STATE TOURNAMENT: 10 Who Impressed (Wednesday)
2018 Garrett Sturtz (6’3 G) — 20 points, 3 blocks, 2 steals
There was lots of “underrated” chatter going on as Sturtz was slicing and dicing the Iowa City West defense in the first quarter of Wednesday’s semifinal loss. We already have the rangy guard at No.26 in 2018, so now we’re thinking top-20 territory for this kid. He might be that good.
2017 Connor Gholson (6’1 G) — 24 points (10-20 FGs)
This senior was not going down without a fight, and he put in tough bucket after tough bucket throughout the Cardinals’ narrow quarterfinal loss to Iowa City West. Gholson was good from deep, and finished well at the rim. There’s really not much this kid can’t do offensively.
2017 Devonatae Lane (6’1 G) — 18 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
West was led by a Lane’s 18 points (Connor McCaffery also had 18) in its quarterfinal win against Newton. It wasn’t an emphatic 18 points, but his makes were timely, and he had a couple buckets at the rim in the second half that were essential for the Trojans.
2018 Curtis Martin III (5’9 G) — 19 points (6-9 FGs, 3-4 3s), 2 steals
This was the best burst we’ve seen from anyone so far at the state tournament. Martin came off the bench and immediately gave the Mustangs a spark with his high motor and defense. And then he started hitting bucket after bucket….after bucket. He almost single-handedly had the Mustangs up 19 in the second quarter. Unfortunately, that could not sustain, and when Martin quieted, so did his team.
2018 Derrick Diggins (6’2 G) — 14 points (4-7 FGs)
We were starting to think Diggins wasn’t going to make much of an impact during a quarterfinal win against Hempstead — especially when his team was struggling, down 32-11. But in the second half he was magnificent, scoring 12 of his 14 and coming away with the block of the tournament when he sprinted half the court to catch up with a Hempstead would-be lay-in to smash it against the glass.
2017 Drake Brewster (6’5 SF) — 14 points, 4 assists
Like Diggins, Brewster was very quiet in the first half of his team’s quarterfinal win over Kennedy. But he came out in the third quarter and immediately catalyzed his team’s resurgence. Brewtser was defending at a high level and scoring in bunches, and hit a the 3-ball in the first minute of the third quarter that made the wild comeback start to feel real.
2019 DJ Carton, Bettendorf (5’11 PG) — 12 points, 5 rebounds
This kid has flown completely under the radar up to this point, but no more. He plays on the far eastern edge of the state, and runs with an Illinois-based grassroots program during his summers, so that has something to do with it. Today though, in Des Moines, he flashed some elite ball-handling and precision shooting to pair with high-level quickness and athleticism. He’s one of 2019’s best — now we know.
2018 Van Rees, Sioux City East (6’6 F) — 25 points (13-15 FTs), 10 rebounds
Tony Roe and I looked down at the stat-sheet and said ‘whoa, Rees has 25 points.’ It wasn’t a flashy 25, but a workmanlike 25, 13 of them came from the free-throw line, and all six of his field goals came from around the rim. Rees also was the game-high rebounder with 10. Somehow, he quietly put together the best game of the day.
2017 Quinton Curry , Valley (6’5 F) — 17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
If there was any question as to whether or not he was back to 100 percent or not after a long ACL recovery, the answer is an emphatic YES. He soared for the best block I’ve ever seen at a high school game, and it erased what would have been a huge momentum-swinging shot for the Polar Bears. Curry was a beast down low offensively. He was the MVP of Valley’s thrilling win over North.
2017 Tyreke Locure, Des Moines North (5’10 PG) — 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
The kid can flat out ball, everyone knows that by now. Even when he doesn’t play his best, he still does several things in a game that make your jaw drop. He’s a special player with big things ahead. Tonight though, Valley was just a little bit better.
2017 Charley Crowley, Valley (6’7 PF) — 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
He had four dunks in this one, I’ve been covering the state tournament for a long time now, and I’ve never seen four jams by one player in a game. And that includes Harrison Barnes. And incredibly, the fourth and final slam was a game-winner for the Tigers; fed beautifully by Nate Dennis, Crowley flushed home his fourth slam with just 3.0 seconds left on the clock.