Iowa’s All-Junior Team (Class of 2019)
First Team
Junior of the Year: Jake Hilmer (North Linn)
23.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 6.2 steals, 64.8 FG%, 44.8 3P%, 87.0 FT%
He’d been putting up some wild numbers the past two seasons already, but he really kicked it up a notch this season. Hilmer now holds the single-season Iowa records for steals and assists, and even when taking the lower level of competition into consideration, that’s downright special. He was impressive at the state tourney, but fell short of a 1A state title after his Lynx lost to Grand View Christian in the finals. Look for Hilmer to lead his North Linn squad back to The Well next season.
Tyreke Locure (Des Moines North)
28.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 3.9 steals, 47.4 FG%
Like Hilmer, Locure is piecing together one of the more special high school careers ever seen in Iowa high school hoops. And had it not been for Hilmer’s record-breaking campaign, Locure would have been a shoo-in for Junior of the Year. His Polar Bears fell one overtime loss away from the state tourney; but there’s no doubt about it, he’ll have his Des Moines North squad back among the state’s best next season.
DJ Carton (Bettendorf)
23.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 49.2 FG%
After posting some rather pedestrian numbers as a sophomore, resulting from Bettendorf’s slow pace of play, Carton exploded this season. What’s most impressive, is his 23.6 points per game came on a team that only scored 48.1 points per. And he did that while undoubtedly being hounded each night out. He’ll be playing with Quad City Elite this spring and summer, and will have a much-anticipated college decision to make presumably shortly after his 17U season ends.
Patrick McCaffery (Iowa City West)
19.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.1 blocks, 52.3 FG%
The state’s highest basketball IQ might belong to McCaffery, and he did a little bit of everything smartly for the Trojans this past season. West was a loaded squad that made the 4A finals, yet McCaffery was able to be among 4A’s leaders in scoring, and did so while making better that 50 percent of his shot attempts. He’s one of the guys that will be moving on from the Iowa Barnstormers, and has elected to play with one of Minnesota’s best teams, D1 Minnesota, instead. Iowa Hawkayes target Tyrell Terry is on that same team, maybe McCaffery (an Iowa commit) will do some recruiting.
Cole Henry (Oskaloosa)
15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 59.2 FG%
There’s several guys we could have probably slotted in this final first-team position, but it’s Henry’s prowess on maybe the state’s most talented team that we found most impressive. At 6’9 he led the Indians in assists; but it wasn’t all finesse, the combo-forward threw down more than his fair-share of dunks, too. He’s going to headline a Martin Brothers 17U team that might be the best grassroots squad in Iowa this spring and summer. We expect he could pick up a slew of Division I offers in the process.
Second Team
Aidan Vanderloo (Sioux City East)
16.4 points, 3.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 52.7 FG%, 52.5 3p%
Other guys put up similar or better numbers, but Vanderloo did it on a state-qualifying team at the 4A level. And he shot an absurd 53 percent from beyond the arc.
Derek Krogmann (West Delaware)
20.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 58.7 FG%
The huge rebounding numbers stand out most for Krogmann, only one other junior had more than him this season. His scoring was up considerably from last season, and the efficiency is good to see.
Jackson Molstead (Charles City)
19.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists
Even while scoring at a high clip, Molstead was still able to be the class of 2019’s third-best assist guy. He’s a flat-out playmaker.
Trey Hutcheson (Linn-Mar)
18.7 points, 2.0 assists, 1.4 blocks, 7.3 rebounds, 47.5 FG%, 43.0 3P%
One of four Martin Brothers 17U guys on the second-team, Hutcheson will bring size and precision shooting the the squad this spring and summer. And will likely pick up some additional D1 offers in the process.
Owen Coburn (Spirit Lake)
20.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 65.3 FG%, 80.4 FT%
Those are some big-time numbers from the South Dakota State commit. His productivity was off the charts this season, and his efficiency, too.
Third Team
Beau Cornwell (West Branch)
23.3 points, 2.6 assists, 2.8 steals, 7.4 rebounds
Carter Cuvelier (Aplington-Parkersburg)
19.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.3 steals, 60.0 FG%
Jacob Vis (Western Christian)
18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.2 blocks, 71.0 FG%
Harris Hoffman (Cascade)
12.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 54.3 FG%, 48.9 3P%
James Betz (G-H-V)
15.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 blocks, 51.8 FG%
Fourth Team
Dylan Jones (Waukee)
Ryan Schmitt (Van Meter)
Zach Martinek (West Fork)
TJ Schnurr (Bishop Garrigan)
Evan Gauger (Indianola)
Honorable Mention: Trayvon Williams (Valley), Cliff McCray (Sioux City West), Tyrese Nickelson (Waterloo East), Logan Wolf (Cedar Falls), Kris Murray (Prairie), Peyton Williams (Johnston), Jace Davidson (Pocahontas Area), Conner Groves (Sergeant Bluff-Luton), Noah Carter (Dubuque, Senior), Noah Hart (Waukee), Collin Lister (Carlisle), Christian Stanislav (Glenwood), Kylan Smallwood (Creston), PJ Rundquist (Wapsie Valley), Drake Johnson (Stanton), Levi Lukes (South Winneshiek), Andrew Gibb (St. Edmond), Mach Nyaw (Grand View Christian), Ben Obert (Coon Rapids-Bayard), Issa Samake (Grand View Christian).