Playoff Preview: 2A-7

<p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/2A-13.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1127540" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/2A-13.png" alt="" width="849" height="829" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>The favorite: </strong>Going into the postseason,<strong> Dike-New Hartford</strong> has won 9 straight games and that’s even after losing Senior leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="796147" first="Dane" last="Fuller"] (22.1). In missing Fuller, that has caused others to step up more than they were before and that includes fellow Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="964894" first="Landen" last="Sullivan"] (16.6) and [player_tooltip player_id="964882" first="AJ" last="Wegener"] (13.6). This team also is very <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Aj-Wegener.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1021776 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Aj-Wegener-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a>experienced, and doesn’t have a guy in their regular rotation that isn’t a Junior or Senior. This helps in the postseason with leadership and knowing what to do in high pressure situations. As a team, the Wolverines are not very big and do lack some size and that could provide some issues, but it hasn’t been a deal breaker for them just yet. A pretty good 3pt and free throw shooting team will only help the Wolverines in the long run. </p> <p><strong>The biggest threat: </strong>When you have one of the best players in Class 2A in [player_tooltip player_id="796102" first="Karson" last="Sharar"] (22.4), and play in a predominantly Class 3A schedule you will have a chance when it comes to postseason basketball. Sitting with a 12-9 record, the <strong>Iowa Falls-Alden</strong> Cadets ended the season in 4th place in the North Central conference and a 3 game winning streak. The Iowa football signee, Sharar, is athletic getting to the cup, and uses that athleticism to also get into passing lanes on the defensive end well. <strong>Nolan Frohwein</strong> provides an inside presence throwing in 11.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. </p> <p><strong>The dark horse:</strong> <strong>South Hardin</strong> seemed to be hitting their stride when they rallied off 2 straight wins including against conference leaders Gladbrook-Reinbeck but have since taken a step back losing 2 of 3 to end the season. This up-and-down team hasn’t quite found the consistency it needs to sustain success, but if they find a touch of it this postseason they have some good weapons to utilize such as Senior <strong>Kael Carr</strong> (11.4), Sophomore<strong> Ryan Walters</strong> (11.2) and Junior <strong>Mason Sheldahl</strong> (8.9). </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to watch</span></p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964894" first="Landen" last="Sullivan"], Dike-New Hartford</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964882" first="AJ" last="Wegener"], Dike-New Hartford</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796102" first="Karson" last="Sharar"], Iowa Falls-Alden</p> <p>2021<strong> Nolan Frohwein</strong>, Iowa Falls-Alden</p> <p>2021 <strong>Kael Carr</strong>, South Hardin</p> <p>2023<strong> Ryan Walters</strong>, South Hardin</p> <p>2022<strong> Joey Tollefson</strong>, West Marshall</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796191" first="Carter" last="Swope"], Hudson</p> <p>2021 <strong>Logan Bowie</strong>, East Marshall</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/2A-14.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1127541" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/2A-14.png" alt="" width="851" height="811" /></a></p> <p><strong>The favorite: Roland-Story</strong> has been a surprise team coming into the season under-the-radar. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="796168" first="Sam" last="Skaar"] (15.1) was a known commodity, but he’s taken his game to a newer level shooting the ball from the outside at a 43% clip and doing a nice job initiating and controlling the offense as the leader. What wasn’t known was who was around Skaar, Senior<strong> Adam McIlrath</strong> (10.1), Freshman <strong>Jonovan Wilkinson</strong> (10.6), and Sophomore, big man <strong>Luke Patton</strong> (8.3) have really brought a good supporting cast and this team goes even deeper than those 4 players and they crash the offensive boards really well. They will need to take care of the ball better as their overall assist/turnover ratio is a net negative (251/260 ast/to). Wilkinson and Patton are going to be names to know for a couple more years following the Norsemen run in the postseason.</p> <p><strong>The biggest threat: </strong>Formed with a good balanced attack offensively, <strong>South Central Calhoun</strong>, is built for a long run in the postseason tournament. Led by Senior [player_tooltip player_id="796186" first="Brennan" last="Holder"] (17.2) and getting good contributions from Junior <strong>Joshua Dietrich</strong> (14.3) and Senior <strong>Cole Corey</strong> (14.0), the Titans have good size, shooting, taking care of the ball, and pounding the glass will only help. Dietrich is their main size guy inside, so staying out of foul trouble but playing good defense could be a key for him and his team. </p> <p><strong>The dark horse: </strong>This is a pairing where I could see a 3 or 4 seed getting to the substate final game. Those teams are <strong>South Hamilton</strong> and <strong>Southeast Valley</strong>. I am surprised to even see South Hamilton on the #3 line as they would seem to be more deserving of a #2 seed in my opinion. The Hawks are led by UNI football signee,<strong> Carter Hewitt</strong> (12.6), and Senior guard <strong>Freddie Lewis</strong> (9.9) and looking to prove they should’ve been higher valued by the seeding committee. Southeast Valley on the other hand are led by a pair of Juniors in <strong>Kole Kruse</strong> (17.3) and his consistent shooting and Iowa football commit [player_tooltip player_id="682271" first="Aaron" last="Graves"] (13.5) and his strong inside presence, not to mention Senior wing <strong>Sam Hanson</strong> (13.0) to help the Jaguars. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to watch</span></p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796168" first="Sam" last="Skaar"], Roland-Story</p> <p>2024 <strong>Jonovan Wilkinson</strong>, Roland-Story</p> <p>2021 <strong>Sam McIlrath</strong>, Roland-Story</p> <p>2023<strong> Luke Patton</strong>, Roland-Story</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796186" first="Brennan" last="Holder"], South Central Calhoun</p> <p>2022 <strong>Joshua Dietrich</strong>, South Central Calhoun</p> <p>2021 <strong>Cole Corey</strong>, South Central Calhoun</p> <p>2021 <strong>Carter Hewitt</strong>, South Hamilton</p> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962628" first="Kolson" last="Kruse"], Southeast Valley</p> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="682271" first="Aaron" last="Graves"], Southeast Valley</p> <p>2021<strong> Sam Hanson</strong>, Southeast Valley</p> <p>2021 <strong>Chase Mason</strong>, Eagle Grove</p> <p>2023<strong> Bryce Stadler</strong>, Greene County</p> <p>2023 <strong>Richard Daugherty</strong>, Greene County</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Dike-New Hartford vs Roland-Story</em></p> <p>Roland-Story probably has the lesser chance of getting to the final game because of the teams in their region, but would also seem to have the upper hand in this head-to-head matchup with their size, and ability to make plays offensively. Don’t count Dike-New Hartford out though, they are as hot a team as any right now and are looking to ride that wave into postseason play all the way to Wells Fargo Arena. </p>