Conference Preview: CIML Iowa

The Teams Fort Dodge (3-20): Looking to make an improvement on last year’s teams, the Dodgers will have to do so without their leading scorer Tyson Kershaw (12.3). They will look for production from top scorers and shooters Dayson Clayton (8.7), Monterius Abrams-Altman (5.8) and Carson Peterson (5.6). Usually in a team that has struggled you can look into their turnovers and see an issue, but that’s not necessarily the case with the Dodgers. However, the Dodgers were only 37% from the field as a team and 32% from the 3pt line. Scoring will need to be lifted this season as Fort Dodge only topped 50 points in 7 games this past season. Marshalltown (4-19): Marshalltown struggled as a team this past season about as much as Fort Dodge did, but they did sweep the Dodgers in the season series, winning both meetings by double digits each game. The Bobcats are in a good position on paper though as this past season’s team was fairly young. They will return their leading scorer in Junior, [player_tooltip player_id="682291" first="Armonniey" last="Thomas"] (19.3), who can really get the offense going. They also return 5 of their top 6 scorers from last year’s team led by Sophomore Drake Kapayou (6.4) and Senior Isaiah Borgos (6.3). Turnovers weren’t a big problem for this team (12.8 per game), but if they want to improve their overall record they will need to take care of the ball on offense. The Bobcats will also return their team leading 3pt shooter in Junior, Grant Greazel (39.3%). Outside shooting should be a strong suit for this team as they return 7 players who shoot it above the 30% clip. Mason City (8-14): As expected, Mason City struggled against the teams higher than them in the conference as they went 0-6 against the top 3 schools (Southeast Polk, Valley, and Waukee). Defense is what comes into question for the Mohawks as they only held opponents under 50 points 3 times a year ago. Mason City does lose their leading scorer in [player_tooltip player_id="801932" first="Jeffrey" last="Skogan"] (14.5) but return a nice player in [player_tooltip player_id="784975" first="Corey" last="Miner"] (13.0). The Junior, left-handed guard is a solid shooter from the perimeter, shooting 37.2% from the 3pt line, but is also a capable scorer off the dribble. He’s pretty crafty with the ball and is a willing passer to his teammates (2.7 assists per). After Miner, the Mohawks get Junior [player_tooltip player_id="962668" first="Carter" last="Thomas"] (8.7 points) who shot the ball well from the floor ending the year with a 56.8% FG rate this past season. Taking care of the basketball will be a key point for this Mohawk offense if they want to improve overall from this past season, but they certainly have the talent to do something with in a tough 4A conference. Southeast Polk (12-10): This Southeast Polk team is a team that I don’t think gets talked about enough going into the season. Finishing just over. 500 a year ago, but with a young team who’s now a year older. Led by Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="727881" first="James" last="Glenn"] (12.6) who has put on display the kind of facilitator he can be all summer and fall long. Chase Barlett is another under the radar guard for the Rams. The Senior shooting specialist is a prime 3-and-D player who is going to guard the opponent’s best perimeter player and shoot it at a high rate on offense (39.5% 3pt). They will bring back 6 of their top scorers from a year ago and will be a senior-laden team going into 2020-2021. The group of [player_tooltip player_id="964914" first="Boone" last="Bain"] (9.8), [player_tooltip player_id="964852" first="Wil" last="Jones"] (8.3), Malachai Williams (7.9), and [player_tooltip player_id="796128" first="Dominic" last="Caggiano"] (6.2) will be a key part of how far this team can go. The Rams will be eyeing the top spot from the Waukee Warriors, and definitely have the talent and depth to compete at a high level in Class 4A this year. Valley (16-7): The team that handed Waukee it’s only in-conference loss of the season, led by a senior in Jacob Auer (17.2) will have some scoring production to come up with. Since Auer exhausted his eligibility, the good news is they have returning pieces who are also proven scorers. The first one is [player_tooltip player_id="796132" first="Ty" last="Walker"] (14.1) who is a talented shooter who has some wiggle to his game as well. The senior will look to bring along a couple of others with him to repeat the success of this past season. [player_tooltip player_id="962490" first="Eli" last="Raridon"] (13.0) will be a key component to the Tigers’ offense and defense providing a big inside presence. Senior Drew Schnicker (5.0) is someone who has impressed this Fall and I’ll be looking for him to take an uptick in production. The Tigers, however, will be adding Junior Ruot Bijiek from Dowling. Bijiek will bring more size for the Tigers and will help them in their quest to the top of the conference. A couple of other names who maybe aren’t proven from this past season but from performances this summer look to be primed to help the team are Senior Garang Deng (1.4) and Junior [player_tooltip player_id="784973" first="Mason" last="Morrow"] (1.6). I believe the Tigers will be fighting to hold off Southeast Polk for the second team in the conference. Waukee (23-3): The