Substate Preview: 2A-1
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District 1 The favorite: A dynamic offensive team from Central Lyon earned the district’s top seed behind the strength of a 19-1 record. The Lions are winning games by an average of 20.6 points and putting up 79.2 points a…
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Continue ReadingDistrict 1
The favorite: A dynamic offensive team from Central Lyon earned the district’s top seed behind the strength of a 19-1 record. The Lions are winning games by an average of 20.6 points and putting up 79.2 points a game. A highly efficient attack is paced by junior guard Zach Lutmer Zach Lutmer 6'1" | PG Central Lyon | 2023 IA (20.5, 6.0 assists), a dynamic three-level scorer who can also dominate games on both ends of the floor even when he isn’t scoring. Senior sharpshooter Mason Gerleman Mason Gerleman 6'0" | SG Central Lyon | 2022 State IA (17.9, 47.1 3P%) moves incredibly well off the ball and is an elite shooter who is a perfect fit next to Lutmer, and junior forward Andrew Austin Andrew Austin 6'6" | PF Central Lyon | 2023 State IA (14.4) has given them a strong tertiary scoring option. The Lions do a great job sharing the ball and have rolled through a good Siouxland Conference, with their lone loss coming to Boyden-Hull by 6. This is a fantastic team that should be considered a heavy favorite in this district.
The biggest threat: West Sioux earned a first-round bye, and just beat likely semifinal opponent Hinton by 21 points. The Falcons like to play up-tempo, using their athleticism and quickness to force turnovers and get to the bucket. Three juniors lead the team in scoring, and only two seniors see significant playing time, so this is a strong building year for the program. Mason Coppock Mason Coppock 6'0" | SG West Sioux | 2023 State IA (17.3, 5.6 assists) leads the team in scoring and assists and is a good three-level scorer who can take over games. Carter Bultman (10.8) is an efficient scorer inside the arc, as is Booker Walsh (9.3). If they want to pull off an upset in the district final, they’ll need big games from Coppock and senior wing Blake Van Ballegooyen (8.3, 35.2 3P%), the team’s top two perimeter shooting threats. They’ll need to knock down shots if they want to keep pace with Central Lyon.
The dark horse: In senior wing Caleb Holmes Caleb Holmes 6'2" | SF Hinton | 2022 State IA (23.4), Hinton has one of the state’s best scorers, which makes them a dangerous team. On any given night, Holmes could go off for 30-35 points and carry the Blackhawks to a few wins. Carson Pierce (11.0, 36.8 3P%) has shown himself to be a solid shooter, and they do a good job limiting turnovers (10.3 a game). Beating both West Sioux and Central Lyon is a tall task, but Holmes is a dynamic player.
Players to watch
2023
Zach Lutmer
Zach
Lutmer
6'1" | PG
Central Lyon | 2023
IA
, Central Lyon
2022
Mason Gerleman
Mason
Gerleman
6'0" | SG
Central Lyon | 2022
State
IA
, Central Lyon
2023
Andrew Austin
Andrew
Austin
6'6" | PF
Central Lyon | 2023
State
IA
, Central Lyon
2023
Mason Coppock
Mason
Coppock
6'0" | SG
West Sioux | 2023
State
IA
, West Sioux
2022
Caleb Holmes
Caleb
Holmes
6'2" | SF
Hinton | 2022
State
IA
, Hinton
2023
Landon Blatchford
Landon
Blatchford
6'6" | SF
West Monona | 2023
State
IA
, West Monona
2022
Shane Brouwer
Shane
Brouwer
6'4" | PF
Sheldon | 2022
State
IA
, Sheldon
District 2
The favorite: The defending 2A champions Western Christian lost early in the season to Estherville Lincoln Central but have won 17 straight since that setback, with only two games decided by single-digits. The Wolfpack have been dominant on both ends of the floor, averaging 73.9 points and giving up just 48.6 a night. Senior forward Ty Van Essen Ty Van Essen 6'4" | PF Western Christian | 2022 State IA (18.7, 7.9 rebounds) paces a highly efficient attack, posting 62-46-78 shooting splits. At 6-5/6-6, he’s a difficult matchup with his size and ability to score inside and out. Wyatt Gulker Wyatt Gulker 6'3" | SG Western Christian | 2022 State IA (13.7, 44.6 3P%) is an excellent perimeter shooting threat, as is Tate VanRegenmorter (11.7, 41.9 3P%), while Eli Van Essen Eli Van Essen 5'11" | SG Western Christian | 2022 State IA (8.3, 4.0 assists) and Ashtin Van’t Hul Ashtin Van’t Hul 6'0" | PG Western Christian | 2023 State IA (5.8, 4.2 assists) have given them a reliable tandem of ball-handlers who limit turnovers. Western Christian plays the game the right way, sharing the ball, moving off the ball, and playing highly efficient basketball (54-40-74 shooting splits as a team). A balanced team that can score in bunches and dominates teams defensively, this is the team to beat in 2A.
The biggest threat: While Cherokee has played a significantly tougher schedule, OABCIG only has to win one home game to reach the district final, which makes them the biggest threat in this district. The Falcons are headlined by junior guard Beckett DeJean Beckett DeJean 6'2" | PG OABCIG | 2023 State IA (19.4, 4.3 assists), an athletic lead guard who gets others involved and is a terror when he’s attacking the rim. Easton Harms (7.7, 4.3 assists) pairs with DeJean in the backcourt to give them a pair of solid ball-handlers, and this is a team that shares the ball well. That said, it’s hard to see anyone not named Western Christian coming out of this district.
The dark horse: The second-highest ranked team in BC Moore’s power rankings system is Cherokee. The Braves are led by senior wing Wil Lugar Wil Lugar 6'2" | SF Cherokee | 2022 State IA (18.5), who is an efficient scoring threat, while Joe Benson Joe Benson 6'1" | SG Cherokee | 2022 State IA (8.9), Jacob Hodgdon (7.2), and Levi Pingel (6.5) give them a veteran group that has played a lot together. However, they’ve lost to Western Christian twice this year by a combined 85 points. Anything can happen in a district final, but they’ve got a tall task in front of them.
Players to watch
2022
Ty Van Essen
Ty
Van Essen
6'4" | PF
Western Christian | 2022
State
IA
, Western Christian
2022
Wyatt Gulker
Wyatt
Gulker
6'3" | SG
Western Christian | 2022
State
IA
, Western Christian
2023
Beckett DeJean
Beckett
DeJean
6'2" | PG
OABCIG | 2023
State
IA
, OABCIG
2022
Wil Lugar
Wil
Lugar
6'2" | SF
Cherokee | 2022
State
IA
, Cherokee
2022
Cade Harriman
Cade
Harriman
6'0" | PG
Ridge View | 2022
State
IA
, Ridge View
2022
Tyler Schmitt
Tyler
Schmitt
6'3" | SF
East Sac County | 2022
State
IA
, East Sac County
2022 Tanner Randall, Alta-Aurelia
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Central Lyon vs. Western Christian
It’s really too bad that this is a substate final, as this could have potentially been the state championship game on Friday, March 11 if these teams were placed in different substates. These are two of the top three teams in our rankings in 2A (Western Christian 1, Central Lyon 3), and this should be an absolute classic of a game. Western Christian has won a state-record 10 state championships, and they’re the favorite to add another trophy to their overflowing trophy case. Behind a big effort from Ty Van Essen Ty Van Essen 6'4" | PF Western Christian | 2022 State IA , the Wolfpack earn their way back to Des Moines again in a fantastic substate final.