Class 5A – Region 1: 2023’s to Watch

As we look for other ways to cover prospects we thought it would be beneficial to cover players in a way that allows us to cover those we don’t write much about. We will be using the region’s from last season as they were constructed. Obviously, these regions will change into next season but for these stories it was the easiest way to divide players and teams as equally as possible. We will be writing a series of three stories for each region in the state and the categories are as follows: 2023’s to put on Your Radar, 2022’s who can Breakout, and 2021’s Who Should be Valued by Colleges. We will continue to go through each region and aim to hit as many players as we can that we haven’t talked about previously. Here are five 2023’s who need to be on your radar. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63032" first="Kelsey" last="Joens"] - Iowa City High</strong> The Joens name carries quite a bit of notoriety in the state of Iowa for basketball, and as a member of the Class of 2023, [player_tooltip player_id="63032" first="Kelsey" last="Joens"] lived up to it. The younger sister of Iowa State standout Ashley Joens, [player_tooltip player_id="63032" first="Kelsey" last="Joens"] scored 263 points with 99 rebounds, 46 steals, 35 assists and nine blocked shots for Iowa City High this past winter. Joens led the team in scoring at 20.2 points per game, shooting over 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from the three-point line and 83 percent at the free throw stripe. City High went 23-2 overall, reaching the state semifinals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160551" first="Keiko" last="Ono-Fullard"] - Iowa City Liberty</strong> Iowa City Liberty remains a young program filled with young talent. This past season, the Lightning played several members of the Class of 2023 including [player_tooltip player_id="160551" first="Keiko" last="Ono-Fullard"]. In 20 games for Iowa City Liberty, Ono-Fullard scored 151 points, which ranked second on the team. She also had 72 rebounds, 39 assists and 23 steals, shooting over 32 percent from the floor with 14 made three-pointers. <strong>Aniyah Wilson - Davenport Central</strong> Davenport Central won nine games this past winter with a roster that featured just three seniors in all. One of the newcomers to contribute was Class of 2023’s Aniyah Wilson. Playing in nine games with four starts, Wilson produced 42 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. She shot just under 40 percent from the field for the Blue Devils. <strong>Kennedy Daugherty - Iowa City Liberty</strong> Seeing action in 19 games as a newcomer to the Iowa City Liberty varsity program, Kennedy Daugherty found her footing. Daugherty recorded 87 points with a team-leading 96 rebounds. She also had 16 steals, 10 assists and blocked a handful of shots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63046" first="Ava" last="Meyer"] - Iowa City Liberty</strong> One more newcomer to the Iowa City Liberty rotation this past year was [player_tooltip player_id="63046" first="Ava" last="Meyer"], as she played in 20 games. Meyer recorded 51 points with 78 rebounds, eight steals, seven blocked shots and five assists. Her rebounds ranked third on the Lightning.