State Tournament Preview: Class 2A Storylines to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Thomas Family</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aplington-Parkersburg and Grundy Center each reached the state tournament this season, which in itself isn't really news. Both programs are accustomed to plenty of success, with now a combined 19 state tournament appearances. But for (likely) the first time in state history, a father-son tandem has guided their teams to the state tournament in the same class in the same year. Aplington-Parkersburg coach Aaron Thomas has been here plenty, but his son, Owen Thomas, in his first year at Grundy Center, will be making his debut. They're on opposite sides of the bracket, so we probably won't see them meet in this tournament, but both teams are capable of making a run and how much fun would a Thomas vs. Thomas 2A title game be?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A Kuemper Catholic-Union Rematch in the Quarterfinals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Union stunned Kuemper Catholic in the substate finals last season, winning 77-66 to reach the state tournament. Kuemper was considered by many to be a co-favorite with Western Christian to win the title last season before the shocking loss. In that substate final, Union shot 54% from the floor and outscored the potent Kuemper shooters by 12 points from the 3-point line. A huge chunk of both rosters return for this game. Can Kuemper get revenge for last year's stunning upset and spark a run through this tournament?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Can Western Christian 3-Peat?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Western Christian was dominant in their state title runs each of the last two years, then lost a majority of those rosters to graduation. But this is Western Christian, there isn't rebuilding, just re-loading. The Wolfpack are playing their best basketball of the season, coming off a blowout substate final win over Tri-Center, and the dynamic one-two punch of [player_tooltip player_id='2413626' first='Landon' last='De Stigter'] (19.3, 6.6 rebounds) and [player_tooltip player_id='2772345' first='Tayden' last='Moret'] (19.3, 3.6 assists) is as good a one-two punch as any team in the class has. Playing as an independent again this season, they've gone out and really tested themselves all year long and won't be intimidated by anyone they run into next week. The Pack has as good a chance as anyone to win the championship, which would be their third straight and add to their record-breaking haul.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8-for-8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first time since the IAHSAA rankings were introduced several years ago, the top eight schools in the final rankings all reached the state tournament, which should set this tournament up to be fantastic. The eight best teams reached Des Moines, and now it's a battle for glory. Buckle up, it should be fun, and it's fitting that the 2A championship game will be the final game of the Iowa high school basketball season this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->