team that is being talked about not only statewide, but somewhat nationally as well with the amount of talent that is gathered. Led by DI recruits and seniors [player_tooltip player_id="727862" first="Tucker" last="DeVries"] (21.4) and [player_tooltip player_id="727863" first="Payton" last="Sandfort"] (19.8) who will be top scorers in the state. Both can shoot the ball at a high level but also use length and size to dominate opponents and exploit mismatches. The Warriors get an added impact with national Sophomore standout and wing/forward [player_tooltip player_id="956447" first="Omaha" last="Biliew"] who moved from Dowling to Waukee in the offseason. As if this team needed more length, Biliew does just that and also more skill to the Warrior offense. Another Sophomore on this roster who is going to take the next step is [player_tooltip player_id="956868" first="Pryce" last="Sandfort"] (9.3) as he adds shooting, ball handling, and more length and size on the perimeter. To go along with all of this shooting already, [player_tooltip player_id="727899" first="Wyatt" last="Heston"] hasn’t even been mentioned who shoots it from the perimeter at 50% clip at 6’7 and is the perfect 5th member to this lineup for the Warriors. Waukee also added Des Moines North’s leading scorer and the whole State of Iowa’s 5th leading scorer (26.4) in [player_tooltip player_id="796110" first="Malik" last="Allen"]. I don’t think Allen will have that kind of point production this season on this team, but he could be the state’s leading assist man in a role where he uses his speed, quickness and athleticism to beat defenders and dish to the talent he’s surrounded by. Waukee will be a team favorited to win the Class 4A state championship, and will be looking for a different outcome after coming up short against Ankeny this past March.   Projected Order of Finish 1. Waukee 2. Southeast Polk 3. Valley 4. Marshalltown 5. Mason City 6. Fort Dodge Analysis: Waukee is the favorite to win Class 4A, they will have arguably the best two players in the conference if not more and have size and shooting that will be hard to match for any team in the state to match let alone in the conference. The second place spot is where it gets interesting as Southeast Polk returns quite a bit and Valley is looking for that go-to guy. Marshalltown could sneak up on some teams, but I’m not sure they have enough firepower to move any higher than the 4th spot in the conference. [player_tooltip player_id="784975" first="Corey" last="Miner"] and company in Mason City will look to try to hold off Marshalltown from that spot, and I don’t see Fort Dodge making too much of a difference in the conference race.   Preseason Player of the Year It’s a tie! [player_tooltip player_id="727862" first="Tucker" last="DeVries"], Waukee High School (2021): 21.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 48.1% 3pt, 55.8% FG [player_tooltip player_id="727863" first="Payton" last="Sandfort"], Waukee High School (2021): 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4 assists, 45.3% 3pt, 53.7% FG It’s hard to decide between these two as they are vocal points for not only their own team but for opponents as well. DeVries brings an all-around game that will translate well to the Missouri Valley Conference and Drake as he shoots, passes, and rebounds well with his 6’6 frame. The wing/guard will have plenty of talent to distribute. Sandfort, the Iowa signee, on the other hand has a quick release from the perimeter but has an expanding inside game where he can exploit the mismatches that teams may throw at him. At 6’8 and the way he can shoot it he’s another problem teams have to account for. Sandfort is a good defender and uses his length well inside. I wouldn’t be shocked to see either of them win this award at the end of the year, so for now there will be two. Players to watch [player_tooltip player_id="727862" first="Tucker" last="DeVries"], Waukee (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="727863" first="Payton" last="Sandfort"], Waukee (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="956868" first="Pryce" last="Sandfort"], Waukee (2023) [player_tooltip player_id="956447" first="Omaha" last="Biliew"], Waukee (2023) [player_tooltip player_id="796110" first="Malik" last="Allen"], Waukee (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="727899" first="Wyatt" last="Heston"], Waukee (2021) Ruot Bijiek, Valley (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="796132" first="Ty" last="Walker"], Valley (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="962490" first="Eli" last="Raridon"], Valley (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="727881" first="James" last="Glenn"], Southeast Polk (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="964835" first="Chase" last="Bartlett"], Southeast Polk (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="964914" first="Boone" last="Bain"], Southeast Polk (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="682291" first="Armonniey" last="Thomas"], Marshalltown (2022) Isaiah Borgos, Marshalltown (2021) Drake Kapayou, Marshalltown (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="784975" first="Corey" last="Miner"], Mason City (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="962668" first="Carter" last="Thomas"], Mason City (2022) Dayson Clayton, Fort Dodge (2021)