Substate Preview: 2A-8
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District 15 The favorite: Van Meter is the only team in 2A to rank within the top 10 in both scoring offense (69.7, 8th) and defense (43.6, 5th). The Bulldogs only two losses have come to Winterset, a current top-5…
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Continue ReadingDistrict 15
The favorite: Van Meter is the only team in 2A to rank within the top 10 in both scoring offense (69.7, 8th) and defense (43.6, 5th). The Bulldogs only two losses have come to Winterset, a current top-5 team in 3A, and a Pella Christian team that has been ranked all year in 2A, and they own a head-to-head win over ACGC, their likely district final foe. Chris Schreck Chris Schreck 5'10" | PG Van Meter | 2022 State IA (12.1, 3.8 assists) leads a balanced offensive attack that has three-double figure scorers and three others averaging between 6.0 and 9.0 points. Schreck is one of three big-time senior contributors, a quick lead guard who is a pest on the defensive end as well. Clark Fiala Clark Fiala 6'4" | C Van Meter | 2022 State IA (11.9, 3.1 blocks) is a great rim protector who allows the ’Dogs guards to play a bit more aggressively on the perimeter, knowing they have an eraser at the back end, and Casey Trudo Casey Trudo 6'2" | SF Van Meter | 2022 State IA (10.6, 40.5 3P%) is an efficient three-level scorer on the perimeter. This team is able to comfortably go deep into their bench, they play excellent defense, and they have a ton of scoring options and athleticism. They’re looking for their sixth state tournament appearance in the last seven years, and should be considered a fairly heavy favorite in this district.
The biggest threat: Getting to play their semifinal game at home should be an advantage for ACGC, a team that likes to play up-tempo and feed off a crowd. The Chargers are led by senior guard Miles Kading Miles Kading 5'10" | PG ACGC | 2022 State IA (18.9, 4.7 assists), who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. He has really improved as a versatile scoring option and facilitator this year, and his improvement has been huge for a team that lost a good chunk of production off of last year’s strong unit. Junior wing Ben Marsh Ben Marsh 6'1" | SG Adair Casey-Guthrie Center | 2023 State IA (15.9) is a solid secondary playmaker and perimeter scorer, while junior forward Austin Kunkle (11.6) has been really efficient as a scorer. They do a good job limiting turnovers and they have a number of strong scoring options.
The dark horse: Panorama lost a lot of production off of last year’s team and it took them a little while to get going, but they’ve played pretty good basketball after the holiday break, including a road win over ACGC, their semifinal opponent. The Panthers have gotten great production out of senior forward Jared Wasson Jared Wasson 6'4" | PF Panorama | 2022 State IA (16.1, 10.2 rebounds), who has stepped up and been an excellent player in the paint. He has good hands and feet, and can occasionally stretch the floor. Sophomore guard Braylon Dawes Braylon Dawes 5'11" | SG Panorama | 2024 State IA (12.1) is a quality off-ball guard, while Brice Taylor (9.4, 5.4 assists) has done a great job getting others involved. This group split their regular-season meetings with ACGC, and the loss came by just a point, so they were close to pulling off a sweep there. They know that they can beat the Chargers and get to the district final.
