Class 3A Basketball Rankings - Holiday Break

[LukeFeddersen]

Add your feedback now!

1.) Chariton 6-0 (Previous: #2)
2.) Pella 7-0 (Previous: #3)
3.) Harlan 5-1 (Previous: #1)
4.) Dubuque Wahlert 7-1 (Previous: #4)
5.) Algona 7-0 (Previous: #5)
6.) Bishop Heelan 6-2 (Previous: #6)
7.) Spencer 5-1 (Previous: #7)
8.) Spirit Lake 6-2 (Previous: #8)
9.) MOC-Floyd Valley 7-1 (Previous: #9)
10.) Atlantic 7-0 (Previous: #10)

Season Coverage
Top 80 Players in 2019 - 12/21
4A POY Ranking - 12/22
3A POY Ranking - 12/27
2A POY Ranking - 12/23
1A POY Ranking - 12/26
4A Stock Risers
3A Stock Risers
2A Stock Risers
1A Stock Risers - 12/26
4A Breakdown - 12/20
3A Breakdown - 12/21
2A Breakdown - 12/21
1A Breakdown - 12/21
Top 25 Rankings - 12/20
Top Performers - 12/23

Top Class of 2019 Players
Top Point Guards
Top Wing Guards
Top Wing Forwards
Top Power Forwards
Top Centers

Top Class of 2017 Players
Top 150 Players in 2017
Top Point Guards
Top Wing Guards
Top Wing Forwards
Top Power Forwards
Top Centers

Top Class of 2018 Players
Top 75 Players in 2018
Top Point Guards
Top Wing Guards
Top Wing Forwards
Top Power Forwards
Top Centers
2018 Top Player Database

Top Class of 2016 Players
Top 175 Players in 2016
Top Point Guards
Top Wing Guards
Top Wing Forwards
Top Power Forwards
Top Centers

Player Rankings
Top 175 Players in 2016
Top 150 Players in 2017
Top 75 in Players 2018

Full Conference Previews
Bluegrass
CIML Eastern
CIML Metro
CIML Northern
CIML Western
Corner
Hawkeye Ten
Heart of Iowa
Iowa Star North
Iowa Star South
Lakes
Little Hawkeye
MAC
MRC
MVC Mississippi
MVC Valley
NICL East
NICL West
North Central
Northeast Iowa
Pride of Iowa
Raccoon River
River Valley North
River Valley South
Rolling Valley
SEISC North
SEISC South
Siouxland
South Central
Southeast
South Iowa Cedar East
South Iowa Cedar West
Top of Iowa East
Top of Iowa West
Twin Lakes
Upper Iowa
WaMac East
WaMac West
War Eagle
West Central
Western Iowa
Western Valley

Preseason All State Teams
Elite, First Team
Elite, Second Team
Elite, Third Team
Elite, Fourth Team
Elite, Fifth Team
Junior, First Team
Junior, Second Team
Junior, Third Team
Junior, Fourth Team
Junior, Fifth Team
Sophomore, First Team
Sophomore, Second Team
Sophomore, Third Team
Sophomore, Fourth Team
Sophomore, Fifth Team
Freshmen, First Team
Freshmen, Second Team
4A, First Team
4A, Second Team
4A, Third Team
3A, First Team
3A, Second Team
3A, Third Team
2A, First Team
2A, Second Team
2A, Third Team
1A, First Team
1A, Second Team
1A, Third Team

Mr. Basketball Candidates
Candidate #1
Candidate #2
Candidate #3
Candidate #4
Candidate #5
Candidate #6
Candidate #7
Candidate #8
Candidate #9
Candidate #10

Player of the Year Nominees
Class 4A
Class 3A
Class 2A
Class 1A

2015-2016 Preseason Rankings
Class 4A
Class 3A
Class 2A
Class 1A

 

[SkipRip]

I'm not affiliated with either team but I'd give Pella (-15) vs. Chariton

 

[NeverReadTheTermsOfService]

I'm not affiliated with either team but I'd give Pella (-15) vs. Chariton

I am more affiliated with the region than either team, but I would say the game would without a doubt be decided by single digits. They played a really good game for the district title last year (I think Pella ended up winning by 10) and the Dutch lost a couple really good players while Chariton brought back everyone. Kind of sucks that they don't play each other in the regular season though.

