Winter Break-Down: (1A) 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: Bishop Garrigan
After winning it all a season ago, Bishop Garrigan has started off this year on fire with a 9-1 record and their only loss coming to an out-of-state power house in Hopkins High School to start their year. The Golden Bears have set themselves in a good spot going into break, putting them in a position to run the table again this season and win a state championship at the end of the year behind the leadership of Iowa State basketball commit Audi Crooks Audi Crooks 6'3" | C Bishop Garrigan | 2023 State #42 Nation IA and star guard Molly Joyce Molly Joyce 5'7" | PG Bishop Garrigan | 2023 State IA . While looking forward to the rest of their schedule I believe that this team will be in the state championship game once again. Their team is a complete package, along with their star players, a great system, and 1A competition they will face really sets this group up to win back to back championships but only time will tell as it only takes one game to change everything.
Crooks has been the player that everyone expected this year once again by filling up the bucket, altering opponents shots, and dishing the rock off to her teammates when the other team shows too much help and she can’t get an open look. Match-up wise there isn’t anyone in the entire state of Iowa who could guard Crooks, throughout any class so it’ll be interesting to see what other teams do to stop this group once the playoffs begin. It’s a very challenging task because one of the best facets of Crooks game is her ability to pass out of the post and find an open teammate, so when teams bring too much pressure down in the post, it shouldn’t be a problem as this group has a good amount of weapons that can all score at a high rate. When you put any decent player on a team like this they are going to be in a favorable position to succeed but when you put one of the best players in the country with a team like this, you keep winning state championships.
Next-Best: North Linn
North Linn has been looking top notch once again this year to start off their 22′-23′ campaign. The Lyxn coming into break hold an undefeated record of 9-0 while winning by an average margin of victory of 41 PPG thus far and beating some big named programs. To say that this season has been a breeze for this squad would be dramatic as they have had a couple of “teaching” moments and have gotten through them up until this point. I think looking forward this is a team that everyone in the 1A class should be watching out for. They are a program that is well rounded and does a good job of communicating with each other. When they are on the floor they look like one single unit and play as one a majority of the time. If they can keep on this trajectory and keep on winning, this will be one of those teams you’ll see late in the season that could have a shot at it all.
Kamryn Kurt Kamryn Kurt 5’6″ | PG North Linn | 2024 State IA has been all over the floor for the Lyxn this year and getting her name out there as one really solid player. Kurt, the 5’6 guard, has been averaging just over 15 PPG this year while passing out around 4 APG at the same time on the way to leading her team to an overall 9-0 record. Something that this offense are Kurt do very well is move off of the ball. They are taught and understand the importance of moving with out the rock to get open and tend to score a lot of baskets this way. Another addition that helps Kurt run this team is the defensive pressure. This is a group that likes to turn it up and create a lot of turnovers in transition, leading to easy buckets down at the other end for themselves. If this group is going to get all the way to the championship this season it will be behind the leadership of Kurt, their defensive pressure and some other veteran pieces on this team but we will just have to wait and see how it plays out.
Underdog With A Chance: Winfield-Mt Union
Winfield-Mt Union is the only team in the 1A conference to start this year going into break with double digits in the win column thus far with a 10-0 record. Now looking at the power rankings, all the teams in this class and this group is definitely not an underdog but just in an interesting spot for me. They possess this undefeated record and have 9 of their 10 wins convincingly but haven’t really had much competition to play up until this point. With that being in mind and seeing the rest of their schedule I truly think this team will run the table and end the regular season with an undefeated record going into playoffs, once they get to playoffs it maybe another story but until then I think that everyone should keep an eye on this group. If you take them for granted on any given night, you’ll end up losing.
Bradie Buffington
Bradie Buffington
Bradie Buffington has been a name that we may not have known at the start of this season but you will know by the end. Up until this point Buffington has been great for the Wolves, averaging over 16 PPG, and 8 RPG on the way to an undefeated 10-0 record. Right now, in most situations you have a big mis-match in Buffington’s case. She has good length, speed, and size to get around her defender and I just don’t see anyone else who can match up with her on the offensive end at this point in the year. I think that going forward she is going to be the biggest factor for this team and will continue with her successful season until the year is over. It’ll be intriguing to see in the playoffs what this team does as their opponents will definitely be honed in on the senior forward and will force her to pass the ball, forcing her teammates to get the job done.
Sleeper Out Of Nowhere: AGWSR
AGWSR hasn’t lost up until this point this season but they also haven’t been in the talk for the top team in the class so where does that put them? Well let me tell you. This team is a sleeper that has an incredible player in freshman point guard Nakia Ollivierre Nakia Ollivierre 5'9" | PG Waterloo West | 2026 IA and a great team to back her up, who can compete at a championship level. So far this year this group has looked well rounded and they keep getting the job done each game. They have been beating all of their opponents by a good amount and have had some successful moments already this season. Going forward I would love to see this team in the state tournament in Des Moines and competing against a bigger named program to see how they respond but if it’s anything like what it’s been thus far this year, it’s going to be a good outcome for the Cougars.
Nakia is a special talent. Anyone who watches her on film could tell you that but it is something that you need to see in person to really appreciate. The talented young point guard has been killing it so far this year for the Cougars, averaging over 20 PPG and leading her team to an overall 8-0 record going into break. Nakia was a top ranked player in the class of 2026 coming into this season and everyone now is seeing why. She does a great job of getting to the hoop, creating contact and finishing. She does a nice job of setting up her defender with a solid dribble and shifty moves side to side. By the time she is a senior I anticipate her to still be a top 3-5 player in her class with a lot of high D1 college interest at a big named program.