They played my son's team (Dowling) the other night and they blew us out. We got DeVries in foul trouble, but then Payton Sandfort absolutely took over the game. Clearly they are the favorite to win 4A, but can anyone challenge them? Cedar Falls? Waterloo maybe? I can't imagine there being another team with as good a combo as Sandfort and DeVries.
Can anyone beat Waukee?
- Thread starter Jim E Russell
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Hard to say until they meet. I don't know much about Waukee, but IMHO, I think this CF team may actually be the best and deepest (and possibly the biggest) of the last 3 years, including the two that have won back-to-back state championships. The players from last year's team that graduated have been nicely replaced from last year's sophomore team which themselves went undefeated. So they don't look like they're going away anytime soon. Just two starters on this year's team are seniors (6'3" G Josh Ollendieck, 14 ppg, 6'1" G Ben Sernett, 6.1 ppg). Other starters are Trey Campbell (6'4" F, SO, 6.2 ppg), Landon Wolf (6'5" F, JR, 13.4 ppg), and Chase Courbat (6'9" C, JR, 8.4 ppg). The bench is deep with size too, with 5'10" SR G Jaxon Heth, 6'6" JR F Carter Janssen, 6'8" JR C Joe Knutson, and 6'6" F SR Cael Loecher.
Waukee is clearly the #1 team in 4A until they possibly lose, and they might not- but I don't think they are a gimmee for the title. They made a good run last year, losing to Dubuque Senior by one point in Des Moines. No doubt they have exceptional (tall) guards in DeVries and Sandfort, but although the CIML is very good at the top, I think teams like Cedar Falls or Iowa City West, or maybe Dubuque Senior again, are grinding their way through a dangerous Mississippi Valley Conference and non-conference schedule that overall may be a bit tougher than the CIML, or certainly as good, week in and week out. I agree with much of what CF_93 says, and remember also that Iowa City West had been playing at less than full strength, with two starters ailing. (Didn't they hold Dowling to something like 28 points?) Prediction: state title game will be Waukee vs. either CF or ICW, depending upon how the pairings/seedings go. (Side rant: I hope we don't have a situation like last year when Senior faced Bettendorf, Waukee, IC West and Cedar Falls in a four-game stretch at substate/state. The good teams in Iowa in several classes are bunched in certain regions again. The IHSAA has to do a better job of distributing the best teams around the substates, and in Des Moines.)
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I agree with cedar falls. I saw them play earlier in the season and they’re good but I just don’t see how anyone can match up with waukee’s 2 studs. Will surely be an interesting to see how it plays out. I think this is a very deep group of teams in 4A as compared to the last couple of years.
Nice discussion. I'd put money on Waukee, but I'd save some coins to bet on an MVC team, too. Dowling and Ankeny Centennial should make a good run for the championship, too. And Dowling has a very bright future.
One thing we have to take into consideration here, however, is history. Just as the West Des Moines football teams absolutely dominate 4A football in Iowa, the Mississippi Valley Conference dominates 4A and 3A basketball. In fact, you have to see the stats for the last nine years to believe it! Here goes, from the IHSAA:
2019 4A champ- Cedar Falls
2018 4A champ- Cedar Falls
2017 4A champ- Iowa City West
2017 3A champ- Cedar Rapids Xavier
2016 3A champ- Cedar Rapids Xavier
2015 3A champ- Dubuque Wahlert
2014 4A champ- Iowa City West
2014 3A champ- Dubuque Wahlert
2013 4A champ- Iowa City West
2012 4A champ- Iowa City West
2011 4A champ- Linn Mar
That's a lot of dominance for these five MVC teams over just the last nine years, winning (11) mostly 4A and some 3A championships every year for the last nine years straight, and last year two of them (CF and Dub. Senior) battled for the title in 4A.
Waukee very well might win it this year, and maybe next, and Dowling after that, but it won't be without a battle from the MVC..
One thing we have to take into consideration here, however, is history. Just as the West Des Moines football teams absolutely dominate 4A football in Iowa, the Mississippi Valley Conference dominates 4A and 3A basketball. In fact, you have to see the stats for the last nine years to believe it! Here goes, from the IHSAA:
2019 4A champ- Cedar Falls
2018 4A champ- Cedar Falls
2017 4A champ- Iowa City West
2017 3A champ- Cedar Rapids Xavier
2016 3A champ- Cedar Rapids Xavier
2015 3A champ- Dubuque Wahlert
2014 4A champ- Iowa City West
2014 3A champ- Dubuque Wahlert
2013 4A champ- Iowa City West
2012 4A champ- Iowa City West
2011 4A champ- Linn Mar
That's a lot of dominance for these five MVC teams over just the last nine years, winning (11) mostly 4A and some 3A championships every year for the last nine years straight, and last year two of them (CF and Dub. Senior) battled for the title in 4A.
Waukee very well might win it this year, and maybe next, and Dowling after that, but it won't be without a battle from the MVC..
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