Substate Preview: 2A-5
In this article:
District 9 The favorite: The high-flying Falcons of Aplington-Parkersburg earned the district’s top seed, and for good reason. They’ve been largely dominant this season, winning games by an average of 25.7 points a game behind an offense that ranks 3rd…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingDistrict 9
The favorite: The high-flying Falcons of Aplington-Parkersburg earned the district’s top seed, and for good reason. They’ve been largely dominant this season, winning games by an average of 25.7 points a game behind an offense that ranks 3rd in the class, putting up 77.3 points a night. They have a fantastic backcourt led by senior guard Garrett Hempen Garrett Hempen 5'10" | PG Aplington-Parkersburg | 2023 State IA (21.6, 48.4 3P%), a bulldog of a guard who doesn’t back down from anyone, gets to the rim routinely, finishes through contact, and is a knockdown shooter. Gavin Thomas Gavin Thomas 6'1" | SG Aplington-Parkersburg | 2024 State IA (16.2, 46.3 3P%) is similar to Hempen, only a year younger, and senior forward Martez Wiggley Martez Wiggley 6'4" | PF Aplington-Parkersburg | 2023 State IA (12.9, 7.6 rebounds) has given the Falcons some needed size and strength in the painted area. A team that can comfortably go eight or nine deep, and that has a tandem of scorers as dynamic as Hempen and Thomas are, will be difficult to beat. The Falcons have swept Jesup, the district’s #2 seed, by 30 and 28 points.
The biggest threat: Despite being the #3 seed in the district, we think Cascade is the biggest threat to the Falcons here. They have a dominant interior scoring big man in Cole McDermott Cole McDermott 6'5" | PF Cascade | 2023 State IA (14.1, 8.0 rebounds), a 6-6 forward with great hands, soft touch, and fantastic footwork. They have a dynamic wing scorer in sophomore Jackson Lieurance Jackson Lieurance 6'1" | SG Cascade | 2025 State IA (19.1, 42.5 3P%), an athletic wing who attacks the rim and knocks down shots both off the dribble and the catch. And they play a tough 2-3 zone that can be difficult for teams to crack when they’re seeing it for the first time. This is a team that is not only built to beat Jesup in the semifinals, they’re capable of giving A-P a scare in the district final.
The dark horse: As we mentioned, Jesup has lost to A-P twice already this year by a combined 58 points, but they would love to get a third crack at the Falcons. In junior guard Jack Miller Jack Miller 6'0" | PG Jesup | 2024 State IA (25.8), the J-Hawks have the type of dynamic scoring threat who can get hot and carry his team. Miller dropped 50 points in a game last week, and he’d have to be scorching for Jesup to beat the Falcons in the district final, but he’s certainly capable of doing so.
Players to watch
2023
Garrett Hempen
Garrett
Hempen
5'10" | PG
Aplington-Parkersburg | 2023
State
IA
, Aplington-Parkersburg
2024
Gavin Thomas
Gavin
Thomas
6'1" | SG
Aplington-Parkersburg | 2024
State
IA
, Aplington-Parkersburg
2023
Martez Wiggley
Martez
Wiggley
6'4" | PF
Aplington-Parkersburg | 2023
State
IA
, Aplington-Parkersburg
2025
Jackson Lieurance
Jackson
Lieurance
6'1" | SG
Cascade | 2025
State
IA
, Cascade
2023
Cole McDermott
Cole
McDermott
6'5" | PF
Cascade | 2023
State
IA
, Cascade
2024
Jack Miller
Jack
Miller
6'0" | PG
Jesup | 2024
State
IA
, Jesup
2025 Ryan Treptow, Jesup
2024
Holden Arnaman
Holden
Arnaman
6'3" | PG
West Branch | 2024
State
IA
, West Branch
2024
Reese Trepanier
Reese
Trepanier
6'0" | SF
West Branch | 2024
State
IA
, West Branch
2023
Nolan DeLong
Nolan
DeLong
6'0" | SG
Durant | 2023
State
IA
, Durant
2023
Garrett Hollenback
Garrett
Hollenback
6'2" | SF
Durant | 2023
State
IA
, Durant
District 10
The favorite: Alburnett probably has to be considered the favorite in this district, given the fact that they earned the #1 seed and will have an easier second round game. But the Pirates weren’t done any favors with their #2 seed here. This group has been dominant on the defensive end this season, allowing just 41.0 points a game, best in 2A. And the offense hasn’t been too shabby either, putting up 68.8 points a night behind a trio of double-figure scorers in juniors Braydon Osborn Braydon Osborn 6'3" | SG Alburnett | 2024 State IA (16.3, 39.2 3P%) and Jordan Caton Jordan Caton 5'9" | PG Alburnett | 2024 State IA (13.7, 41.5 3P%), and senior Tytan Bowers Tytan Bowers 6'8" | C Alburnett | 2023 State IA (11.5, 2.2 blocks). Osborn is an athletic wing scorer who can get to the bucket or knock down shots off the catch. Caton is a small but quick guard who can blow by defenders and is fantastic shooting it off the dribble, and Bowers is one of the most improved players in the state, a mobile 6-8 big man who protects the rim at a high level. Alburnett goes deep into their bench comfortably, and they all play excellent defense. It won’t be a cakewalk getting through this district, but given what they’ve done this year, they’ll be ready.
