Northeast Iowa Conference: Class Of 2021’s Who Should Be Valued

<p>In an effort to provide new and unique ways to cover prospects, we thought it would be important to give some coverage to those that might not always get it. To do that, we will be digging deep into each conference in the state.</p> <p>We will be breaking down each conference starting with the Class of 2021 first to show college coaches who they need to be placing a value on heading into the year.</p> <p>We will continue to go through each conference to try and hit as many players as possible with the hopes of helping these seniors-to-be catch the attention of prospective college coaches. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964847" first="Creed" last="Welch"] - Waukon</strong></p> <p>Last year, [player_tooltip player_id="964847" first="Creed" last="Welch"] did a little bit of everything for Waukon.</p> <p>The Class of 2021 guard scored 337 points in 22 games, adding 137 rebounds, 108 assists, 54 steals and 22 blocks as the Indians went 13-9 and reached the Class 2A substate quarterfinals.</p> <p>Welch was the leading scorer, shooting over 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from the three-point line and nearly 71 percent at the charity stripe. </p> <p>He is also a standout on the football field for Waukon, having paid an in-season visit to the University of Iowa last fall. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964858" first="Jacob" last="King"] - Oelwein </strong></p> <p>Despite opposing defenses knowing Oelwein was going to get the ball to [player_tooltip player_id="964858" first="Jacob" last="King"], they were unable to stop him.</p> <p>King led the team at just under 15 points per game, shooting almost 40 percent from both the field and three-point line. He also sank nearly 89 percent of his free throws, adding 93 total rebounds. </p> <p>In all, the Class of 2021 King made 57 three-pointers. </p> <p><strong>JJ Ritter - Charles City</strong></p> <p>As Northeast Iowa Conference runners-up, Charles City will look to Class of 2021 prospect JJ Ritter to carry the load in 2020-21.</p> <p>Ritter was part of the starting unit a season ago, scoring 281 points on almost 40 percent shooting from the floor. He sank 33 three-pointers and was also 82-for-92 at the free throw line, adding 59 rebounds, 42 assists and 30 steals.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964925" first="Reid" last="Wiley"] - Crestwood</strong></p> <p>Crestwood picked up a pair of postseason wins to extend its season a year ago before falling to Dyersville Beckman in a Class 2A substate semifinal.</p> <p>They will have to replace leading scorer and rebounder Garrett Ollendieck from that team, as [player_tooltip player_id="964925" first="Reid" last="Wiley"] looks to build upon a strong junior season.</p> <p>Wiley, a member of the Class of 2021, tallied 263 points with 67 assists, 41 rebounds and 29 steals. He shot almost 42 percent from the field, 33 percent from the three-point arc and nearly 72 percent at the charity stripe. </p> <p><strong>Ethan O’Neill - Waukon</strong></p> <p>Another Class of 2021 returning starter for Waukon playing alongside [player_tooltip player_id="964847" first="Creed" last="Welch"] is Ethan O’Neill.</p> <p>O’Neill scored 284 points a season ago, adding 105 rebounds, 53 assists, 25 steals and a handful of blocks. He made over 40 percent of his shots from the field and drained 22 three-pointers. </p>