Conference Preview: Mississippi Valley - Mississippi Division

The Teams: Cedar Falls (23-3): The Tigers look to make another appearance at Wells Fargo again this year after a State Semi-final appearance last year. Before losing to Ankeny in the State Semi-final, the Tigers only lost a pair of games to Waterloo West in the regular season. Leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="796127" first="Landon" last="Wolf"] (11.8 ppg), leading rebounder [player_tooltip player_id="796099" first="Chase" last="Courbat"] (6.7 rpg) and leading assister [player_tooltip player_id="682265" first="Trey" last="Campbell"] (4.4 apg) will bring back 45% of the Tigers scoring. [player_tooltip player_id="727896" first="Joe" last="Knutson"], a Truman State commit will accompany the UNI commits and look to take Cedar Falls back to the state tournament. Be ready for head coach Ryan Schultz and the Tigers to be at the top of MVC again this year. Cedar Rapids Washington (4-18): CR Wash grabbed wins against Bettendorf, Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa City Liberty, and a win against a very good Monticello team. The Warriors played in a ton of close games last year, losing five games by five points or less. The Warriors return three starters from last years lineup. [player_tooltip player_id="956880" first="Traijan" last="Sain"] (5.2) started 21 games and had a solid freshman season for the Warriors. Sain will be joined by seniors [player_tooltip player_id="964836" first="Quincy" last="Underwood"] (10.3) and [player_tooltip player_id="964851" first="Henry" last="Clymer"] (8.8). With another year of experience under their belt and the return of three starters, look for the Warriors to have a better season in 2020-21. Dubuque Wahlert (7-15): The Golden Eagles put together a 7-15 record last year, before losing a tight game against Mount Vernon in the substate semifinal. With the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="530047" first="Jake" last="Schockemoehl"] (19.8), [player_tooltip player_id="674543" first="Cael" last="Schmitt"] (16.3), and [player_tooltip player_id="801970" first="Isaac" last="Ripley"] (9.2), Wahlert will look to Nick Bandy (5.4) and [player_tooltip player_id="964839" first="TJ" last="Fowler"] (8.8) to carry the load. They will need some new faces to step up this season if they are looking to improve their record from last season. Iowa City High (9-13): The Little Hawks turned in a middle of the road 9-13 season in 2019-20, but are looking forward to the upcoming season as they bring back four of their five starters. However they lose their 6’3" all-around guard [player_tooltip player_id="801837" first="Keshawn" last="Christian"], who averaged 15.1 ppg and 7.8 rpg (led the team in both categories). The Little Hawks will return seniors [player_tooltip player_id="964887" first="Kolby" last="Kucera"] (5.6), [player_tooltip player_id="964905" first="Andre" last="Miller"] (5.2), [player_tooltip player_id="796149" first="Byron" last="Benton"] (9.0), Raphael Hamilton (3.6), and junior [player_tooltip player_id="784977" first="Jamari" last="Newson"] (8.1), who all started over ten games. With an experienced lineup coming back, look for City High to be more competitive against the top teams in the league. Iowa City Liberty (10-13): The Liberty Lightning graduated their leading scorer and rebounder, [player_tooltip player_id="801839" first="Andre" last="Brandon"], who averaged 12.5 and 6.8 in the respective categories, along with two other seniors who saw significant playing time. The Lightning will have a senior heavy lineup this season as they bring back four players who started the majority of the season. [player_tooltip player_id="964877" first="Ira" last="Hazeltine"] (7.1), [player_tooltip player_id="964928" first="Basil" last="Aldoss"] (7.7), [player_tooltip player_id="796189" first="Kelby" last="Telander"] (11.8), and [player_tooltip player_id="796133" first="Ethan" last="O’Donnell"] (6.9) will lead the charge. After appearing in eighteen games as a freshman, Savion Taylor will most likely step into a bigger this year as well. Linn-Mar (10-13): The Lions were another team that lost a lot of close games last, having lost six games by less than ten points.However, they graduated four of their five starters who accounted for 73% of their scoring. Top returnees will be senior [player_tooltip player_id="964838" first="Pearson" last="Martin"] (5.9), and junior Cam Guenther (4.3). Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="964845" first="Evan" last="Martin"] (3.1) and Luke Passmore (2.4), along with junior Andrew Knipper (1.1) will be asked to step into bigger roles this season. The Lions will also look to [player_tooltip player_id="962642" first="Jaxson" last="Young"], a 6’1" forward from the class of 2022, to contribute next season. Prairie (14-8): Posing a 8-7 record in the league and a pretty solid season, Prairie finished third in the Mississippi division behind Cedar Falls and Dubuque Senior. The Prairie Hawks will miss their big fella in the middle this season, as center [player_tooltip player_id="682264" first="Gabe" last="Burkle"] (10.5) is out with an injury. Prairie brings back 62% of their scoring, including second leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="784979" first="Elijah" last="Ward"] (9.9). 6’5" guards [player_tooltip player_id="678968" first="Caden" last="Stoffer"] (5.8) and Jackson Nove (3.2), who both saw significant playing time last season, will also return for the Prairie Hawks. Fellow sophomore, [player_tooltip player_id="962635" first="Jake" last="Walter"] (7.4), will return with Ward and help carry the load. Look for a similar season this season from the Prairie Hawks. Western Dubuque (5-17): After a dismal season last year, West Dubuque brings back their top two scorers in [player_tooltip player_id="796119" first="Dylan" last="Johnson"] (15.8) and [player_tooltip player_id="964860" first="Garrett" last="Baumhover"] (12.8). Johnson led the Mississipi Division in points scored last season with 348, and Baumhover was third in the assists (82) and steals (40) categories. Joining these two will be Tommy DeSollar (4.2), who saw some good playing time last season. The Bobcats will need some help from some other roles players they look to improve from last season. Projected Order of Finish: <ol> <li>Cedar Falls</li> <li>Prairie</li> <li>Iowa City High</li> <li>Iowa City Liberty</li> <li>Cedar Rapids Washington</li> <li>Linn-Mar</li> <li>Western Dubuque</li> <li>Dubuque Wahlert</li> </ol> Analysis: Cedar Falls brings back three starters and two others who saw significant playing time from a team last year that came back from Wells Fargo with a third place trophy. The Tigers and the Prairie Hawks in Cedar Rapids return quite a bit from last year and should be atop the standings. Iowa City High, Iowa City Liberty, and CR Wash will all be in a race for the middle spots in the division. Linn-Mar, Western Dubuque, and Wahlert will all look to improve from their dismal seasons last year. Preseason Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id="796127" first="Landon" last="Wolf"], Cedar Falls (2021): 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 48.9% from the field, and 91.4% from the free-throw line. The fourth-ranked player in the class of 2021 will look to build off a fantastic year last year. Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="796099" first="Chase" last="Courbat"], Cedar Falls (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="682265" first="Trey" last="Campbell"], Cedar Falls (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="784979" first="Elijah" last="Ward"], Prairie (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="962635" first="Jake" last="Walter"], Prairie (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="796119" first="Dylan" last="Johnson"], Western Dubuque (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="964860" first="Garrett" last="Baumhover"], Western Dubuque (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="964836" first="Quincy" last="Underwood"], Cedar Rapids Washington (2021)