The biggest threat: Monticello came into the season as our top-ranked team in 2A, so we’re certainly believers in this group. The Panthers have had a bit of an up-and-down season, including an injury to star guard Tate Petersen Tate Petersen 6'1" | PG Monticello | 2023 State IA (18.1, 5.5 assists) that sidelined him for a handful of games, and hampered him in a handful more upon his return. But if his last three games are any indication, he’s back to feeling good and playing like the All-State caliber guard that he is. In the Panthers’ last three regular season games, Petersen has averaged 25.7 points on 55-50-95 shooting splits, much more representative of who he is as a player, and why Monticello is still incredibly dangerous. Oh, and let’s not forget that junior forward Preston Ries Preston Ries 6'1" | SF Monticello | 2024 State IA (24.3, 10.4 rebounds), another All-State player, is having a remarkable season as well. The Petersen-Ries tandem is nearly impossible to slow down, and now that Petersen is back to playing at the level we’re accustomed to seeing from him, this is a team nobody will want to see.
The dark horse: In twin towers Demarion Honaker Demarion Honaker 6'6" | PF Camanche | 2024 State IA (16.7, 8.1 rebounds) and Zane Witt Zane Witt 6'6" | PF Camanche | 2023 State IA (16.7, 3.0 blocks), Camanche has the type of size that makes them a dangerous group. Both are 6-7, athletic forwards who finish at an extremely high level around the bucket (Honaker is shooting 70.1%, Witt 69.9). The Storm need to get some more consistent production out of their backcourt if they want to make a run here, but this is a team that holds good wins over Beckman Catholic, Cascade, and Maquoketa, so they can’t be taken lightly.
Players to watch
2024
Braydon Osborn
Braydon
Osborn
6'3" | SG
Alburnett | 2024
State
IA
, Alburnett
2024
Jordan Caton
Jordan
Caton
5'9" | PG
Alburnett | 2024
State
IA
, Alburnett
2023
Tytan Bowers
Tytan
Bowers
6'8" | C
Alburnett | 2023
State
IA
, Alburnett
2023
Tate Petersen
Tate
Petersen
6'1" | PG
Monticello | 2023
State
IA
, Monticello
2024
Preston Ries
Preston
Ries
6'1" | SF
Monticello | 2024
State
IA
, Monticello
2024
Demarion Honaker
Demarion
Honaker
6'6" | PF
Camanche | 2024
State
IA
, Camanche
2023
Zane Witt
Zane
Witt
6'6" | PF
Camanche | 2023
State
IA
, Camanche
2024 Preston Daedlow, Tipton
2025
Gavin Kramer
Gavin
Kramer
6'1" | PG
Northeast | 2025
State
IA
, Northeast
2024 Clayton Meyermann, Northeast
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Aplington-Parkersburg vs. Monticello
I entered the year higher on Monticello than most, and I’m probably still higher on Monticello than most around the state. I have the Panthers beating Alburnett in a good district final behind a big Petersen game. And in almost any other substate, I would probably be picking the Panthers to advance to the state tournament. But I don’t like this matchup for them. Aplington-Parkersburg’s flurry of talented guards, and Wiggley’s athleticism and strength inside, prove to be a little bit too much for Monticello, and the Falcons advance to Des Moines in a fantastic substate final.