Conference Preview: MVC Valley
THE TEAMS Cedar Falls (15-8): In just about any other conference across the state, the Tigers would be considered the favorite. In the loaded Valley Division, they're the 4th best team. Led by senior Tra'Von Fagan (14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds)…
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Continue ReadingTHE TEAMS
Cedar Falls (15-8): In just about any other conference across the state, the Tigers would be considered the favorite. In the loaded Valley Division, they're the 4th best team. Led by senior Tra'Von Fagan (14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and a pair of standout sophomores, point guard A.J. Green and forward TreyShawn LaBeaux, Cedar Falls is ripe with talent. There's another influx of young talent on the way, with freshmen Jackson Frericks and Logan Wolf possibly contributing this season. The Tigers will score in bunches with a number of weapons, and will certainly be a threat to make it to Des Moines come March.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson (1-21): Once one of the top teams in the MVC year-in, year-out, the J-Hawks have fallen on some tough times of late. With leading scorer Adam Van Oort (10.3) back, they should improve on the one win they posted last season, but in this division, they're still likely at the bottom. Valentino Green (3.8), Kane Kramer (4.0), Royshawn Webb (3.4) and Brock Hunt (2.9) all saw valuable time last year that should help this season.
Cedar Rapids Kennedy (18-6): The top four scorers are gone for the Cougars, but they've proven time and again that this is a program that reloads. Every season they've got players that (seemingly) come out of nowhere and make big impacts. With the inside-out duo of Drake Brewster (7.7 points) and Derrick Diggins (5.8) to build his team around, Coach Jon McKowen has a solid nucleus of talent. You can bet on the Cougars producing a few more players that we haven't heard about yet and remaining highly competitive. They may not have the talent to get to the top of the division, but they'll be extremely tough come playoff time and you can probably pencil them in for another 15-win season.
Dubuque Senior (11-11): Luke McDonnell had one of the best years of any player across the state last season, averaging 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. Unfortunately for the Rams, he's now wearing a Northern Iowa Panthers uniform. Also gone is guard Jayden Davis, who moved away from Dubuque prior to his senior year. The Rams will be very dependent on sophomore guard Justin Blackman (9.1 points), a solid scoring guard who will be asked to be the go-to guy this year. Dimitri Humpal-Griffin (4.0) is the only other returnee who saw significant playing time last year. Look for freshman Nick Timmerman to make an immediate impact. He figures to be a starter for a rebuilding Senior squad.
Dubuque Wahlert (18-9): The Golden Eagles are two-time defending champions in Class 3A, and there is talent galore set to take the court as they make their run at a third straight title. They must replace a pair of big wing scorers in Nolan Timp and Josh Carter, but 6'7″ Riley Till had a huge summer and is in line to take over the primary perimeter scoring role. He'll be just a piece of what is shaping up to be a massive starting lineup that could include Iowa commit Cordell Pemsl (6'9″), Dyersville Beckman transfer Sage Maiers (6'7″) and the bouncy and long athlete David Iwowari (6'6″ with nearly 7'0″ wingspan). Point guard David Wedewer had a sensational state tournament and will carry that success over to this season. The pair of games against Iowa City West should be fantastic, as should the single game against Linn-Mar.
Iowa City West (25-1): All but one player returns to a program that has lost just four games in the last four seasons combined, making West the overwhelming favorite in not just the division, but in Class 4A. Featuring a bevy of collegiate talent (including five potential Division I players), the Trojans have playmakers all over the floor. Don't be surprised to see Coach Steve Bergman open up his rotation a little bit more this season with talented bench players like Dallas Majors, David Pederson and Nate Barnes getting more minutes. After last season's loss in the semifinals to North Scott, expect to see a focused, motivated Trojan squad take the court this winter, aiming for their fourth state title in the last five seasons. Their game against Apple Valley (MN) on December 5th at Hopkins (MN) High School will be must-see basketball for any hoops fan.
Linn-Mar (18-5): Jordan Bohannon (17.8), the most recent Iowa commit, leads the Lions into this season and he got a little extra help with the addition of Cedar Rapids Washington transfer Jared Printy. Printy, a Western Michigan commit, forms with Bohannon to form arguably the best shooting backcourt in the state. Add in guys like Jordan Brandt, Beau Klostermann (who had a big summer) and Riley Murphy, and Linn-Mar will be scoring in bunches this winter. However, this will be an extremely small team that will be vulnerable on the glass and susceptible to poor shooting nights. They can beat anybody in the state, but they're also more capable of dropping a game they probably shouldn't due to their reliance on shooting. That said, still one of the top five teams in the state in Class 4A and a legitimate threat to make some noise in Des Moines.
PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Iowa City West
2. Dubuque Wahlert
3. Linn-Mar
4. Cedar Falls
5. Cedar Rapids Kennedy
6. Dubuque Senior
7. Cedar Rapids Jefferson
Analysis: The most loaded division in the state features four teams that should spend the entire season in their respective top 10s (West, Linn-Mar, Cedar Falls in 4A; Wahlert in 3A), including the overwhelming favorites in both 3A and 4A. The edge goes to Iowa City West, who loses only one player from last year's 25-1 team. Wahlert and Linn-Mar should battle it out for 2nd, with Cedar Falls an outstanding 4th place team. The final three will all be tough outs come playoff time, but don't figure to play too much of a factor in the divisional race.
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cordell Pemsl, Dubuque Wahlert, 2016: 17.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 57.9 FG%, 54 assists, 24 blocks
In what is likely the most difficult race to decide of any conference, we'll give the edge to the walking double-double. The Iowa commit will finally be entering a season healthy and he should be dominant from start to finish. You could make an argument for a number of other players for this distinction (Jordan Bohannon, Connor McCaffery, Devontae Lane, to name a few), but we'll give the nod to the dominant post man for a Wahlert team that is looking to win their 3rd straight Class 3A state championship.
BIGGEST SLEEPER
Derrick Diggins, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 2018: Diggins had a solid freshman year, averaging 5.8 points and starting late in the season for a state-qualifying team. With the top four scorers graduated, Diggins' versatile offensive skill set and quickness should enable him to be near the top of the heap among scorers in the MVC. A solid all-around player, he'll be a tough matchup for opposing guards for the next three years, and this is the season that he'll begin to make a name for himself.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cordell Pemsl, Dubuque Wahlert, 2016
Riley Till, Dubuque Wahlert, 2016
David Iwowari, Dubuque Wahlert, 2017
David Wedewer, Dubuque Wahlert, 2016
Sage Maiers, Dubuque Wahlert, 2016
Connor McCaffery, Iowa City West, 2017
Devontae Lane, Iowa City West, 2017
Patrick McCaffery, Iowa City West, 2019
Wali Parks, Iowa City West, 2016
Tanner Lohaus, Iowa City West, 2016
Alex Henderson, Iowa City West, 2016
Tra'Von Fagan, Cedar Falls, 2016
A.J. Green, Cedar Falls, 2018
TreyShawn LaBeaux, Cedar Falls, 2018
Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar, 2016
Jared Printy, Linn-Mar, 2016
Beau Klostermann, Linn-Mar, 2016
Adam Van Oort, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 2016
Justin Blackman, Dubuque Senior, 2018
Nick Timmerman, Dubuque Senior, 2019
Derrick Diggins, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 2018