Harlan's drop comes after a loss to CB Lincoln, which is obviously a super good 4A team. I'd say outside of Wahlert, who is a touch above, there are like 7-8 teams that are all super close at the top of the field.

 

[Bulldog198240]

Chariton is NOT a top 3A team...they play a superbly weak schedule....maybe top 10 but nothing more

 

[EastIowaHawk]

I think 3A is really hard for most people to rank. Most of the strongest teams have some really tough games ahead, and will take more loses, which will keep knocking them down. Chariton has some really elite players, and could finish undefeated. The problem is that they may have no "quality" wins and could end up end up the #1 seed at state (if they make it), and then they may face some of the strongest teams in the field who play much more difficult schedules. Let's take a look at Chariton's fellow top-rated teams: Pella plays AT Valley of West Des Moines on January 4. Carlo Marble and teammates are bona-fide contenders for the 4A title. If Pella plays Valley close or even wins, their remaining schedule is conducive for them to conceivably run the table, if they can get past Norwalk, DC- Grimes, etc. If Pella beats Valley, I think they leapfrog Chariton and take over #1. Harlan plays Atlantic right out of the gate after the holidays and whoever wins that one will have a "quality" win in their resume. Harlan or Atlantic could each take another loss or two which may keep them out of the 3A #1 spot. Dubuque Wahlert already has two "quality" wins over 4A top ten teams, plus one "bad" loss and has an extremely difficult schedule coming up with two games against Iowa City West and tough games at Linn- Mar and at CR Kennedy and CR Washington, plus several tough home games. Three or four more losses are not out of the question. The only way they see #1 is to beat most of those teams. Algona has been quietly killing the opposition and could rise to the top if Chariton would fall. Sioux City Heelan is a very strong team which has two tough games with CB-AL and Sioux City East, Western Christian, etc. and probably will have a few more losses, but will be a bearcat at state if they make it. Spencer has another game with Western Christian, two with Spirit Lake and a couple of other toughies. They'll probably stay ranked, but not at the top. Spirit Lake is getting healthier and has another game with Western Christian, but other than that, could possibly win the rest. and finish near the top of the rankings. MOC, another talented team, has back-to-back games with Western Christian and Boyden-Hull. Even if they split, they won't be #1 but will be a force if they make state. Two of the very strongest teams in 3A aren't even ranked, and they are Waverly- Shell Rock and Cedar Rapids Xavier. BC Moore's computer will have them near the top of the power rankings as the year goes on. (This is the ranking that uses strength of schedule.) They have tough schedules and will take their share of losses, keeping them from the summit of the rankings, but either of these last two teams could win the 3A state championship if the cards fall right. So--- after all this, why not Chariton as #1 right now? Records DO count, until the state tourney...then you can throw them all out the window.

 

[ronsss]

harlan,s loss is to a very good undefeated abraham lincoln team, they have kids that can shoot, as stated by the coach. harlan did come within 2 with 2 minutes left in game......

 

[NeverReadTheTermsOfService]

