Playoff Preview: 3A-1
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Booth The favorite: The potent offense of Carroll makes the Tigers a slight favorite in this talented substate. Kaleb Booth Kaleb Booth 6'1" | SG Carroll | 2022 State IA (15.1) leads a strong attack that has six players…
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The favorite: The potent offense of Carroll makes the Tigers a slight favorite in this talented substate. Kaleb Booth Kaleb Booth 6'1" | SG Carroll | 2022 State IA (15.1) leads a strong attack that has six players averaging at least 6.9 points a game, making them difficult to defend. Booth is a great 3-point shooter (41.8%) as is fellow junior guard Nick Macke Nick Macke 5'10" | SG Carroll | 2022 State IA (11.1, 42.0 3P%). Seniors Tory Feldman (9.8), Colby Christensen Colby Christensen 6'1" | SG Carroll | 2021 State IA (9.7), Treyton Goins (8.1) and Kelin Jones Kelin Jones 6'5" | PF Carroll | 2021 State IA (6.9) give this group a wealth of experience, which could prove vital late in these postseason games, and Booth is a nearly 87% free-throw shooter, which is also huge. The slightly wider array of scoring threats gives Carroll an edge over the teams at the bottom of the bracket.
The biggest threat: Playing against largely 4A competition gives LeMars an edge in the strength of schedule department, but the Bulldogs won’t be intimidated by Carroll or any other team in this substate. They’re paced by a talented backcourt in seniors Spencer Mackey Spencer Mackey 6'1" | SG Le Mars | 2021 State IA (14.9) and Alec Dreckman Alec Dreckman 6'0" | SG Le Mars | 2021 State IA (11.8), and junior Caleb Dreckman (10.5). They do an excellent job protecting the basketball, turning the ball over just 8.1 times a game, and, like Carroll, they’re a good free-throw shooting team, shooting 73.5% from the stripe as a team.
The dark horse: Coach Adam Vander Schaaf has led Sergeant Bluff-Luton to State four years in a row, and he has a tendency to get the best out of his teams late in the year. This year is no exception, as the Warriors have won five straight as of the time of this writing, and appear to be peaking late in the year again. Like LeMars, the Warriors play in the Missouri River Conference, so they play largely 4A competition all year, which certainly helps come postseason play. They’re led by seniors Jake Layman Jake Layman 6'7" | SF Sergeant-Bluff Luton | 2021 State IA (12.1) and Majok Majouk Majok Majouk 6'7" | SF Sergeant-Bluff Luton | 2021 State IA (10.2), both of whom will play college ball at Southwest Minnesota State. This is a big, long and physical team that will lock teams down and create all sorts of issues with their versatility. They were swept in the regular season by LeMars, but this group is going to be very dangerous.
Players to watch
2022
Kaleb Booth
Kaleb
Booth
6'1" | SG
Carroll | 2022
State
IA
, Carroll
2022
Nick Macke
Nick
Macke
5'10" | SG
Carroll | 2022
State
IA
, Carroll
2021
Alec Dreckman
Alec
Dreckman
6'0" | SG
Le Mars | 2021
State
IA
, LeMars
2021
Spencer Mackey
Spencer
Mackey
6'1" | SG
Le Mars | 2021
State
IA
, LeMars
2021
Jake Layman
Jake
Layman
6'7" | SF
Sergeant-Bluff Luton | 2021
State
IA
, Sergeant Bluff-Luton
2021
Majok Majouk
Majok
Majouk
6'7" | SF
Sergeant-Bluff Luton | 2021
State
IA
, Sergeant Bluff-Luton
2021
Jamuo Gatwech
Jamuo
Gatwech
5'11" | PG
Storm Lake | 2021
State
IA
, Storm Lake
2021 Braiden Heiden, Denison-Schleswig
2022
Christian Vietor
Christian
Vietor
6'1" | SG
Sioux Center | 2022
State
IA
, Sioux Center
2023 Ayden Klein, MOC-Floyd Valley
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Carroll vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Sergeant Bluff-Luton always has a tendency to be peaking late in the season, and we think they’ll beat LeMars in the third meeting, setting up a good matchup with the potent Carroll offensive attack. While the Warriors have a great defensive team, Carroll has too many scoring options, and the Tigers make their way to Des Moines for the first time since 2010.