this writing, with their three losses coming to a very good 2A Dike-New Hartford, 3A Iowa Falls-Alden and a ranked 3A Clear Lake. This group was a state semifinalist last year and brought back a good chunk of that roster, led by the senior tandem of Kayden Ames Kayden Ames 6'1" | SG West Fork | 2021 State IA (16.6) and Jakob Washington Jakob Washington 6'2" | SF West Fork | 2021 State IA (10.1, 7.4 rebounds). Ames is a sharpshooting guard who can drill 5-6 3s in a hurry and change games in a heartbeat. The Warhawks have also gotten strong production out of seniors Cail Weaver Cail Weaver 6'0" | SG West Fork | 2021 State IA (10.0) and Joe Ingham (11.6, 6.6 rebounds). This group is experienced and talented, and should be ready to go against this group.
The biggest threat: Janesville has a player that West Fork could struggle to slow down in junior forward Wiley Sherburne Wiley Sherburne 6'4" | PF Janesville | 2022 State IA (23.5, 7.1 rebounds), a versatile forward who can score inside and out and dominate the glass. Fellow forward Joey Carlson (10.0) is another efficient forward, and junior point guard Leo Dodd (7.7, 9.1 assists) is a fantastic lead guard who can really pass the ball. The Wildcats have a pair of players who could create issues, and they’ll get their first two games at home, another edge.
The dark horse: The other major difference-making player in this district is Nashua-Plainfield senior wing Austin Bienemann (23.6, 9.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.0 steals), a player who can impact the game on both ends of the floor with his ability to get to the bucket, pass and rebound. Sophomore guard Bo Harrington (10.7) and senior Bradyn Burman (9.6) give the Huskies some additional scoring punch, but it’s Bienemann who has the ability to take over a game and get this team a few upset wins.
Players to watch
2021
Kayden Ames
Kayden
Ames
6'1" | SG
West Fork | 2021
State
IA
, West Fork
2021
Jakob Washington
Jakob
Washington
6'2" | SF
West Fork | 2021
State
IA
, West Fork
2021 Joe Ingham, West Fork
2021
Cail Weaver
Cail
Weaver
6'0" | SG
West Fork | 2021
State
IA
, West Fork
2022
Wiley Sherburne
Wiley
Sherburne
6'4" | PF
Janesville | 2022
State
IA
, Janesville
2022 Leo Dodd, Janesville
2021 Austin Bienemann, Nashua-Plainfield
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Lake Mills vs. West Fork
This would be one of the best 1A substate finals, should it happen, a great matchup of conference foes who rarely get to play each other since they’re in separate divisions in the Top of Iowa. Lake Mills has been incredibly impressive again this year, and Dashawn Linnen Dashawn Linnen 6'3" | SG Lake Mills | 2021 State IA is the best player on the floor. The Bulldogs punch their ticket to Des Moines for the second straight year in a great, tight game.