Substate Preview: 2A-6
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District 11 The favorite: West Burlington won their first 19 games of the season before dropping a tight contest against 3A Fairfield in their penultimate regular season game. The Falcons have been exceptional defensively, allowing just 44.3 points a game,…
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Continue ReadingDistrict 11
The favorite: West Burlington won their first 19 games of the season before dropping a tight contest against 3A Fairfield in their penultimate regular season game. The Falcons have been exceptional defensively, allowing just 44.3 points a game, using their overwhelming speed to smother teams on that end of the floor. This isn’t a team with great size, but they do have a ton of quick guards who constantly put pressure on opposing teams on both ends of the floor. Junior Brady Martin Brady Martin 6'0" | PG West Burlington | 2024 State IA (17.2, 36.1 3P%) and sophomore Mason Watkins Mason Watkins 6'2" | PG West Burlington | 2025 State IA (14.6, 38.7 3P%) are a pair of dynamic guards who can create their own shots or make plays for their teammates. Jace Figuereo (11.6, 7.6 rebounds) is the emotional leader of this group, a senior wing who loves to attack the bucket, stick his nose in amongst the trees as a rebounder, and play strong on-ball defense. As should be expected with a guard-heavy team, they do a great job limiting turnovers (7.8 a game), and they play excellent defense. They should be considered a pretty heavy favorite in this district.
The biggest threat: After getting off to a slow start, Albia has won eight of their last nine games heading into postseason play, including a win over the Fairfield team that beat West Burlington. The Blue Demons have a dominant scorer in senior forward Drew Chance Drew Chance 6'2" | PF Albia | 2023 State IA (24.1, 9.3 rebounds), the type of player who could give the Falcons some issues in a potential district final. Chance is a strong, physical forward who can score inside, stretch the floor, and create for his teammates. This is a team that pounds the offensive glass, pulling down over 11 offensive rebounds a game, helping gain extra possessions and offset the below-average shooting from behind the arc. This is a group that is playing well and that has a player who can take over a game and dominate. They’re a real threat.
The dark horse: Another team with the type of size who could theoretically give West Burlington some problems would be Mediapolis. The Bulldogs have a physical presence in the paint in senior forward Cole Lipper Cole Lipper 6'4" | PF Mediapolis | 2023 State IA (15.1), a strong 6-4/6-5 big man with good hands and soft touch. Freshman guard Max Griffin Max Griffin 6'2" | PG Mediapolis | 2026 State IA (7.3, 38.5 3P%) is also the type of player who can get really hot in a hurry and drop 12 points in a quarter and alter the course of a game. The ‘Dogs were swept by the Falcons in the regular season, losing by 15 and 13 points, but they’d love to get a third shot in the district final.
Players to watch
2024
Brady Martin
Brady
Martin
6'0" | PG
West Burlington | 2024
State
IA
, West Burlington
2025
Mason Watkins
Mason
Watkins
6'2" | PG
West Burlington | 2025
State
IA
, West Burlington
2023 Jace Figuereo, West Burlington
2023
Drew Chance
Drew
Chance
6'2" | PF
Albia | 2023
State
IA
, Albia
2023
Cole Lipper
Cole
Lipper
6'4" | PF
Mediapolis | 2023
State
IA
, Mediapolis
2024
Ty Northup
Ty
Northup
6'2" | SF
Louisa-Muscatine | 2024
State
IA
, Louisa-Muscatine
2023
Jackson Manning
Jackson
Manning
5'11" | PG
Van Buren County | 2023
State
IA
, Van Buren County
District 12
The favorite: It’s difficult to peg a favorite in this district, because #2 seed Pella Christian owns a head-to-head win over #1 seed Wilton, at Wilton. That said, that game came before the holiday break, was a game played within a single possession for a majority of the contest, and Pella Christian has been without their top two players in their last few games. With their availability uncertain, we’ll peg Wilton as the favorite to come out of the district. The Beavers are led by 6-8 big man Caden Kirkman Caden Kirkman 6'8" | PF Wilton | 2023 State IA (27.6, 10.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.5 blocks), a dynamic, do-it-all forward who can absolutely dominate games as both a scorer and facilitator. The future Augstana (SD) big has put together a fantastic senior year and is looking to cap it off with a trip to the state tournament. They’re able to put a pair of good shooters around Kirkman in junior Landyn Putman Landyn Putman 6'3" | SG Wilton | 2024 State IA (14.6, 39.7 3P%) and senior Aidan Walker Aidan Walker 6'3" | SF Wilton | 2023 State IA (14.4, 34.7 3P%), giving them a strong trio of scorers.
The biggest threat: Pella Christian has the aforementioned head-to-head win over Wilton, and the Eagles have played the most difficult schedule in 2A, according to BC Moore. But they’ve also been without Tysen Devries Tysen Devries 5'9" | PG Pella Christian | 2024 State IA (12.6, 4.2 assists) and Josiah Vos Josiah Vos 6'5" | SF Pella Christian | 2024 State IA (7.1, 5.5 rebounds), arguably their top two players, in their final two regular season games. If they’re healthy and good to go, they’ll feel good about their chances to come out of this district, but with their status up in the air, we’ll have to see what happens. DeVries is a small but extremely tough guard who lives to attack the bucket and put pressure on opposing defenses. This is a team that goes deep into their bench, with nine players averaging at least 2.3 points a game, and they play really good defense. A battle-tested team with a dynamic lead guard is tough to beat.
The dark horse: Mid-Prairie was swept in the regular season by Wilton, losing by 18 and 12 points, but the Golden Hawks would love to get another shot at the Beavers. Camron Pickard Camron Pickard 5'9" | PG Mid-Prairie | 2023 State IA (15.3, 34.3 3P%) is a volume shooter who can get hot and carry his team to a win, while Alex Bean Alex Bean 6'1" | PG Mid-Prairie | 2023 State IA (13.5) is another quality scoring guard who can get to the bucket or knock down shots.
Players to watch
2023
Caden Kirkman
Caden
Kirkman
6'8" | PF
Wilton | 2023
State
IA
, Wilton
2023
Aidan Walker
Aidan
Walker
6'3" | SF
Wilton | 2023
State
IA
, Wilton
2024
Landyn Putman
Landyn
Putman
6'3" | SG
Wilton | 2024
State
IA
, Wilton
2024
Tysen Devries
Tysen
Devries
5'9" | PG
Pella Christian | 2024
State
IA
, Pella Christian
2024
Josiah Vos
Josiah
Vos
6'5" | SF
Pella Christian | 2024
State
IA
, Pella Christian
2023
Camron Pickard
Camron
Pickard
5'9" | PG
Mid-Prairie | 2023
State
IA
, Mid-Prairie
2023
Alex Bean
Alex
Bean
6'1" | PG
Mid-Prairie | 2023
State
IA
, Mid-Prairie
2024
Dayson Leerhoff
Dayson
Leerhoff
6'5" | PF
Pleasantville Highschool | 2024
State
IA
, Pleasantville
2024 Jayce McHugh, West Liberty
2023 Archer Metcalf, Cardinal
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
West Burlington vs. Wilton
Maybe I’m just being stubborn and sticking with my prediction that I made on the Shooters Touch podcast last March, but I do like the way this substate broke for Wilton, and believe that the Beavers will make their first trip to the state tournament since 1912 behind a dominant three-game stretch from Caden Kirkman Caden Kirkman 6'8" | PF Wilton | 2023 State IA . This would be a really tough matchup for West Burlington, as they just don’t have the size to contend with Kirkman here.