I think 3A is really hard for most people to rank. Most of the strongest teams have some really tough games ahead, and will take more loses, which will keep knocking them down. Chariton has some really elite players, and could finish undefeated. The problem is that they may have no "quality" wins and could end up end up the #1 seed at state (if they make it), and then they may face some of the strongest teams in the field who play much more difficult schedules. Let's take a look at Chariton's fellow top-rated teams: Pella plays AT Valley of West Des Moines on January 4. Carlo Marble and teammates are bona-fide contenders for the 4A title. If Pella plays Valley close or even wins, their remaining schedule is conducive for them to conceivably run the table, if they can get past Norwalk, DC- Grimes, etc. If Pella beats Valley, I think they leapfrog Chariton and take over #1. Harlan plays Atlantic right out of the gate after the holidays and whoever wins that one will have a "quality" win in their resume. Harlan or Atlantic could each take another loss or two which may keep them out of the 3A #1 spot. Dubuque Wahlert already has two "quality" wins over 4A top ten teams, plus one "bad" loss and has an extremely difficult schedule coming up with two games against Iowa City West and tough games at Linn- Mar and at CR Kennedy and CR Washington, plus several tough home games. Three or four more losses are not out of the question. The only way they see #1 is to beat most of those teams. Algona has been quietly killing the opposition and could rise to the top if Chariton would fall. Sioux City Heelan is a very strong team which has two tough games with CB-AL and Sioux City East, Western Christian, etc. and probably will have a few more losses, but will be a bearcat at state if they make it. Spencer has another game with Western Christian, two with Spirit Lake and a couple of other toughies. They'll probably stay ranked, but not at the top. Spirit Lake is getting healthier and has another game with Western Christian, but other than that, could possibly win the rest. and finish near the top of the rankings. MOC, another talented team, has back-to-back games with Western Christian and Boyden-Hull. Even if they split, they won't be #1 but will be a force if they make state. Two of the very strongest teams in 3A aren't even ranked, and they are Waverly- Shell Rock and Cedar Rapids Xavier. BC Moore's computer will have them near the top of the power rankings as the year goes on. (This is the ranking that uses strength of schedule.) They have tough schedules and will take their share of losses, keeping them from the summit of the rankings, but either of these last two teams could win the 3A state championship if the cards fall right. So--- after all this, why not Chariton as #1 right now? Records DO count, until the state tourney...then you can throw them all out the window.

As of right now, Chariton has a much better win than Algona and Harlan with their dismantling of a ranked 2A team, in I-35. They play a mostly 2A schedule (They have to be close to being a 2A team themselves) for the most part, but they do have control of the SCC, and it looks like they'll have some pretty tough teams coming up in non-conference Grinnell, Norwalk, Newton, and Mt. Pleasant. That's three Little Hawkeye teams and the SEC front runner.

Pella is my #1 right now, although I am not sure I'd take them vs. Chariton in a neutral game. The Dutch have defeated Grinnell, DCG and Pella Christian. That's enough for me to vote them the top team, with Harlan and Chariton #2 and #3, not sure which of the two is #2.

Wahlert and Xavier being basically 4A teams that play in 3A, will have plenty of shots to get huge wins that catapult them up in the rankings. I'm sure one of those teams will be top 3 by the end of it, and nobody is going to pick against the private schools in the tournament.

 

[Bulldog198240]

I would love to see Pella and Chariton in substate game on neutral floor...

 

[NeverReadTheTermsOfService]

I would love to see Pella and Chariton in substate game on neutral floor...

You probably will see that. Even if they are both top 5 teams, it would be hard to split them up. When do the substates even come out? I bet they are both in the same one.

 

[CBCrusader1994]

Wahlert is the best team , everyone else is playing for 2nd. Be a major major upset for them to lose to any of these 3a teams.

 

[bravos]

Wahlert will roll to the 3A title, too long, too athletic, too talented. They should be ranked #1 the entire year.

 

[NeverReadTheTermsOfService]

Wahlert will roll to the 3A title, too long, too athletic, too talented. They should be ranked #1 the entire year.

So you would just rank them #1 the entire year, even when they lose? Wahlert will be the favorite no matter what, but you can't lose to Prairie and expect to stay #1.

Can we all take a step back for a second and realize they did lose two of their top three players from their previous championships? Pemsl is the only returning player who scored over 7 ppg last year. Josh Carter and Nolan Timp were a huge part of their state run last year, and they still didn't just roll over everyone.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

NeverRead... makes some good points. Without Carter and Timp, the Eagles don't win state, and they are both gone. Pella and Chariton (and Spirit Lake, Waverly, MOC and others) are all very strong teams. Chariton has three really gifted players in Hockensen, Laing and Lim Chuol. Not too many teams have that kind of veteran talent. It's not just their record-- it's Chariton's record WITH these really good players. For Pella, Wahlert or any of the mentioned teams to jump over them, those teams will have to have some signature wins, like beating IC West, Valley, Western Christian or Linn- Mar, for example. 3A is pretty wide open, with the "real season" starting next week. There is not that big a gap between 4A and 3A, so for a 3A team to claim #1, they either have to have talent plus a stellar record, or they should be able to knock off several better 4A and 3A teams, and the top 2A. And if a team has a night in which the shots all clank off, then they should drop in the ratings until they redeem themselves. It's only fair. If the shots all clank off in the state tournament, it's a lot worse; you go home.

