Winter Break-Down: (3A) Teams To Know Going Forward
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In the state of Iowa there are several great teams and programs to be known, stretching over all classes throughout the entire state. Below I will be highlighting a handful of these teams and who I think everyone should know…
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Continue ReadingIn the state of Iowa there are several great teams and programs to be known, stretching over all classes throughout the entire state. Below I will be highlighting a handful of these teams and who I think everyone should know returning from winter break. From what I have seen thus far these teams all have a solid chance to make a statement once playoffs begin.
Favorite To Win It All: Estherville Lincoln Central
When looking over the 3A class and who has the potential to win it all this season, there are a handful of teams that come into the conversation but up to this point I think ELC high school keeps their ranking at the top spot in the state after winning the championship last season while starting this one undefeated with a 7-0 record going into break. During this 7-0 start, the Midgets are averaging a winning margin of 38 points and are only letting their opponents score 29 PPG on average. There are some other teams with alike records and margins of victory but until those teams have to face up against ELC it’s going to be hard to put anybody above them at this point. They have brought back a seasoned roster with their star power from last year all returning as well. It’ll be a battle once the playoffs begin but until then this team is going to try to keep that undefeated record alive until the end of the year.
Haylee Stokes Haylee Stokes 5’6″ | PG Estherville Lincoln Central | 2025 State IA has returned to lead the charge for the Midgets again this season after winning a state championship during last years campaign. Stokes, a very talent play maker, has been doing a great job of keeping everyone on her team in-line this season while still putting up and averaging big numbers on her own. Coming out of break Stokes and ELC will have their hardest test of the season when they face off against Addison Klosterbuer Addison Klosterbuer 5’9″ | SG Central Lyon | 2023 State IA and Central Lyon high school, who will be their highest ranked opponent thus far. Following that game they will have to face off against a top 1A ranked Newwell-Fonda program who has been playing lights out so far this year. I think that these two challenges will tell us a lot more about this team and how the rest of the 3A class will play out looking toward the future.
Next-Best: Benton
Benton high school comes in as my next best in this class and they could debatably be put in the top spot on some peoples rankings depending on what you are looking at/consider valuable in the long run of things. The Wildcats seem to be the most complete team across the board thus far this season coming into break and have some really good wins under their belt, including a convincing 10 point win on the road against a 10-1 Iowa City-Regina Regals team, whose only loss was to this very team. Coming into break the Wildcats have the 2nd most wins in the 3A class against opponents with an +.500 record with an average margin of victory this season of 12.1 PPG. The next game that Benton will play will be at Solon high school next week and it should be a great match-up against two of the top teams in this class. This game will be on everyones watch list moving forward and for good reason, I can’t wait to see what happens.
Jenna Twedt Jenna Twedt 5’8″ | SG Benton | 2023 State IA has been playing great this season while leading the Benton Wildcats. Twedt, a Kirkwood women’s basketball commit, has been making a difference on every level thus far coming into break and is lacing up to have an even better second half of the year coming up with their season ending with a win at the state tournament in Des Moines. The crafty point guard is a college coaches dream. She does her job, gets others involved, runs the offense to a T, and can make a play for herself or a teammate down the stretch when it matters. Coming out of break when the Wildcats face off against the Solon Spartans, this game will feature two of the best players in the state in the 3A class between Twedt and Iowa commit Callie Levin Callie Levin 5’10” | PG Solon | 2024 State IA , so it should be a good one with a lot of “fireworks”.
Underdog With A Chance: Solon
I want to start off by saying that Solon high school is by no means, an underdog in any situation this season. This team can play and compete at the highest level, giving them a good shot to make it to Des Moines and play for a championship at the end of this season. Under the leadership of star guard Callie Levin Callie Levin 5'10" | PG Solon | 2024 State IA , the Spartans have started off this year with a 7-1 overall record and have tallied up some really convincing wins. This team comes into break with the most overall wins vs teams with a +.500 record with 6 of their 7, showing that this program isn’t just competing and winning against lesser opponents but other teams that have also been successful this year. As this season finishes out, if they can knock down shots when Levin is over-helped and she doesn’t try to do to much then I think this team can really push it all the way to the state semi’s or even championship. They have every piece to be successful but just need to keep working together up until playoffs to make their dreams come a reality.
Callie Levin Callie Levin 5’10” | PG Solon | 2024 State IA has been everything expected of her and more this season for the Spartans, leading them into their great start going into break. Levin, the Iowa women’s basketball commit, is a hard working point guard who can score the basketball at high rate. She does a good job of moving off of the ball once it’s out of her hands and has such a quick set up for her shot that she gets a good amount of open looks off of this sequence. On defense she does a great job of moving, getting over screens, and diving on the floor for loose balls when she has the chance. Looking at the big picture of this class and going forward, I think that the Spartans will need one more player to step up for them in the long run to finish the job and win it all in this 3A class but Levin is such a convincing leader that I think she can make that happen, shocking the entire state of Iowa this post-season.
Highlights
Sleeper Out Of Nowhere: West Marshall
West Marshall has been on the radar all season but not in the top spots of the 3A class. I think that soon enough that will have to change and everyone will take notice in the skill/athleticism of this West Marshall team. West Marshall possesses one of the best and most dangerous players in the state in Katy Reyerson Katy Reyerson 6'2" | PF West Marshall | 2023 State IA and has started of this season with an overall 8-1 record. Reyerson has and will continue to be a huge mis-match advantage for them all the way though the state tournament but to succeed she will need the continuous support of the players around her to beat the big named teams that they will meet up against in the future. In my opinion this is one of the most diverse teams there is in the state and they do a great job playing through Reyerson, so on any given night, this team could end up beating anyone by 20+ points. That’s why going forward everyone should be looking at this team as a big name in the future.
Katy Reyerson Katy Reyerson 6’2″ | PF West Marshall | 2023 State IA has been one of the most all around complete players this season for West Marshall. Reyerson, the UNI women’s basketball commit, has been a cheat-code for her squad this season while putting up some massive numbers. As an outside viewer you can see someone’s greatness in just their stats at times and so far you can definitely say that about Reyerson, as she averages a double double and has been around the triple double mark a few times this season on the stat sheet. I don’t expect anything in her game to change moving forward with how successful her and her team has been up until this point but for them to continue to grow as a program and compete at the state tournament.