Class 2A, Substate 5 Preview
DISTRICT 9
The favorite: Camanche and Northeast, the top two teams in this district, split their two meetings this season, but Camanche won the more recent game in a rout, 71-47, on January 30. The Indians are the top seed in the district, and should be the favorite here. They’re the best offensive team, averaging just under 70 points a game, and they play an incredibly up-tempo style that can cause plenty of issues for teams that aren’t prepared for it. Northeast has seen that style twice now, but they struggled with it in that second meeting and Camanche knocked down 12 3s. They’re a team that relies heavily on the 3-ball, and if it’s falling, they can roll through this district. If the shots aren’t falling, they’ll need to rely on the pressure defense to create turnovers. Either way, this should be the team to beat.
The biggest threat: Northeast started the season 15-1 before losing four straight games. They won the last two regular season games to close the season at 17-5, including a win over Cascade, handing the Cougars their first loss. The Rebels are far and away the best defensive team in the district, allowing just 47.8 points a game. Their big man duo of Braeden Hoyer and Luke Empen can be dominant, and they were the only effective players in the Rebels’ loss to Camanche, combining for 25 points (11-18 FG) and 19 rebounds. They won’t be the issue if they lose to Camanche again. The guard play from Dawson Stoll and Collin Swanton has had their ups and downs, and they’ll need to be strong to handle the Indians pressure. The latest meeting didn’t provide much confidence there, but this group is talented and could easily use their bigs to bully their way to the district title.
The dark horse: Tipton has the bigs to potentially cause some issues on the glass with Logan Hoffman and Frank Bierman. Hoffman is a big bodied stretch four who can score from anywhere on the floor and could be a matchup problem for Camanche should they find a way to get by Northeast in the semifinals.
Players to watch
2018 Dev Patel, Camanche
2020 Cameron Soenksen, Camanche
2019 Braeden Hoyer, Northeast
2019 Dawson Stoll, Northeast
2018 Luke Empen, Northeast
2018 Logan Hoffman, Tipton
2019 Andrew Stewart, Tipton
2019 Easton Botkins, Durant
2018 Brady Walker, Louisa-Muscatine
2018 Zack Bieri, Louisa-Muscatine
DISTRICT 10
The favorite: The Wapello Indians have steamrolled through their schedule (for the most part), winning games by an averaging of 28 points and posting 2A’s second highest scoring offense along the way, putting up 74.1 points a night. They played in the far weaker North Division of the SEISC this season, but they’ve already beaten the No. 2 seed in the district, West Burlington, by 26 a few weeks ago. Point guard Trenton Massner (21.2) will be the best player on the floor by a substantial margin in each game, and the Indians have some size with 6-7 Keaton Mitchell and 6-6 Jared Wiley. Logan Belzer (13.6, 48.2 3P%) gives them some additional shooting alongside Massner, who shoots over 45% from the arc himself, and the Indians should be able to cruise through district play.
The biggest threat: West Burlington swept the season series with Central Lee, and despite the fact that CL has a slight edge in BC Moore’s rankings, we’re siding with the Falcons here. They’ll play the semifinal matchup (presumably) against Central Lee at home, and they’ll be favored to win that one. Tanner Snodgrass (13.0) leads a balanced offensive attack, and the Falcons have a better defense than CL does.
The dark horse: Central Lee is the only other team with a reasonable shot in the district. They were swept by West Burlington, but those losses were by six and five, so they’ve been close in those games. Evan Doyle (15.3) is a big-time rebounder who can control the galss and score around the bucket, and the Isaac Moeller/Fraise Jake duo can really shoot it from the arc. If they can find some openings against a stout WB defense and knock down some shots, the Hawks could move to the district final.
Players to watch
2018 Trenton Massner, Wapello
2019 Keaton Mitchell, Wapello
2018 Logan Belzer, Wapello
2019 Tanner Snodgrass, West Burlington
2018 Evan Doyle, Central Lee
2018 Jaeden Gerig, Van Buren
2019 Ben Wolgemuth, Mediapolis
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Camanche vs. Wapello
If you enjoy watching Oklahoma play, you’ll really enjoy this game. Now, the next Trae Young isn’t on either of these rosters, but they both play a tremendously entertaining brand of basketball, getting up and down the court with lots of freedom. In this battle of the Indians, we’ll give the slightest edge to Wapello, who has the best player on the floor in Trenton Massner. The athletic guard makes a few big plays down the stretch and sends Wapello to State for the first time since 1994.