First Half State Leaders: Scoring

Tony Roe January 1, 2019 @ 06:30 AM

With the holiday break upon us, it’s time to take a look at who the state’s leading scorers are through the first half of the season (Note: Stats are through games that were entered into QuikStats by December 27 at 8:00 am).   1.) 2020 Nick Reid (Central City) - 34.7 points per game Reid led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding last season as a sophomore, and has taken his game to another level this winter. The keys to his success are no secret - he's able to get to the rim routinely and finish, or get to the line, where he has made 25 more free throws (and attempted 41 more) than any other player in the state. 2.) 2019 Tyrese Nickelson (Waterloo East) - 30.7 points per game Class 4A's leading scorer put together a strong summer with the Iowa Barnstormers and has carried that success into his senior year. He has "in the gym" range and showed how explosive he can be with his 47 point outing against Cedar Rapids Kennedy. 3.) 2020 Bryce Coppock (Newell-Fonda) - 29.9 points per game The 6-0 junior guard is shooting a blistering 52.7% from behind the arc this season and leads the Mustangs in assists and steals, to boot. He passed the 1,000 career point mark early this winter, and should surpass the 1,500 mark before the end of the season. 4.) 2019 Tyreke Locure (Des Moines North) - 29.6 points per game The future South Alabama Jaguar point guard has put together one of the most successful careers of any 4A player in history. At his current pace, he'd surpass Jeff Horner as 4A's second all-time leading scorer in the Polar Bears' regular season finale against Waukee. 5.) 2019 Jace Davidson (Pocahontas Area) - 27.8 points per game The lefty guard has been remarkably consistent so far this season, with his season low in scoring being 23 points. He's a nightly threat to go for 30+ with a great mix of scoring at the rim or from the arc. 6.) 2020 JD Stout (Keota) - 27.7 points per game Few players in the state have a brighter green light than Stout, as only Locure and Reid have attempted more shots. He's greatly improved his efficiency, and as a result, has already made more 3s than he did all of last season (he leads the state with 42 made 3s this season). 7.) 2019 Patrick McCaffery (Iowa City West) - 27.6 points per game The future Hawkeye recently broke the single game scoring record at West, when he scored 42 against Cedar Rapids Washington. The long, athletic forward has been incredibly efficient in his scoring, shooting over 60% from the floor for the Trojans. 8.) 2019 Jackson Molstead (Charles City) - 27.4 points per game A strong, physical scoring guard, Molstead has led the Comets in scoring all four years, and is on pace to become Charles City's all-time leading scorer on January 25th against Oelwein, surpassing former Iowa great Greg Brunner. T9.) 2019 Collin Lister (Carlisle) - 25.6 points per game Lister's efficiency numbers have taken a hit this year following a lot of losses to graduation for the Wildcats, but he's still scoring in bunches, posting games of 37, 43 and 39 points before the break. T9.) 2019 Ben Obert (Coon Rapids-Bayard) - 25.6 points per game The 6-2 guard uses a versatile skill set to do his scoring, and has the ability to take over games for Coon Rapids on a nightly basis. He also leads the Crusaders in rebounding.   The next 12: Bowen Born (Norwalk, 2020; 25.4), Noah Carter (Dubuque Senior, 2019; 25.2), Aidan Vanderloo (Waterloo East, 2019; 25.2), Tate Bear (Meskwaki Settlement, 2019; 25.1), Tate Killeen (Audubon, 2019; 24.9), Andrew Gibb (St. Edmond, 2019; 24.9), Ben Heeren (Ogden, 2019; 24.8), Christian Stanislav (Glenwood, 2019; 24.8), Jake Hilmer (North Linn, 2019; 24.5), Parker Hitt (Mormon Trail, 2019; 24.3), Owen Coburn (Spirit Lake, 2019; 24.3), Michael Sweeney (Waukon, 2019; 24.0)