STATE TOURNAMENT: Tuesday Preview
2A Quarterfinal: No. 3 Des Moines Christian (21-3) vs. No. 6 Anamosa (20-5), 10:30 a.m.
Analysis: Anamosa makes their first tournament appearance since 1921, while Des Moines Christian is making their first trip since 2010. Both teams enter on 11-game winning streaks. Anamosa is a senior-dominated team, led by guard Kolin Schulte (22.3 points per game). He paces an attack that likes to play up-tempo, routinely applying pressure and trapping all over the floor. Kyle Schepanski (13.8 points) and Tyler Zumbach (12.8) are solid sidekicks to Schulte. Coach Kevin Barnes doesn’t mind going fairly deep into his bench, with a number of solid defenders who come on to spell his starters.
Des Moines Christian is led by the two-headed monster of Ben Juhl (18.6 points) and Keaton Van Soelen (17.8). Van Soelen is an Air Force commit. The Lions like to play a similar style to Anamosa, which should make for an entertaining morning contest. If they’re able to hold on to the ball against Anamosa’s pressure, this should like their chances.
Players to watch
Des Moines Christian: Keaton Van Soelen (No. 6 in ’16), Ben Juhl (No. 50 in ’17), Isaac Prewitt (No. 71 in ’18)
Anamosa: Kolin Schulte (No. 73 in ’16), Tyler Zumbach (No. 91 in ’16), Kyle Schepanski (No. 185 in ’16)
2A Quarterfinal: No. 2 Western Christian, Hull (22-2) vs. No. 7 Carroll Kuemper Catholic (18-6), 12:15 p.m.
Analysis: Legendary Western Christian coach Jim Eekhoff is retiring, and his Wolfpack will be looking to send him out on top. They enter on a mission after being upset in the first round by Pella Christian last season, so don’t expect them to look past a good Carroll Kuemper team. They’re led by big man Josh Van Lingen (18.1 points, 10.1 rebounds), who put together a dominant 32-point, 17-rebound, 5-block game last season at state. He’s joined by Taylor Miedema (12.1) and Jesse Jansma (11.5), a pair of double-figure scorers who are capable perimeter shooters.
Carroll Kuemper has gotten hot down the stretch, knocking off defending champion Treynor to make it to state. The Knights are led by Matt Dentlinger (18.6 points), a versatile offensive threat with the ability to score anywhere on the floor. If they want to repeat what Pella Christian did to the Wolfpack last year, they’ll need guys like Parker Badding (8.7 points) to get hot from the perimeter.
Players to watch
Western Christian, Hull: Josh Van Lingen (No. 16 in ’16), Taylor Miedema (No. 94 in ’16), Jesse Jansma (No. 104 in ’17), Ben Gesink (No. 106 in ’17)
Carroll Kuemper Catholic: Matt Dentlinger (No. 16 in ’17), Jacob Schafer (No. 127 in ’17), Parker Badding (No. 73 in ’18)
3A Quarterfinal: No. 4 MOC-Floyd Valley (21-3) vs. No. 5 Dubuque Wahlert (19-5), 2:00 p.m.
Analysis: The 3A tournament starts with a bang, with the two-time defending champion Wahlert taking on a very good MOC-Floyd Valley team. Wahlert big man, and Iowa commit, Cordell Pemsl (21.8 points, 10.2 rebounds) will be looking to put on a bow on his Mr. Basketball campaign with another big performance at the state tournament, and he’s joined by David Wedewer (11.8), who had a great state tournament last season. Wing Riley Till (9.8) is one of the better perimeter defenders in the field, and he’ll likely be tasked with chasing MOC-FV star Levi Jansen around.
The Dutchmen are led by the aforementioned Jansen (17.3) and Christian Korver (14.8). Jansen, an Augustana commit, is one of the better all-around scoring threats in the state. They’re a very good three-point shooting team, shooting just under 41% from the arc as a team. They’ll need to hit quite a few of them if they want to hang around with Pemsl and company.
