3A GAME TALK: Xavier, Cedar Rapids (13-11) vs. Mount Pleasant (22-2)
- Thread starter LukeFeddersen
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Toss-up. Best defensive effort wins. Mt. Pleasant knows who they have to stop. Two teams on a mission.
For sure. Xavier's PG should be calling for whoever is being guarded by the big guy to screen/roll, just expose him.
Well....I was wrong. I picked Xavier to win this game, but I thought MP was going to benefit from playing in a garbage conference(due to rest), they didn't. Xavier exposed some major flaws. Kudos to MP for keeping it close for a half.
Who wouldn't have a tough time with him in any class? I do feel if WSR wins state and Iowa City West falls short, he should receive some major votes for Mr. Basketball (even though I think the award is locked up).
I'm not "blaming" anyone. But, there is some definite weaknesses in their scheme. They have a good inside/out game with Sartorious and the big guy, but their defense was just exposed today. Once you get that big boy moving on the defensive end, it doesn't end well at the rim. A lot of easy shots in the 2nd half for Xavier.
Kudos to MP on a great season. I'm sure they will be back.
Xavier played an excellent second half game and won easily. I still think they are the favorite in 3A. Well-coached and too much talent, especially at point guard. Third time I've seen them and they keep getting better. When they beat Wahlert (a young team very much like MP) in the substate final in a game very similar to this, I realized it would take a tremendous effort to beat them. Waverly looked pretty good though. I hope I can get the game on my computer. Anxious to see Pella tonight, too..
Yes you are correct....they try to schedule all the 4A in CR but they don't want to play MP anymore....someone said they are adding teams to conference and don't want to play any 3A..??...all of SE Iowa has that issue
Xavier and WSR are clearly the top two teams. The coaches blew the seedings. Looked like all the upper bracket teams were much better than all the lower bracket.
Waverly's Austin Phyfe should get some serious votes for Mr. Basketball, but I found out last year (even though it turned out okay) that several areas of the state don't vote/or don't have a vote in the Iowa Newspaper Association voting! Last year when Bohannon, Pemsl and Kriener were up for the honor, I tried to check the voting and it seemed there were more voters in the Cedar Rapids- Iowa City area by far than in the combined areas where Kriener and Pemsl played. In fact, I don't think Dubuque had a single vote. For those demographic reasons, I would think that Connor McCaffery certainly has the edge. I guess all is fair in love, war and basketball. I did think it was odd last year when Cordell Pemsl, the all-time leading basketball scorer in the history of the city and a winner of eight out of nine state tournament games didn't get a single Mr. Basketball vote from his home city's newspaper sports department. Jordan Bohannon certainly deserved the honor; I'm just talking about votes.
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You have to actually show up for the vote in Des Moines on the last day of the state tournament (Saturday morning). So if you are a sports writer not near Des Moines and not at a super rich paper, it's hard to sell your publisher/manager on spending that much money just to vote in that meeting, ESPECIALLY if you were already up in Des Moines for games earlier in the week. Would be nice if you could vote by email.
I know for a fact Cordell Pemsl did get like 30% of the Mr. Basketball vote last year. There isn't a written vote on these things. It's just a hand count. So I don't think the official tallies are really kept anywhere.
Just to make sure this was stressed. The voting takes before the title games. If Phyfe scored 50 and his team win states, it doesn't matter. Vote is already final.
Thanks, NeverRead, My point was about the demographics of the vote. It's not who won. Jordan Bohannon was very deserving. I guess my point is-- does a kid from Waverly- Shell Rock, a little to the periphery of the state, have a chance to get votes like a kid from a big metro area? Especially when he has not been "in the media news" all the time. I remember when Sioux City got both Cougill and Tillo Mr. Basketball. I know it's all about high school achievements, but it seems to me that their voters/supporters were probably pretty dedicated. The year that Cougill won over Eric May, I thought it was interesting that May's team beat Heelan by THIRTY NINE points and the state championship in the previous year when they went head-to-head, but Cougill had a lot of local support. I agree, maybe an e-mail vote would be much better than having to go and show up in Des Moines, which representatives from some papers just won't do.
I could definitely see at least the Des Moines area kids getting a leg up just due to the fact it is way easier for Des Moines area media guys to get to the meeting. I know reporters want to stay unbiased, but it's really hard to especially when you have to compare 4A vs. 3A. I doubt Phyfe can get it but mostly because he's on a 3A team.
I am looking forward to seeing how many he can score tonight and if he can get Techau in foul trouble. Seemed like MP had their most success when their posts were bodying him up. He's such a good shot blocker/changer that it's hard for the guards to score inside so I could see Waverly being the team that may FINALLY break the private school streak. Gonna be a toss up though.
Yup! Saturday morning so the 3A and 4A title games aren't yet decided.
If you did it by email, you could vote before or after. On the professional level, I kind of like the MVP voting to be done at the end of the regular season (Like the NBA does or Heisman trophy for CFB). It adds so much enticement to the tournament to know who the "best player" is. I know that it will probably never change, but I would rather it be before state or after all the games are done.
Have they ever posted a definition of what the criteria is for Mr. Basketball? I'll still be shocked if it doesn't go to Connor McCaffery.
Thanks. I'm just talking in generalities. The INA probably gets it "right" most of the time. I could give any names, not just Austin Pfyfe. Joe Schmoldt's another really, really talented kid from a geographical area where he may get fewer votes than he deserves. Just wondering what other posters thought. Next year the subject may be moot with Wieskamp almost a legend already, but THIS year's Mr. Basketball isn't so readily obvious, although McCaffery is probably also a "household" name..
Not really. Just the "best player" I guess. Since it always goes to big class guys, it can't be MVP or anything like that because there have been some lower class guys who I thought were more important to their team/have had better stats. It will 100% go to Connor McCaffery. I'd bet my house on it.
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