Grand View Team Camp: Saturday Recaps
Albia 79 vs West Hancock 35
The Blue Demons won 13 games last season and return their top four scorers, they look like a team that could win upwards to 20 games this winter. Blake Chance is the clear leader of this group, the 6’4 rising junior was doing it all against West Hancock during the blowout win. He finished with 19 points and a slew of assists, steals and rebounds. Another sure standout was fellow rising junior Brayden Messamaker, a 6’1 guard, he canned five 3s and poured in a game-high 23 points. The two of them will make up one of the best back courts in Class 2A next season, and two seasons from now, watch out.
Hunter Farr
Winterset 51 vs Carlisle 31
Standout Winterset rising senior Easton Darling was down in Missouri playing in the Midwest Showcase, but it was still no problem for the Huskies to get the blowout win. Darling’s absence opened the door for guys like Hunter Farr and Dawson Forgy to shine. Farr was especially effective in the win, going for 13 points and making a major impact on both ends of the floor. Forgy canned a couple of 3s and showcased a pure jumper while doing so. Carlisle will have to fill a huge void left by standout 2019 prospects Collin Lister and Trenton Beck, who combined for 37.5 points per game last season. Nate Norman was the leading scorer for the Wildcats in this one, he went for 14 in the loss.
Jordan Kumm
Ankeny 55 vs Van Meter 40
It was a balanced scoring attack from a slew of quality players that led the Hawks to a convincing win over the Bulldogs. Each team was playing without a top player. Ankeny’s Braxton Bayless was in Missouri playing at Midwest Showcase, Van Meter’s Anthony Potthoff was presumably at baseball. Without Bayless, the Hawks leaned on Jaxon Smith and Jordan Kumm to carry the back court, those two combined for 22 points and flashed some serious speed and athleticism. Nolan Otten was impressive, the big man bullied his way to 11 points and will be critical to the Hawks’ success next winter. Brecken Manus was a pleasant surprise, he used length and grit to come away with nine points and a handful of rebounds and assists. Parker Fryar led the way for Van Meter, the rising rising senior guard scored 12 in the loss.
Jacob Townsend
Pleasant Valley 40 vs Norwalk 12
The Spartans only allowed 45.9 points per game last season, good enough for the fourth-best defensive scoring average in Class 4A. It turns out they D up in the summer, too. Norwalk was playing without one of the state’s very best pure scorers, Bowen Born, he was in Missouri playing at the Midwest Showcase. That allowed the Spartans to lock in more on sharpshooter Tyler Johnson, and he struggled mightily in this one, scoring just two points. As a result, the Spartans rolled to a blowout win, and showed it will again be a serious threat next season on the eastern side of the state. Rising junior Jacob Townsend led the way with nine points, he was impressive. Fellow juniors Ryan Dolphin and CJ Ragins were also key for the Spartans.
Ryan VandeHaar
Pella Christian 77 vs Carroll 60
It was raining 3s for the Eagles, which used 14 long balls to help bury the Tigers in this one. One guy in particular was feeling it from deep, rising senior Ryan Vande Haar made seven 3s and scored 31 points in the win; that’s more 3s than he made all of last season (five). The Tigers made nine 3s of their own in this one, and the 60 points was the third highest point total of any team we saw on Saturday, but when your opponent cans 14 3s in 40 minutes of running game clock, that usually will end with an L. Rising junior Colby Christensen led the way for Carroll, he rained in three 3s and scored 13 points.
Jacob Townsend
Pleasant Valley 48 vs Urbandale 39
For Pleasant Valley, it was again rising junior Jacob Townsend who was utterly impressive. The 6’3 guard scored 18 first half points and proved to be virtually unstoppable at times while doing so. He finished the game with 23 points, and was perhaps the best player in the gym on Saturday. The Spartans have a nice weapon with rising junior CJ Ragins, the 6’3 forward has some serious bounce, and put in two electrifying dunks in the nine-point win. Urbandale has a pair of talented guards with rising senior Chance Knox and rising sophomore Dillon Kuehl, the pair combined for 23 points in the loss.
Karter Lein
Carroll 52 vs Southeast Polk 49
In what was the most entertaining game of the day, it was Karter Lein from Carroll who was the hero after putting in what the officials deemed a game-winning 3-ball as time expired (It was clearly out of his hands after the buzzer sounded, but hey, it’s June basketball). It was an up and down game that saw both teams hold big leads and lose them. At halftime, Southeast Polk led 25-18, they had to overcome a sluggish start to go into the break with a lead. Carroll used a 19-2 run in the second half to take a commanding lead of their own. Then Rams rising junior Dom Caggiano started doing his thing, scoring 10 points in the final couple minutes, including a pair of clutch 3s, to get his team to the 49-all tie. That’s when Lein — who hit a slew of clutch free throws and led the Tigers with 13 points — hit the game-winning 3.