Substate Preview: 4A-1
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[player_tooltip player_id="1171660" first="Carson" last="Johnson"] The favorite: A deep, balanced, and athletic team from Ankeny earned the substate’s top seed, and deservingly so. The Hawks have put together a strong resume that includes wins over Indianola, Valley, Northwest, and a sweep…
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Continue ReadingThe favorite: A deep, balanced, and athletic team from Ankeny earned the substate’s top seed, and deservingly so. The Hawks have put together a strong resume that includes wins over Indianola, Valley, Northwest, and a sweep of Centennial. Three players average in double-figures in senior Ryan Crandall Ryan Crandall 6'1" | SF Ankeny | 2022 State IA (11.2, 8.6 rebounds), sophomore Lio Aguirre Lio Aguirre 6'3" | SF Ankeny | 2024 State IA (11.0), and junior JJ Kohl JJ Kohl 6'8" | PF Ankeny | 2023 IA (10.4), while four others average between 6.3 and 9.8 points a game, giving them seven legitimate scoring threats. Sophomore point guard Carson Johnson Carson Johnson 5'11" | PG Ankeny | 2024 State IA (9.8) is a steady, calming presence as the lead ball-handler and distributor, and he’s also a knockdown shooter off the catch, so they can play him off the ball at times and let him burn teams from deep. In Crandall and junior Karson Wehde Karson Wehde 6'4" | SG Ankeny | 2023 State IA (6.4) they have a pair of strong defensive wings, and Kohl and senior Braden Simonsen Braden Simonsen 6'4" | PF Ankeny | 2022 State IA (6.3) provide a lot of size and physicality in the paint. This team can come at you in waves, and their depth and versatility on both ends of the floor will be key as they progress through the tournament.
The biggest threat: Sioux City East lost quite a bit of production off of last year’s team, but in some ways, it may have been addition by subtraction. Nonetheless, the Black Raiders are second in 4A in scoring offense, putting up 70.8 points a game, and Coach Ras Vanderloo has them in a position to make it to the state tournament for the 21st time in school history. Senior forward Bie Ruei Bie Ruei 6'4" | SF Sioux City East | 2022 State IA (13.6) leads a balanced attack that has four players averaging in double figures. Ruei is a long, athletic forward who does a majority of his damage inside the arc, and he has really improved as a playmaker and passer. Junior guards Preston Dobbs Preston Dobbs 6'5" | SF Sioux City East | 2023 State IA (12.3) and Cole Ritchie Cole Ritchie 6'2" | SG Sioux City East | 2023 State IA (11.2) and junior forward Brandt Van Dyke Brandt Van Dyke 6'8" | PF Sioux City East | 2023 State IA (10.0) are the other big scorers for this group that loves to get up and down. The Raiders don’t shoot it particularly well from the arc (32.2% as a team), but they do a good job on the glass, force turnovers, and look to play downhill as much as possible. This is a potent offensive team that has some length and athleticism that could create some issues on the defensive end as well.
The dark horse: Waukee won the 4A title last year, but this is an entirely different team after the new school opened and took the two players who would’ve been the top returnees. All five starters and the top two bench players are all gone from that roster, and people may have expected the Warriors to fall off dramatically. That has not been the case, as a young, new-look Warriors team has battled to a 12-9 record behind a balanced, deep attack. Junior forward Vance Peiffer Vance Peiffer 6'7" | C Waukee | 2023 State IA (11.5, 6.7 rebounds) and guard Cade Littlefield Cade Littlefield 6'1" Waukee | 2023 IA (10.3, 48.6 3P%) are the team’s top two scorers, a strong inside-out tandem that plays really well together. Sophomore wing Mason Costello Mason Costello 6'3" | SG Waukee | 2024 State IA (8.7) is a talented three-level scorer, Cooper Randall Cooper Randall 6'4" | SG Waukee | 2023 State IA (8.2, 39.4 3P%) is a knockdown shooter, and Keysean Moore Keysean Moore 6'0" | PG Waukee | 2024 State IA (6.5), Kaidan Ivory Kaidan Ivory 6'3" | SG Waukee | 2023 State IA (4.7), and Deion Kinnetz-Jenkins (3.4) provide a lot of quickness and athleticism on the perimeter. If you pay attention to BC Moore’s power rankings system, seven of Waukee’s nine losses have come to top-5 teams in the state, so they’ve been tested and will be ready for a semifinal against East.
Players to watch
2022
Ryan Crandall
Ryan
Crandall
6'1" | SF
Ankeny | 2022
State
IA
, Ankeny
2024
Lio Aguirre
Lio
Aguirre
6'3" | SF
Ankeny | 2024
State
IA
, Ankeny
2023
JJ Kohl
JJ
Kohl
6'8" | PF
Ankeny | 2023
IA
, Ankeny
2022
Bie Ruei
Bie
Ruei
6'4" | SF
Sioux City East | 2022
State
IA
, Sioux City East
2023
Preston Dobbs
Preston
Dobbs
6'5" | SF
Sioux City East | 2023
State
IA
, Sioux City East
2023
Cole Ritchie
Cole
Ritchie
6'2" | SG
Sioux City East | 2023
State
IA
, Sioux City East
2023
Vance Peiffer
Vance
Peiffer
6'7" | C
Waukee | 2023
State
IA
, Waukee
2023
Cade Littlefield
Cade
Littlefield
6'1"
Waukee | 2023
IA
, Waukee
2023
Keavian Hayes
Keavian
Hayes
6'2" | SG
Sioux City West | 2023
State
IA
, Sioux City West
2022 Carter Pinney, Sioux City North
2022
Austin Schubert
Austin
Schubert
6'1" | PF
Council Bluffs Jefferson | 2022
State
IA
, Council Bluffs Jefferson
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Ankeny vs. Sioux City East
Expect plenty of fireworks in this game, as both of these teams like to get up and down the floor. Both of these teams are able to go deep into their benches comfortably and it should be a pretty well-played game, if it materializes. We’ll side with the team that has played in the tougher league and that has the lead guard that we trust slightly more and give Ankeny the edge in what should be an excellent substate final.