Playoff Preview: 4A-2
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The favorite: This district pairing is full of talent and potential. Ankeny Centennial is the favorite as the #1 seed in the pairing and they are led by Senior guard Jaron Crews in scoring and assists (15.7 ppg, 5.4 apg) and he…
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The favorite: This district pairing is full of talent and potential. Ankeny Centennial is the favorite as the #1 seed in the pairing and they are led by Senior guard Jaron Crews in scoring and assists (15.7 ppg, 5.4 apg) and he is the focal point for the Jaguars offense. He uses good speed to get by his defenders and shows a nice crafty quality with the ball in his hands to go on top of putting the ball in the basket efficiently. The Jaguars have had a Freshman emerge this year into the starting lineup in Lio Aguirre (10.7) who gets to the basket and has good body control also has actually been playing in the lane at 6’3 and handling it well. Another name to keep tabs on for this team is the 6’4 shooter, Senior Colin McAleer Colin McAleer 6'3" | SG Ankeny Centennial | 2021 State IA (9.8 & 37.5% 3pt). This team is fairly deep and filled with players who surround Crews that can shoot it from the perimeter. The top 6 players on this team average more than 8 points pre game and if the defense is relaxed on their shooters they show the ability to make you pay. With Crews at the helm, as a team Centennial is averaging 7.8 turnovers per game, and if they can continue to take care of the ball and hit shots they will be in business.
The biggest threat: Ames is a team who has proven and untapped potential on their team and if they can put it together, the high expectations that were placed at the beginning of the year could be met. When you have arguably one of the best players in the state in Tamin Lipsey Tamin Lipsey 6'2" | PG Ames | 2022 State #163 Nation IA , you will always have a chance. Lipsey does a lot of things on the court, whether it’s scoring (17.2), assisting (5.1) or guarding the opposing team’s best guard. He has been helped this year by Waterloo East transfer, Junior Trevion Labeaux Trevion Labeaux 6'3" | SF Ames | 2022 State IA (10.9), who is a really athletic 6’4 wing man. He doesn’t shoot it well from the outside, but his strength and athletic ability fully make up for that. Last year’s leading scorer, Senior Keyshaun Brooks Keyshaun Brooks 6'1" | CG Ames | 2021 State IA (10.2) is still on this team as well and has the ability to score in bunches as well for this team. Junior Corey Phillips Corey Phillips 6'5" | PF Ames | 2022 State IA (8.3) anchors the middle for this team and impacts the game on different levels throughout. The Cyclones will need to defend and rebound well and they’ll have a shot at getting out of this district.
The dark horse: This title is tough in this pairing as Des Moines Hoover hasn’t found consistency quite yet this year, but has perimeter talent to compete with anyone in the class. Indianola on the other hand is a team who is led by Sophomore Drew Kingery Drew Kingery 6'4" | SF Indianola | 2023 State IA , has the pieces to surprise some people in the postseason but they play in conference dominated by Class 3A teams. Can Hoover find consistency? And can Indianola step their game up to the level of competition? Those are questions in this district. The dark horse favorite is going to be Hoover. Sophomore Chase Henderson Chase Henderson 6'0" | PG Hoover | 2023 State IA (16.8 ppg & 5.3 apg) is a top PG in the 2023 class and pairs well with Sophomore, sharpshooting wing Elijah Vos Elijah Vos 6'4" | SF Hoover | 2023 State IA (13.3) and Senior playmaker Manny Austin Manny Austin 6'3" | SG Des Moines Hoover | 2021 State IA (19.1) are hard to matchup with and they are riding a 6-1 record in their last 7 games.
Players to watch
2021 Jaron Crews, Ankeny Centennial
2024 Lio Aguirre, Ankeny Centennial
2021 Colin McAleer Colin McAleer 6'3" | SG Ankeny Centennial | 2021 State IA , Ankeny Centennial
2022 Tamin Lipsey Tamin Lipsey 6'2" | PG Ames | 2022 State #163 Nation IA , Ames
2022 Trevion Labeaux Trevion Labeaux 6'3" | SF Ames | 2022 State IA , Ames
2021 Keyshaun Brooks Keyshaun Brooks 6'1" | CG Ames | 2021 State IA , Ames
2022 Corey Phillips Corey Phillips 6'5" | PF Ames | 2022 State IA , Ames
2023 Chase Henderson Chase Henderson 6'0" | PG Hoover | 2023 State IA , Hoover
2023 Elijah Vos Elijah Vos 6'4" | SF Hoover | 2023 State IA , Hoover
2021 Manny Austin Manny Austin 6'3" | SG Des Moines Hoover | 2021 State IA , Hoover
2023 Drew Kingery Drew Kingery 6'4" | SF Indianola | 2023 State IA , Indianola
2021 Caden Rehmeier Caden Rehmeier 6'5" | PF Indianola | 2021 State IA , Indianola
2024 Trovary Cavil, Lincoln
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Ankeny Centennial vs Ames
These two teams have played twice this season already, resulting in a split. Ames lost by 2 points in the first meeting back in December and won the second, most recent matchup by 10 earlier this month. It seems that with Labeaux’s eligibility and the continued improvement of chemistry within the team has the Little Cyclones going right now. The edge is going to go to Ames in this matchup as they head to Wells Fargo.