Players to watch
MOC-Floyd Valley: Levi Jansen (No. 7 in ’16), Christian Korver (No. 92 in ’16), Dillon Carlson (No. 37 in ’19)
Dubuque Wahlert: Cordell Pemsl (No. 1 in ’16), David Wedewer (No. 28 in ’16), Riley Till (No. 32 in ’16), Sage Maiers (No. 52 in ’16), Josh Schmitt (No. 180 in ’16)
3A Quarterfinal: No. 1 Chariton (23-1) vs. No. 8 Solon (10-14), 3:45 p.m.
Analysis: After entering postseason play on an eight-game losing streak, Solon has caught fire at the right time, rolling through district and substate play behind the strong play of guard Streeter McIlravy (16.8 points). McIlravy has averaged 19.7 points in their three postseason games. Iowa football commit Jacob Coons (9.6) and wing Brevin Hill (9.6) provide a little bit of extra firepower for the Spartans.
Chariton enters with a 23-1 record and a trio of stars in Daric Laing (22.5), T.J. Hockenson (19.9, 10.5 rebounds) and Lim Chuol (10.9, 11.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists). The Chargers have been on a roll since they decided to move Chuol to the point guard spot, allowing Laing to play off the ball and take advantage of his natural scoring abilities. Chuol responded by posting three straight triple-doubles earlier in the year.
Players to watch
Chariton: Daric Laing (No. 21 in ’16), T.J. Hockenson (No. 23 in ’16), Lim Chuol (No. 17 in ’17)
Solon: Streeter McIlravy (No. 137 in ’16), Jacob Coons (No. 124 in ’17)
3A Quarterfinal: No. 3 Spirit Lake (21-3) vs. No. 6 Cedar Rapids Xavier (16-8), 6:35 p.m.
Analysis: The other Iowa commit in the field is Spirit Lake’s big man Ryan Kriener (22.5 points, 12.0 rebounds). He and fellow Division I guard Billy Brown (North Dakota) give the Indians the only team in the 3A field with a pair of Division I players on their roster. Brown is averaging 22.1 points and dishing out 5.7 assists a game. The duo will need to get some help from their role players to advance against a talented Xavier squad that has played a bear of a schedule in the MVC.
One of the bigger storylines in 3A regards the status of Xavier’s leading scorer Mitchell Burger (16.6 points), who missed both the district and substate finals due to a “coach’s decision”. He is reportedly available to play in the state tournament, but we’ll wait to see just how much he does. The Saints have gotten very good production out of Kennedy transfer big man Max Techau (14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds), but he’ll have his hands full against Kriener. A pair of sophomores, point guard Matthew Mims (12.5) and wing Jackson Joens (9.8, 43.0 3P%) have been great for the Saints this season, and they’ll need to get big production out of that tandem.
Players to watch
Spirit Lake: Ryan Kriener (No. 2 in ’16), Billy Brown (No. 11 in ’16)
Cedar Rapids Xavier: Mitchell Burger (No. 55 in ’16), Ryan Stulken (No. 146 in ’16), Max Techau (No. 18 in ’17), Jackson Joens (No. 9 in ’18), Matthew Mims (No. 18 in ’18)
3A Quarterfinal: No. 2 Pella (22-1) vs. No. 7 Perry (15-9), 8:15 p.m.
Analysis: The nightcap on Tuesday night should provide some fireworks, with both of these teams averaging over 70 points per game – Pella at 75.2 and Perry at 71.5. Pella is led by Ryan Van Wyk (14.3) and Will Warner (13.5), but the Dutch are a team that goes very deep into their bench and plays a fun, up-tempo, pressing style. This is a group of athletes that has had a ton of success over the past few years, not only on the basketball court but in pretty much every sport. They won’t be intimidated by the moment.
Perry is led by star scoring guard Shammond Ivory (22.4), who is one of the best individual scorers in the state. If he’s able to get to the rim against the Dutch, the Bluejays could have a shot at the upset. Kyle Nevitt (15.5), Janier Puente (11.0) and Ryan Rathje (10.4) add another dimension to the high-powered attack, but have no doubts, it’ll be Ivory having a big night if they’re to pull off the upset.
Players to watch
Pella: Will Warner (No. 102 in ’16), Ryan Van Wyk (No. 26 in ’17)
Perry: Shammond Ivory (No. 10 in ’16), Kyle Nevitt (No. 25 in ’17), Rashon Ivory (No. 54 in ’18)