Playoff Preview: 4A-5

<p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/4A-5.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1130449" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/4A-5.png" alt="" width="743" height="698" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>The favorite: </strong>When you have one of the best players in the state in UNI signee [player_tooltip player_id="796097" first="Michael" last="Duax"] (22.6) you’re going to<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/140-Cameron-Fens.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1066374 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/140-Cameron-Fens-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> have a chance in every outing to the court. Duax is a player the business likes to call a swiss army knife, as he can do everything a coach asks him to do. <strong>Dubuque Hempstead </strong>is playing good basketball right now as they just recently fell to #1 Cedar Falls nearly by 6 points. In that game Duax was helped by another solid Senior wing man [player_tooltip player_id="964485" first="Jamari" last="Smith"] (14.7), who would finish with a team high 19 points. Smith brings athleticism, defending, and a good facilitator of the ball. To round out the trio of players for the Mustangs, Junior big man [player_tooltip player_id="1055294" first="Cameron" last="Fens"] (9.8) is a player who can hang with anyone in the post and had a breakout summer/fall season but is getting his first taste of varsity basketball this season for the Mustangs. This team will need to take care of the ball and make some perimeter shots, but with these three players winning this district is something this team is fully capable of doing.</p> <p><strong>The biggest threat: </strong>The obvious answer here is the #2 seed, <strong>North Scott</strong>, led by Senior, Truman State signee [player_tooltip player_id="796118" first="Landon" last="Eiland"] (13.3). The Lancers haven’t quite hit their peak in potential this season, and are going to be trying to be ride a 2-4 February record out heading into the postseason. Eiland is followed by Junior shooter <strong>Oliver Hughes</strong> (11.6 &amp; 41% 3pt) who helps in the scoring department. The thing this team will need to be better at is rebounding the basketball, as the most important part of defense is finishing a play off with a rebound. The Lancers don’t have a single player who averages more than 4 rebounds per game, so that shows they gang rebound, but don’t have someone who takes control of the glass which could be important down the long postseason road.</p> <p><strong>The dark horse: Davenport West </strong>is a team that hasn’t really been recognized enough on the border of the state,<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2017/09/JohnMiller.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-236986 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2017/09/JohnMiller-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> but is a team that could make a run at Hempstead as early as the second round game. The Falcons haven’t quite found the most consistency yet, but with their leader Senior PG [player_tooltip player_id="964803" first="John" last="Miller"] (17.4) at the helm this team should be ready to go into the postseason. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="962634" first="Jermaine" last="Gardner"] (10.4) and big man Senior [player_tooltip player_id="796139" first="Aldane" last="Barrett"] (9.4) will look to bring some consistency with Miller. This team is a dangerous .500 team. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Players to watch</span></p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796097" first="Michael" last="Duax"], Dubuque Hempstead</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964485" first="Jamari" last="Smith"], Dubuque Hempstead</p> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="1055294" first="Cameron" last="Fens"], Dubuque Hempstead</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796118" first="Landon" last="Eiland"], North Scott</p> <p>2022 <strong>Oliver Hughes</strong>, North Scott</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964803" first="John" last="Miller"], Dubuque West</p> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962634" first="Jermaine" last="Gardner"], Dubuque West</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="964846" first="Jim" last="Bonifas"], Dubuque Senior</p> <p>2022 <strong>Jai Jensen</strong>, Clinton</p> <p>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="796169" first="Noah" last="Yahn"], Muscatine</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Dubuque Hempstead vs North Scott</em></p> <p>Though Dubuque Senior or Dubuque West could pose some problems to Hempstead, the Mustangs will prevail getting them to this game. Should be a good matchup, but the edge goes to <strong>Hempstead</strong> with the inside presence of [player_tooltip player_id="1055294" first="Cameron" last="Fens"]. North Scott will have troubles matching up with him and he could be the X-Factor for this team going forward as you know what you’re going to get from Smith and Duax. </p>