State Tournament Preview: Class 3A Storylines to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Welcome to the Raccoon River Invitational</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Half of the 3A field is comprised of schools from the Raccoon River Conference - Ballard, Gilbert, Carroll, and ADM. With several Little Hawkeye Conference schools moving up to 4A in recent years, the RRC has firmly established itself as the best 3A league in the state, and this state tournament field as just more proof of that. Ballard and ADM are the top two seeds, Gilbert upset Clear Lake to get here, and Carroll has proven capable of beating just about anyone with wins over Kuemper Catholic, ADM, and Gilbert on their resume. With Ballard and Gilbert playing each other in the first round, a maximum of three RRC teams can reach the semifinals, but that's a real possibility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Star Power Abound</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Storm Lake wing [player_tooltip player_id='1765515' first='Jaidyn' last='Coon'] is the star of stars at the state tournament next week, regardless of class. The Creighton signee is an eye-popping athlete who delivers highlight-reel play after highlight-reel play, throwing down powerful dunks and coming out of nowhere to block shots. He'll certainly be the headliner, but he's far from alone. ADM guard [player_tooltip player_id='1978130' first='Hudson' last='Lorensen'] is one of the most effortless scorers in the state, a highly efficient three-level scorer who averages north of 22 points per game. His running mate, [player_tooltip player_id='1978115' first='Trey' last='Bryte'], averages 15-9-8 and is a nightly triple-double threat. The Ballard duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2419714' first='Evan' last='Abbott'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1765518' first='Jude' last='Gibson'] is about as good as it gets in the state. Pella wing [player_tooltip player_id='2120763' first='Jack' last='McGuire'] is concluding a great high school career. Xavier guard [player_tooltip player_id='1978144' first='Zander' last='Murray'] is a big-time scorer who recently changed his mind about his next-level prospects, de-committing from his baseball decision to pursue basketball opportunities. Coon's running mate [player_tooltip player_id='1765508' first='Cameron' last='Boyd'] has emerged as a big-time scorer alongside him, averaging 20.6 points. Solon guard [player_tooltip player_id='2530471' first='Tate' last='McCollum'] is as electric a shooter and scorer as you'll find when he gets it going. And the list could go on and on. There is a ton of talent in this 3A field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Xavier, an Extremely Dangerous 7-Seed</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expectations were high for Xavier coming into the year, coming off a semifinal appearance and bringing back their top three from that roster. They've had an up-and-down season, but are playing well down the stretch, have a ton of tradition, and plenty of big game experience with Murray, [player_tooltip player_id='1765554' first='AJ' last='Evans'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1361499' first='Lorenzo' last='Pino']. The Saints aren't your typical 7-seed that will put up a fight for a half and then fizzle out, this is a team that can not only push ADM in the quarterfinals, but make a real run if they pull off that first upset.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->