 

[Bulldog198240]

Not sure if you guys are all aware, but Wahlert had another transfer in this year...Sage Maiers, 6'7" power forward, ranked 8th in the state...so even though they lost a couple from last year, they picked up another big...would be hard to guard both he and Pemsl, when Pemsl gets fully recovered....Im curious if they both were healthy and played against Prairie??

 

[NeverReadTheTermsOfService]

Not sure if you guys are all aware, but Wahlert had another transfer in this year...Sage Maiers, 6'7" power forward, ranked 8th in the state...so even though they lost a couple from last year, they picked up another big...would be hard to guard both he and Pemsl, when Pemsl gets fully recovered....Im curious if they both were healthy and played against Prairie??

I saw his name on their quikstats. Where is he from? I always thought last year that Wahlert would have a ton of trouble if they had to play Pella because of their press, but Pella ended up playing Xavier, which was a more difficult matchup. Wahlert's big advantage has been their inside game, but Carter and Timp were amazing, and throughout their state runs I thought Carter was actually their most dangerous player.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Best Wahlert player after Pemsl and Wedewer is Riley Till, a 6-7 wing. His stock is really rising. He was a regular last year. Likes to thunder dunk over people. His sister, Claire, plays for the U of Iowa women, and his Mom was an Iowa women's basketball color radio commentator. He missed part of last season with a back injury. It'll be interesting to see how they do after the break when their schedule gets really tough almost every game. Next five games are Cedar Falls, CR Kennedy, Iowa City West, Dub. Senior and Linn- Mar. Every game will be a struggle. All have winning records, I believe. I wonder how some of the other 3A teams would do running that gauntlet? I think they win three of the five, at least, and have a better record than last year when the regular season is done. They stumbled badly in their one-point loss on the road, but they are a much deeper team than last year and have all three of their guards returning, so they handle the ball better than last year when they were juniors. Sage Maiers' Dad works at Bird Chevrolet in Dubuque, and Sage is a huge kid at over 6-6 and about 250. He is coming off a serious ankle injury and is up to about 90%, but has been improving his mobility. (Carter went the JC route trying to get a D1 scholly and Timp hit 15 the other day in a Loras College win. They were both really good high school players. Timp's little brother is a junior on the varsity, and Carter's little brother is a freshman starter for Dub. Senior's varsity.)

Happy New Year, everybody. May your favorite teams have great success and exceed your expectations!!

 

[bravos]

So is it possible that Josh Carters little brother was recruited to Dubuque Senior! The public school crazy obsession about Private schools recruiting on this message board is hilarious. The ignorance displayed on here is laughable. I read somewhere on here "the under the table" agreements, the athletic scholarships, the recruiting budget, LOL! Rather than watching the movie Blue Chips and thinking that is how high school athletics works at private schools in the state of Iowa, why don't you educate yourself first before writing garbage on message boards.

A few years ago, CR Kennedy's starting lineup included 3 kids that transferred from CR Prairie. I didn't hear anyone screaming from the rafters about recruiting then. So it must be OK if public schools take in transfers but when a kid transfers to a private school their must have been an "under the table agreement"

 

[Bulldog198240]

I saw his name on their quikstats. Where is he from? I always thought last year that Wahlert would have a ton of trouble if they had to play Pella because of their press, but Pella ended up playing Xavier, which was a more difficult matchup. Wahlert's big advantage has been their inside game, but Carter and Timp were amazing, and throughout their state runs I thought Carter was actually their most dangerous player.

I believe sage came from Dyersville

 

[makelovenotwar]

Bravos wrote:
"So is it possible that Josh Carters little brother was recruited to Dubuque Senior!"

Funny thing is, Josh Carter went to Hempstead before he went to Wahlert. So collectively, they have used every school in Dubuque. Talk about shopping around.