Playoff Preview: 4A-4

<p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/4A-4.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1130445" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/4A-4.png" alt="" width="745" height="694" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>The favorite: Cedar Falls</strong> who spent a good part of the season sitting at the top of our rankings is the clear favorite in this district pairing and is the favorite to win the outright state championship right now. Led by Senior, UNI signee</p> [caption id="attachment_1074188" align="alignright" width="231"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Chase-Courbat.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1074188" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Chase-Courbat-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="231" height="152" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="796099" first="Chase" last="Courbat"][/caption] <p>[player_tooltip player_id="796127" first="Landon" last="Wolf"] (17.6) but by no means short of weapons up and down the rotation. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="682265" first="Trey" last="Campbell"] (14.2) is a top prospect in the class of 2022 and has been a big part of the perimeter success for the Tigers this year. Then you have the big boys inside in UNI signee, Senior [player_tooltip player_id="796099" first="Chase" last="Courbat"] (10.9) and Truman State signee Senior [player_tooltip player_id="727896" first="Joe" last="Knutson"] (7.2) bringing good interior presence that gives the Tigers an edge on both ends of the floor and especially in the rebounding category. Upper Iowa signee [player_tooltip player_id="796116" first="Carter" last="Janssen"] (10.2) has his shot going and when he’s hot can really give his team a big boost, and Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="956870" first="Dallas" last="Bear"] (5.8) brings size at 6’8 who can shoot the ball from the outside and is a players with DI offers already as a sophomore. All to say, this team is good, deep and able to score the ball with anyone in the state. Going undefeated is a tough spectacle and there’s a reason not many teams accomplish that feat, but this Tigers’ team is very capable of doing just that. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Quincy-Underwood.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1066807 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Quincy-Underwood-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="227" height="149" /></a></p> <p><strong>The biggest threat: </strong>Though I’m not sure the amount of threat, <strong>Cedar Rapids Washington</strong> are playing the best basketball of their season as they’ve lost 2 games since January 16th behind the strong play from Senior Mount Mercy signee [player_tooltip player_id="964836" first="Quincy" last="Underwood"] (15.4) and Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="956880" first="Traijan" last="Sain"] (12.1). Underwood brings a multi-faceted tool player who can score from all 3 levels and brings a good deal of strength and toughness to this team, as Sain brings oozing athleticism, size, and defending. It took this team to round into form but they’re fairly young and will need to bring some maturity and composure to the postseason to pull off something no other team has done this year in beating Cedar Falls. Sophomore duo <strong>Jaden Harris</strong> (8.6) and <strong>Jesse Sellers</strong> (9.8) will need to bring their perimeter shooting ability they’ve shown they have. </p> <p><strong>The dark horse: </strong>Having an up-and-down year and struggling to beat top teams is <strong>Waterloo West</strong>, but they have a good inside presence in Senior big man <strong>Amar Kuljuhovic</strong> (16.7) who has shown a good repertoire of moves on the block throughout his varsity career and has really come into his own this season for the Wahawks. If Kuljuhovic can get a couple teammates to step up and have a couple good games in support they could make some noise. Some prime candidates to do so would be Seniors <strong>Mitch Fordyce</strong> (8.7), <strong>Colby Adams</strong> (7.5), <strong>Michael Robinson JR.</strong> (6.5) or Sophomore <strong>Keishaun Pendleton</strong> (5.3). The perimeter shooting could be a big teller of how far this team can really go as they will need to improve their season average of 29.1% 3pt. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to watch</span></p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796127" first="Landon" last="Wolf"], Cedar Falls</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796099" first="Chase" last="Courbat"], Cedar Falls</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="727896" first="Joe" last="Knutson"], Cedar Falls</p> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="682265" first="Trey" last="Campbell"], Cedar Falls</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796116" first="Carter" last="Janssen"], Cedar Falls</p> <p>2023 [player_tooltip player_id="956870" first="Dallas" last="Bear"], Cedar Falls</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964836" first="Quincy" last="Underwood"], CR Washington</p> <p>2023 [player_tooltip player_id="956880" first="Traijan" last="Sain"], CR Washington</p> <p>2021 <strong>Amar Kuljuhovic</strong>, Waterloo West</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="727877" first="Ra’mir" last="Scott"], Waterloo East</p> <p>2022 <strong>Jamari Newsom</strong>, Iowa City High</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796149" first="Byron" last="Benton"], Iowa City High</p> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962659" first="Andreas" last="Williams"], CR Jefferson</p> <p>2022 <strong>Carson Blietz</strong>, CR Jefferson</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Cedar Falls vs Cedar Rapids Washington</em></p> <p>This isn’t really a matter of who will win, but mainly what the score will be with all respect to the Warriors and what they’ve accomplished this season. This <strong>Cedar Falls</strong> team probably doesn’t even get talked about enough on how good they are in the State of Iowa and it will be must see games when the Tigers take the floor the rest of the way. </p>