Substate Preview: 4A-2
In this article:
The favorite: This is one of the trickiest substates in 4A. The #1 seed, Centennial, has six losses, but five of them are to Valley, Northwest, or Waukee, teams that have been ranked in the top 4 in the state…
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Continue ReadingThe favorite: This is one of the trickiest substates in 4A. The #1 seed, Centennial, has six losses, but five of them are to Valley, Northwest, or Waukee, teams that have been ranked in the top 4 in the state for a majority of the season. Cedar Falls has the best player in the substate, Iowa City West is finally healthy and starting to play pretty good basketball and has a really talented roster, and Dowling Catholic split with Centennial, and like the Jaguars, has played a loaded schedule. In a group that is separated by very little, we’re going to side with the team that has the best player and make Cedar Falls the favorite here. The Tigers are led by senior wing Dallas Bear Dallas Bear 6'8" | SF Cedar Falls | 2023 State #276 Nation IA (19.8, 9.4 rebounds, 37.8 3P%). The future Augustana (SD) sharpshooter has great size at 6-8, a pure stroke, and has really improved as an all-around scorer this year. Junior forward Cade Courbat Cade Courbat 6'8" | PF Cedar Falls | 2024 State IA (12.8, 2.7 blocks) is an athletic, rim-protecting big man who can provide a ton of versatility on the defensive end, and sophomore guard Anthony Galvin Anthony Galvin 6'0" | PG Cedar Falls | 2025 State IA (12.5, 41.1 3P%) has had some ridiculous games this year as a shooter.
The biggest threats: In junior point guard Luke Winkel Luke Winkel 6'1" | PG Ankeny Centennial | 2024 State IA (17.0, 5.3 assists), Centennial has one of the most improved players in the state and the type of dynamic guard who can absolutely take over a game in the blink of an eye and carry his team for long stretches of time as a scorer and facilitator. A quick guard with a great feel for the game, he’s at his best when he’s playing downhill, but he’s a good enough shooter that it’s a weapon that needs to be respected. Bob Fontana always has good defensive teams, and this is no exception, with the Jaguars allowing 52.6 points a game, good for 12th in the class. Evan Bryan Evan Bryan 6'3" | SF Centennial | 2023 State IA (9.9), a lengthy senior wing, Nick Vaske Nick Vaske 6'3" | SG Ankeny Centennial | 2024 State IA (9.9), a quick junior guard, and Chase Schutty (5.6, 6.9 rebounds), a physical junior forward, are all big parts of that excellent defensive unit. Winkel is one of the best players in the substate, and as we mentioned before, of their six losses, five have come to the best of the best teams in the state, and they’ve pretty much cruised against everyone else (in 15 non-Waukee/Northwest/Valley losses, they’ve posted a +16.6 point differential).
Iowa City West got off to a strong 6-1 start to the season before dropping back-to-back games in early January following an injury to standout junior wing Kareem Earl Kareem Earl 6'5" | SF Iowa City West | 2024 State IA (12.1, 50.4 FG%). Earl missed eight games, in which the Trojans went just 2-6, with the six losses coming by a combined 16 points. In total this year, five of the Trojans’ nine losses have come by three or fewer points, so they’ve been extremely close to being a #1 seed in their own substate. Sophomore forward Jack McCaffery Jack McCaffery 6'8" | SF Iowa City West | 2025 State #70 Nation IA (17.4, 7.6 rebounds, 3.8 blocks) is having a breakout sophomore year, showing why he’s so highly regarded nationally. A 6-8 forward who can score inside and out, protect the rim, and create plays for others, he’s the type of player who can dominate games on both ends. Jacob Koch Jacob Koch 6'1" | PG Iowa City West | 2024 State IA (9.7, 38.5 3P%) is a good shooter, and fellow junior guard TaeVeon Stevens TaeVeon Stevens 6'1" | PG Iowa City West | 2024 State IA (9.6) can be streaky, but he’s a talented offensive weapon who can create shots for himself and others. This team is dangerous, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they’re playing for a chance to get to Des Moines.
The dark horse: Few teams in the state will be more prepared for postseason play than Dowling Catholic, who are probably ready to get away from the CIML powers that they have to play on a nightly basis. Senior guard Andrew Mauro Andrew Mauro 6'1" | SG Dowling Catholic | 2023 State IA (12.0) is a tough, physical guard who can score from all three levels, and junior Joey Coppola Joey Coppola 5'11" | PG Dowling Catholic | 2024 State IA (11.0) has really started to come on strong as the season has progressed. The Maroons don’t shoot it well (39-30-63 shooting splits), but this is a typical tough, defensive-minded Maroons team that is going to be an absolute bear to play in the postseason. They play the type of game that nobody has any fun preparing for, and they’ve gone through the gauntlet of the CIML schedule and won’t be intimidated by Cedar Falls in the semifinals.
Players to watch
2023
Dallas Bear
Dallas
Bear
6'8" | SF
Cedar Falls | 2023
State
#276
Nation
IA
, Cedar Falls
2024
Cade Courbat
Cade
Courbat
6'8" | PF
Cedar Falls | 2024
State
IA
, Cedar Falls
2025
Anthony Galvin
Anthony
Galvin
6'0" | PG
Cedar Falls | 2025
State
IA
, Cedar Falls
2024
Luke Winkel
Luke
Winkel
6'1" | PG
Ankeny Centennial | 2024
State
IA
, Centennial
2023
Evan Bryan
Evan
Bryan
6'3" | SF
Centennial | 2023
State
IA
, Centennial
2025
Jack McCaffery
Jack
McCaffery
6'8" | SF
Iowa City West | 2025
State
#70
Nation
IA
, Iowa City West
2024
Kareem Earl
Kareem
Earl
6'5" | SF
Iowa City West | 2024
State
IA
, Iowa City West
2023
Makelle Taylor
Makelle
Taylor
5'11" | PG
Prairie | 2023
State
IA
, Prairie
2024
Reid Burkle
Reid
Burkle
6'5" | PF
Prairie | 2024
State
IA
, Prairie
2023
Andrew Mauro
Andrew
Mauro
6'1" | SG
Dowling Catholic | 2023
State
IA
, Dowling Catholic
2024
Joey Coppola
Joey
Coppola
5'11" | PG
Dowling Catholic | 2024
State
IA
, Dowling Catholic
2023 Javion Jondle, Fort Dodge
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Centennial vs. Cedar Falls
It seems like it’s the year of the CIML. The Des Moines area has been where the majority of the power around the state has come from, and we’ll continue to go with that here. Centennial draws up a plan to limit Bear’s effectiveness, and the Jaguars grind out a win to send them to the state tournament for the second time in school history (opened in 2013-14).