Iowa’s 2017 ABCs (N-Z)
It was an eventful year for Iowa high school hoops and its prospects. From January until now, we’ve been tracking the hoops happenings in the state. Being that the new year is upon us, we reflected back — alphabetically, cus why not — on the busy year behind us.
Newbies: There’s a new crop of standouts coming through the ranks, guys that will be posting some monster numbers over the next few years; Bowen Born comes to mind, AJ Coons, Trey Shearer, Cameron Soenksen, Keaton Kutcher are just a few underclassmen poised for monster careers.
Oskaloosa: All of a sudden the 3A school is one of the hottest basketball destinations in Iowa. With an all-star cast that includes D1 prospects Xavier Foster and Cole Henry, the Indians have started the season 9-0.
Patrick: The state’s top-ranked 2019, Iowa City West’s 6’8 small forward Patrick McCaffery made big strides this season with his game. The ultra-smart player officially committed to play for his dad at Iowa this past fall.
Quiet: As in the crowd during title games at Wells Fargo arena last March, particularly the 4A match-up between Iowa City West and Valley. The IHSAA has tweaked the scheduled a bit this season, so that could boost attendance. We think it’d be cool to have the event at Drake’s Knapp Center.
Rangy: This is one of our favorite adjectives used to describe the prospects. It means lengthy or long arms, and is a huge benefit on the hardwood for those lucky enough to possess the desired quality. Think Owen Coburn, Troy Houghton, Derek Krogmann, Blake Brinkmeyer, Garrett Sturtz.
Shot-clock: There’s been a lot of chatter about adding a shot clock to the mix in Iowa high school hoops. It would certainly make things more fast-paced, and mimic the pro and college game better. But money, surprise surprise, seems to be an issue.
Trayvon Williams: DJ Carton may have been the top breakout player in the state last year, but Valley 2019 Trayvon Williams had himself a doozy of a year, too. He was sensational in the spring and summer with Kingdom Hoops Elite, and nabbed a D1 offer from South Dakota State as a result.
Upper Iowa: The Fayetteville, Iowa D2 has been doing a fantastic job of recruiting in-state talent; getting commits from many guys that we thought might be D1-caliber. Iowa’s 2017 Mr. Basketball, Joe Smoldt is there, 2018’s Jackson Joens, Lucas Duax and Jason Taylor have all signed.
Valley: The Tigers have enjoyed a high degree of success the past half decade; they’ve advanced to the 4A final three of four years. The thing is, they have a wealth of talent waiting in the wings, think Trayvon Williams, and Iowa’s 5th-ranked 2020,Will Berg. The Valley dynasty should continue for a while.
Western Christian: Your 2017 2A champions from Hull, the Crusaders defeated South Hamilton, then hammered Camanche before taking out Pella Christian for their ninth state title — that’s tied for an Iowa record.
Xavier: Your 2017 3A champs, and it was back-to-back for Max Techau, Jackson Joens, Matt Mims and the gang. The Saints defeated Mount Pleasant, the Waverly-Rock Shell before taking out Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the final.
Yikes: As in, yikes, looks at this line that Joe Wieskamp posted against Davenport North on January 12; 44 points and 25 rebounds, woof.
Zone-busters: We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize a few of some of the state’s best shooters over the past year; Andrew Gibb, Jackson Joens, Bo Sandquist, Bowen Born, Aidan Vanderloo.