Substate Preview: 2A-1

<!-- wp:image {"id":2341983,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/2A-1.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/2A-1.png?w=696" alt="" class="wp-image-2341983" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The favorite: West Lyon</strong> held the #1 spot in the 2A rankings for a majority of the season until a loss to Unity Christian last week dropped them a few slots. But the Wildcats have been a dominant team this season, ranking within the top 6 in the class in both scoring offense (4th, 71.0) and defense (6th, 44.5). While the Siouxland Conference may not be quite as dominant as it has been in recent years, this is still a complete team that has rolled through one of the most competitive leagues in the state. The 'Cats are led by junior lead guard [player_tooltip player_id='1759936' first='Carson' last='Hoogeveen'] (14.9, 3.9 assists, 38.2 3P%), a quick and talented guard who can create shots at a high clip for both himself and his teammates. [player_tooltip player_id='2325556' first='Trevor' last='Ciesielski'] (9.3, 3.7 assists) is another talented guard who gets his teammates involved, and while this group doesn't have a dominant go-to scorer, they do a great job sharing the ball (16.2 assists per game), protecting it (9.3 turnovers), and creating chaos on the defensive end (15.1 steals). A deep, athletic, and physical team, they'll be a bear for anyone in this district to beat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The biggest threat:</strong> A potent offensive team that plays largely against 3A teams throughout the regular season, <strong>Spirit Lake</strong> has a trio of dynamic offensive weapons who can score against just about anyone. Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1759904' first='Dylan' last='Stecker'] (24.3, 8.2 rebounds) is one of the best scorers in the state, a versatile player who can create looks for himself and his teammates, and he has the size to score against anyone. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1765548' first='Wesley' last='Walz'] (13.1, 35.2 3P%) and junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2398038' first='Ethan' last='Stecker'] (11.8, 38.7 3P%) provide some shooting alongside Stecker's interior presence. The Indians can fill it up, but can they get enough stops to upset West Lyon and reach the substate final? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The dark horse: </strong>It may sound odd to say that the #2 seed, a team that only has to win one home game to reach the district final, as the "dark horse" of the district, but it may just apply to <strong>Lawton-Bronson</strong> here. The Eagles have played against a pretty weak schedule (ranked 91st out of 97 2A teams), but have been a solid defensive team, ranking 14th in the class in scoring defense. Gage Semple (11.8) and Braden Heiss (10.2) are the team's top scorers, and this is a group that does a good job crashing the glass on the offensive end, an area that they'll need to win if they want to pull off the upset and come out of this district. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Players to watch<br></span>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1759936' first='Carson' last='Hoogeveen'], West Lyon<br>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='2325556' first='Trevor' last='Ciesielski'], West Lyon<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2397298' first='Easton' last='Jacobson'], West Lyon<br>2025 Gage Semple, Lawton-Bronson<br>2024 Braden Heiss, Lawton-Bronson<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1759904' first='Dylan' last='Stecker'], Spirit Lake<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1765548' first='Wesley' last='Walz'], Spirit Lake<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2398038' first='Ethan' last='Stecker'], Spirit Lake<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1978145' first='Jaxon' last='Paulsrud'], Cherokee<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2731759' first='Coy' last='Lewis'], Cherokee<br>2025 Jacob Hurd, Cherokee<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2731640' first='Owen' last='Mills'], Sioux Central<br>2026 Jack Christian, Sioux Central<br>2025 Cooper Jansma, Sheldon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2341985,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/2A-2.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/2A-2.png?w=699" alt="" class="wp-image-2341985" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>District 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The favorite:</strong> Despite playing without leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1874768' first='Braeden' last='Bosma'], <strong>Unity Christian </strong>has been playing fantastic basketball of late, notching great wins over West Lyon and Central Lyon (twice), with their only three losses since the holiday break coming to 19-1 West Lyon, 17-2 Western Christian, and 17-3 3A MOC-Floyd Valley. The Knights have played tougher competition than any other team in the district, and in addition to having the most talent on the roster, that type of preparedness will be a major benefit. Sophomore guards [player_tooltip player_id='2413578' first='Dylan' last='Bosma'] (13.0) and [player_tooltip player_id='2413600' first='Austin' last='Wieringa'] (11.0), and juniors Traevin Van Beek (6.2, 41.8 3P%) and Kolton Smit (7.2, 37.0 3P%), give this group a nice blend of dribble-penetrating and shooting. The Knights are athletic, physical, and solid defensively, and they're playing at a high level right now. This is the team to beat in the district. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The biggest threat: </strong>The #2 seed in the district, <strong>Emmetsburg</strong>, is in the midst of their best season since 2010-11, when they went 19-5. And while they've been good this year, the best may still be yet to come for the E-Hawks, who are led in scoring by seven juniors. Byron Maine (14.6, 41.3 3P%), [player_tooltip player_id='2519988' first='Gavin' last='Swanson'] (12.2, 4.8 assists), Carter Hudson (11.4, 7.7 rebounds), and [player_tooltip player_id='1587388' first='Kale' last='Fank'] (10.0) each average in double figures, giving them four scorers who can be the go-to guy on any given night. That type of balance makes them dangerous, and they've done a solid job protecting the ball this season, averaging under 11 turnovers a game. Ball control and balanced scoring is a nice blend for success in postseason basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The dark horse: Hinton</strong> is playing solid basketball down the stretch, winners of six straight games as of time of writing, including good wins over George-Little Rock and two against Akron-Westfield. The Blackhawks are led by sophomore wing Logan Kempema (15.7, 6.6 rebounds), who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists. They've been a solid defensive team this season, ranking 15th in the class in scoring defense, allowing just 48.2 points a game. If they are able to slow the game down against Emmetsburg in the semifinals, they could certainly reach the district championship game, where anything could happen. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Players to watch<br></span>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1874768' first='Braeden' last='Bosma'], Unity Christian<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2413578' first='Dylan' last='Bosma'], Unity Christian<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2413600' first='Austin' last='Wieringa'], Unity Christian<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1874771' first='Byron' last='Maina'], Emmetsburg<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2519988' first='Gavin' last='Swanson'], Emmetsburg<br>2025 Carter Hudson, Emmetsburg<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1587388' first='Kale' last='Fank'], Emmetsburg<br>2026 Logan Kempema, Hinton<br>2026 Carter Todd, Ridge View<br>2024 Cayden Clausen, Ridge View<br>2026 Tanner Dixon, MVAOCOU<br>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1751223' first='Ethan' last='Behrens'], Pocahontas Area</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Lyon vs. Unity Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third meeting of the year comes on a neutral site after each team won on their home floor. Unity Christian pounded West Lyon on the glass in their upset win a few weeks ago, outrebounding the Wildcats 39-26, and West Lyon shot just 5-26 from the arc in that game. While Unity is playing good basketball, <strong>West Lyon</strong> has been one of the best teams in the class all year and punches their ticket to Des Moines for the second time in school history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->