Playoff Preview: 3A-7
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Drew The favorite: Ballard opened the season as the top-ranked team in 3A, and the Bombers have spent more time atop the rankings than any other team this year. Their lone loss came to a top-5 Carroll team, by…
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The favorite: Ballard opened the season as the top-ranked team in 3A, and the Bombers have spent more time atop the rankings than any other team this year. Their lone loss came to a top-5 Carroll team, by one, in overtime, and they’ve absolutely dominated the rest of the schedule, with only one other game decided by fewer than 11 points. A state semifinalist last year, Ballard returned their top four scorers from that group and picked up right where they left off, with 3A’s top offense (72.3 points a game) and #2 defense (43.2). They’re led by senior forward Connor Drew Connor Drew 6'6" | PF Ballard | 2021 State IA (15.1, 8.6 rebounds), a versatile combo forward who can score inside and out, handle the ball and dominate the glass. He’ll play college ball at Winona State. Junior guard Ashton Hermann Ashton Hermann 6'4" | SG Ballard | 2022 State IA (16.1, 3.7 steals) is the leading scorer, a dynamic, athletic player on both ends of the floor who can score from all three levels, and they’ve gotten improved offensive production out of senior guard Mason Murphy Mason Murphy 5'9" | PG Ballard | 2021 State IA (12.0, 4.8 assists, 37.3 3P%), who has emerged as a solid shooting threat and a great facilitator. Junior big man Kale Krogh Kale Krogh 6'6" | C Ballard | 2022 State IA (7.8) will be one of the more coveted offensive line prospects in the state and is a big, physical presence in the paint with great hands. This group is excellent on both ends of the floor and has gone 10-0 against teams within this substate. It would be a major, major upset for the Bombers not to come out of this group.
The biggest threat: Winterset has limped to the finish line of this season, losing four straight heading into postseason play, but the Huskies gave Ballard one of their closest games of the year a week ago, losing 69-58. A young team led by three juniors, they’re led in scoring by Levi Gurwell (17.0, 3.1 assists). Dawson Forgy Dawson Forgy 5'11" | PG Winterset | 2022 State IA (11.9, 5.1 assists) is a talented lead guard who distributes it well, and Nathan Avery (10.6) has given them some solid production on the perimeter as well. This group shares the ball well (18.0 assists a game), but they’ll need to play a pretty much flawless game to beat Ballard.
The dark horse: Efficient sophomore wing Colby Collison Colby Collison 6'4" | SF Bondurant-Farrar | 2023 State IA (18.8, 59.4 FG%) leads a Bondurant-Farrar team that split with Winterset, their likely semifinal opponent. The Bluejays were dominated by Ballard in both meetings this year, but anything can happen in postseason play, and if they could slow the game down with long possessions, they could make something happen.
Players to watch
2021
Connor Drew
Connor
Drew
6'6" | PF
Ballard | 2021
State
IA
, Ballard
2022
Ashton Hermann
Ashton
Hermann
6'4" | SG
Ballard | 2022
State
IA
, Ballard
2021
Mason Murphy
Mason
Murphy
5'9" | PG
Ballard | 2021
State
IA
, Ballard
2022 Levi Gurwell, Winterset
2022
Dawson Forgy
Dawson
Forgy
5'11" | PG
Winterset | 2022
State
IA
, Winterset
2022 Nathan Avery, Winterset
2022
Jevin Sullivan
Jevin
Sullivan
6'5" | SG
North Polk | 2022
State
IA
, North Polk
2023
Colby Collison
Colby
Collison
6'4" | SF
Bondurant-Farrar | 2023
State
IA
, Bondurant-Farrar
2021
Tanner Henningsen
Tanner
Henningsen
6'4" | SF
Gilbert | 2021
State
IA
, Gilbert
2022 Colin Memmer, Nevada
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Ballard vs. Winterset
This is one of the easiest picks in any class. Ballard is the top-ranked team in 3A, and they’ve swept Winterset this year, winning handily in both games. It would take a Herculean effort for the Huskies to notch this upset. Ballard gets to Des Moines for the third straight year, with their eyes on Friday night.