Players to watch
2022
Chris Schreck
Chris
Schreck
5'10" | PG
Van Meter | 2022
State
IA
, Van Meter
2022
Clark Fiala
Clark
Fiala
6'4" | C
Van Meter | 2022
State
IA
, Van Meter
2022
Casey Trudo
Casey
Trudo
6'2" | SF
Van Meter | 2022
State
IA
, Van Meter
2022
Miles Kading
Miles
Kading
5'10" | PG
ACGC | 2022
State
IA
, ACGC
2023
Ben Marsh
Ben
Marsh
6'1" | SG
Adair Casey-Guthrie Center | 2023
State
IA
, ACGC
2022
Jared Wasson
Jared
Wasson
6'4" | PF
Panorama | 2022
State
IA
, Panorama
2024
Braylon Dawes
Braylon
Dawes
5'11" | SG
Panorama | 2024
State
IA
, Panorama
2022
Kale Day
Kale
Day
6'3" | SF
Interstate 35 | 2022
State
IA
, Interstate 35
2023 Brody Nardini, Woodward-Granger
District 16
The favorite: It doesn’t matter what they have coming back, Treynor is always going to be good. The Cardinals returned just 26% of their scoring from last year’s 19-win team, and they still won 18 regular-season games and earned the top seed in a district. This program has averaged 20.8 wins over the last 15 years, and their three losses this year have come to AHSTW (twice, by 1 and 7) and Grand View Christian. Those teams spent the majority of the year as the top-2 teams in 1A. Senior guard Thomas Schwartz Thomas Schwartz 6'0" | PG Treynor | 2022 State IA (13.6) leads a trio of double-figure scorers. He leads the team in scoring and assists. He was asked to step into a bigger scoring role this year, and he has done that admirably, while still maintaining his play as a distributor. Sophomore guard Jace Tams Jace Tams 5'11" | PG Treynor | 2024 State IA (12.0, 41.2 3P%) is a sharpshooter alongside Schwartz, and Ethan Dickerson Ethan Dickerson 6'8" | PF Treynor | 2023 State IA (11.5, 3.1 blocks) is a rim-protecting junior forward. This team isn’t as potent offensively as previous iterations of Treynor have been, but they have been excellent defensively, allowing just 40.7 points a game, 2nd in 2A.
The biggest threat: Underwood lost both meetings against Treynor this season, by those losses came by 9 and 4 points, so they’ve been close contests. The Eagles are led by a trio of sophomores in Mason Boothby (12.5), Jack Vanfossan (11.4, 11.8 rebounds), and Josh Ravlin (10.0), with junior Alex Ravlin (9.0) also contributing on the perimeter. A young team with some athleticism, they do a good job crashing the offensive glass and forcing turnovers, which helps offset the 26.1% that they shoot from behind the arc as a team.
The dark horse: Red Oak has played pretty good ball since the holiday break, winning 11 of 14 games down the stretch. Like Underwood, they have some sophomores leading the charge in Max DeVries Max DeVries 6'2" | SG Red Oak | 2024 State IA (16.6) and Hunter Gilleland (11.8), the team’s top two scorers. DeVries’ efficiency has dropped a bit this year, but he’s a dangerous three-level scorer who can get hot and carry the Tigers, while Gilleland is leading the team in assists and has been a reliable ball-handler for them. They crash the offensive glass hard (12.3 a game), but have struggled with turnovers (15.5), which could be a deciding factor in tight games in the postseason.
Players to watch
2022
Thomas Schwartz
Thomas
Schwartz
6'0" | PG
Treynor | 2022
State
IA
, Treynor
2024
Jace Tams
Jace
Tams
5'11" | PG
Treynor | 2024
State
IA
, Treynor
2023
Ethan Dickerson
Ethan
Dickerson
6'8" | PF
Treynor | 2023
State
IA
, Treynor
2024 Mason Boothby, Underwood
2024 Jack Vanfossan, Underwood
2024
Max DeVries
Max
DeVries
6'2" | SG
Red Oak | 2024
State
IA
, Red Oak
2024 Hunter Gilleland, Red Oak
2022
Drew Brown
Drew
Brown
6'2" | SG
Clarinda | 2022
State
IA
, Clarinda
2022
Cole Staska
Cole
Staska
6'3" | SF
Missouri Valley | 2022
State
IA
, Missouri Valley
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Van Meter vs. Treynor
These have been two of the most successful programs in 2A over the last decade, and if this substate final emerges, it will be a defensive battle. We’ll side with Van Meter here, as the Bulldogs have a few more offensive weapons, with the quickness of Chris Schreck Chris Schreck 5'10" | PG Van Meter | 2022 State IA being a deciding factor on both ends of the floor. The Bulldogs win a low-scoring, tight game, and make their sixth trip to Wells Fargo Arena in the last seven years.