Class 2A, Substate 3 Preview
DISTRICT 5 The favorite: Five players average between 8.0 and 11.9 points a game for Dike-New Hartford, who has one of 2A’s most efficient offenses, shooting 53.0% from the floor as a team. They also enter the postseason hot, having won…
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Continue ReadingDISTRICT 5
The favorite: Five players average between 8.0 and 11.9 points a game for Dike-New Hartford, who has one of 2A’s most efficient offenses, shooting 53.0% from the floor as a team. They also enter the postseason hot, having won 11 straight to close out the regular season. Included in that stretch are a 14-point win over Jesup and a 12-point win over Aplington-Parkersburg, the two most dangerous teams in the district. The Wolverines have a potent tandem on the inside with Ben Latusek and Colton Harberts. Latusek is as strong as pretty much anyone in the state, and Harberts comes off the bench to give D-NH a big spark with his size and mobility. This is a group with some shooters in Broden Coulter and Royce Weber, and they’re the No. 6 defensive team in the class, allowing just 44.6 points a game. This is a team that is peaking late and will be very tough to beat in this district.
The biggest threat: Aplington-Parkersburg gets to play their district semifinal at home against Jesup, and despite the fact that Jesup beat them at A-P by 15 late in the regular season, playing a postseason game on your court is a big edge. Would it surprise us to see Jesup win that game? Absolutely not. But we’ll give the home team a slight advantage. The Falcons have lost just twice after the holiday break and are led by three averaging in double figures – Carter Cuvelier (15.4), Cade Alberts (12.0) and Alec Oberhauser (11.1). They’re one of 2A’s top scoring teams at 67.2 a game (No. 11) and they share the ball extremely well, assisting on 74% of their field goals. The district semifinal should be a fantastic game, and either team could give D-NH a run in this loaded district.
The dark horse: It’s hard to say that any team led by Ethan Wyant is a “dark horse”, but Jesup is the district’s No. 3 seed and will have to travel to A-P for the district semifinal. The J-Hawks have split with both D-NH and A-P this season and have one of 2A’s best guards in Wyant, who is averaging 24.3 points on 55.8% shooting. He has the ability to carry this team to a district title, without a doubt. Tyler Lienau (14.4, 7.8 rebounds) and Drew Schmit (10.3) form a solid nucleus around Wyant, but they will only go as far as their star can take them. It wouldn’t surprise us at all to see the J-Hawks playing in the substate final, they just have the most difficult path to get there.
Players to watch
Ben Latusek, Dike-New Hartford, 2017
Connor Blough, Dike-New Hartford, 2017
Broden Coulter, Dike-New Hartford, 2017
Carter Cuvelier, Aplington-Parkersburg, 2019
Cade Alberts, Aplington-Parkersburg, 2017
Alec Oberhauser, Aplington-Parkersburg, 2018
Ethan Wyant, Jesup, 2017
Tyler Lienau, Jesup, 2017
DISTRICT 6
The favorite: Dyersville Beckman isn’t the No. 1 seed in this district, but given the fact that they’ve already beaten Cascade this season, we’ll make them the favorite here. The Blazers play in the strong WaMaC, which tests them every night. According to BC Moore’s power rankings, they’ve played the 3rd most difficult schedule in Class 2A (Cascade’s is 28th). This group was held 10% below their season shooting average in that game against Cascade and still found a way to win, which should be an encouraging sign. They’re led by Riley LeGrand (15.1, 142 assists), a do-it-all point guard who leads the team in every category. Mitch Gehling (12.7) and Sam Stelken (13.2) provide the Blazers with some size and toughness, and Jackson Bennett (43.2 3P%) can stroke it from deep. This group is battle tested and should be confident knowing they’ve already beaten Cascade in a game in which they didn’t play particularly well.
The biggest threat: Despite the retirement of legendary coach Al Marshall and the graduation of star big man Devin Green, Cascade has remained one of the top 2A teams in the state this season. They enter the postseason with a sterling 19-2 record, using their vaunted 2-3 zone to lead the class in scoring defense, allowing just 39.7 points a game. The Cougars have a balanced attack, with four players averaging between 10.6 and 11.6 points a game, and that quartet makes up a huge chunk of their scoring. Haris Hoffman leads the way at 11.6 to go with 6.4 rebounds. He and Gannon O’Brien make up a solid tandem on the glass, and O’Brien has proven to be a good 3-point shooter, connecting on 43.1% of his attempts from the arc. Johnny Supple is the biggest matchup problem for other teams, with good size and athleticism, but he’s a bit inconsistent. If he can put together a strong stretch of games here, the Cougars could easily make their way back to the state tournament.
The dark horse: MFL-Mar-Mac has a very difficult road in front of them, having to play Dyersville Beckman in the district semifinal, a better team that plays against a much tougher schedule. But the Bulldogs do have a variety of weapons, with three players averaging in double figures – Tristen Kautman (21.9), Cade Kuenster (13.9) and Mason Hertrampf (11.9), and if Kautman and Hertrampf are able to get hot from the arc, they could pull off an upset or two. The other dark horse here is Monticello, who enters the postseason with just a 10-11 record, but seven of those losses are to Northeast Goose Lake (17-4), Camanche (19-2), Cascade (19-2) and North Linn (21-0). They’ve given Cascade good battles both times, losing by nine and two, so they could give them a run in the district semifinal. The Panthers are comfortable playing at the slower, methodical pace that Cascade’s zone dictates, and in a low scoring game, anything can happen.
Players to watch
Haris Hoffman, Cascade, 2019
Johnny Supple, Cascade, 2018
Riley LeGrand, Dyersville Beckman, 2017
Mitch Gehling, Dyersville Beckman, 2018
Sam Stelken, Dyersville Beckman, 2017
Tristen Kautman, MFL-Mar-Mac, 2017
Cade Kuenster, MFL-Mar-Mac, 2017
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Dike-New Hartford vs. Dyersville Beckman
In what may be considered a slight upset, we’ll take red-hot Dike-New Hartford and their stingy defense to knock off Dyersville Beckman in a tight one.