STATE TOURNAMENT: 10 Who Impressed (Monday)
2017 Joe Smoldt, 5’10 G (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)
After several mesmerizing performances at the state tournament in year’s past, much was expected of the Upper Iowa-signee coming into this one. And though his 29 point (11-25) and 4 assist performance was stellar, it wasn’t as jaw-droppingly good as some of his past efforts. BUT: When you can score 29 points and can still be underwhelming, you are an absolute stud.
2018 Caden Kickbush, 6’5 G/F (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)
Clutch is the name of his game, and this calm and collected 6-foot-5 junior was a smooth operator for the Rebels in the fourth quarter. He scored nine of his 12 points in the final frame, including five straight just at the moment when his Rebels went down for the first time against Lynnville-Sully. Kickbush also nailed all four of his free-throws in the final minute to ice it.
2019 Jake Hilmer, 5’10 PG (North Linn)
Like Smoldt, very much was expected of Hilmer coming into this quarterfinal. He’s just a sophomore, but the numbers he posted this season were off the charts. Hilmer was very good while leading his Lynx to a hard-fought win over Maple Valley-Anton-Ono; netting a game-high 18 points, and flashing some dazzling handles and vision en route to 7 assists. He also swiped 5 steals for good measure.
2018 Nicholas Ruden, 6’4 F (St. Mary’s)
We didn’t know a lot about this 6-foot-4 junior coming into this game, but the junior was near dominant while leading his Hawks to a win over a very good New London squad. Currently Iowa’s 117th-ranked 2018, Ruden will be due for a bump in the next installment. He was effective from inside and outside during his 26 point and 7 rebound performance in the quarters.
2017 Ben Dentlinger, 6’7 F (New London)
In his last ever high school game, this Wayne State-signee was almost able to get his team the win, but New London could never get over the hump. Dentlinger was near dominant defensively, swatting five shots in the narrow loss. The 6-foot-7 forward also scored 15 points and came away with 7 rebounds.
2017 Jacob Wesselmann, 6’2 G (St. Mary’s)
He connected on more triples than anyone today, and his team would need all five of them to get by a tough New London squad. Wesselmann was nearly as good as Ruden in the win, and could be just a crucial to the Hawks if they want to make a deep run in this tournament. The 6-foot-2 guard was had a brilliant all-around performance in the quarterfinals win, going for 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
2018 Grant DeMeulenaere, 5’11 PG (Grand View Christian)
What a smooth lead guard this 5-foot-11 junior is, and he’s blossoming into a star right in front of our eyes. DeMeulenaere got things going early for the Thunder, scoring six points on 3-3 shooting out of the gate. Grand View Christian, led by DeMeulenaere’s game-high 21 points, cruised to an easy 59-36 win over West Hancock. He was solid defensively too, pacing the Thunder with 4 steals. When he shook his man and nailed a running floater to beat the third quarter buzzer, he became a star.
2017 Jesse Jansma, 6’4 SF (Western Christian)
When top seed in 2A Western Christian was down 29-13, it was Jansma who catalyzed a 14-0 run that bridged the second and third quarters. His motor was high and his shots were falling, and defensively is where he caused the most harm. Wolfpack leading scorer Ben Gesink scored just one point in the narrow quarterfinal win, so all of Jansma’s 25 were necessary.
2020 Cameron Soenksen, 6′ G (Camanche)
What first caught our attention — aside from the 14 points per game he averaged this season as a freshman — was his quick first step and ability to get to the rim. Then we noticed his outstanding leaping ability. And he showed some real nice skill too; handling the ball and finishing at the rim. The 6-foot guard scored a team-high 17 points and snared 9 rebounds; he added 4 steals to boot. We came to the conclusion that he’ll be ranked very high when the 2020 rankings are released in May.
2018 Johnny Supple, 6’3 G/F (Cascade)
We liked what we saw from the 6-foot-3 wing last season when he was a sophomore, and he’s gotten much better since then. He dropped a game-high 22 points in his team’s quarterfinal loss to Camanche, and also snagged a team-best 10 rebounds. Supple will have one last spring and summer to get some attention from college coaches; he’s definitely a college prospect.