EIH will have his 4A and 3A pre-season basketball rankings out this weekend. There is so much balance this year that I may have to do a top 15 in each class.
Getting Ready for 4A, 3A Pre-Season Rankings
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4A Pre-Season Basketball Rankings (For what it's worth this early)
1. Cedar Falls. Lots of star power returns in bid for a three-peat.
2. Iowa City West- Evan Brauns and cast will be quite tough.
3. Sioux City East- 10 returnees off a very good team.
4. Waukee- graduated some talent, but almost played for championship last year.
5. Bettendorf- Eleven returnees from another power squad.
6. Valley, WDM- an always- good team.
7. North Scott- 12 returnees make this another strong year.
8. Iowa City Liberty- Return all but one player for this surprise outfit.
9. WDM Dowling- Always strong team has a talented frosh in Omaha Billou.
10- Dubuque Senior- Very deep team that has to replace 4 starters.
Other top teams that may find their way into top ten- Ames, CR Prairie, Pleasant Valley, Linn-Mar, CR Kennedy, DM North, Dubuque Hempstead, DM Hoover, CBAL, Davenport Central, all in no particular order.
Feel free to chip in with your comments, as your guess is as good as mine.
1. Cedar Falls. Lots of star power returns in bid for a three-peat.
2. Iowa City West- Evan Brauns and cast will be quite tough.
3. Sioux City East- 10 returnees off a very good team.
4. Waukee- graduated some talent, but almost played for championship last year.
5. Bettendorf- Eleven returnees from another power squad.
6. Valley, WDM- an always- good team.
7. North Scott- 12 returnees make this another strong year.
8. Iowa City Liberty- Return all but one player for this surprise outfit.
9. WDM Dowling- Always strong team has a talented frosh in Omaha Billou.
10- Dubuque Senior- Very deep team that has to replace 4 starters.
Other top teams that may find their way into top ten- Ames, CR Prairie, Pleasant Valley, Linn-Mar, CR Kennedy, DM North, Dubuque Hempstead, DM Hoover, CBAL, Davenport Central, all in no particular order.
Feel free to chip in with your comments, as your guess is as good as mine.
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EIH 3A Pre-Season Basketball Rankings (just my opinion)
1. Norwalk. Odds-on favorite with UNI recruit Born and very good supporting cast.
2. Oskaloosa- Need I say more than Xavier Foster, but a lot of his support has graduated.
3. Sergeant Bluff Luton- 13 returnees off a strong team!
4. Gilbert- Played 7 sophs last year on a very strong team.
5. Pella- another squad that returns most players.
6. CR Xavier- Very tall and veteran team with good guards.
7. Marion- Best team in the very strong Wamac. Made state.
8. Winterset- Returns almost everyone from last year's 18-win powerhouse.
9. Dubuque Wahlert- Very balanced and experienced team that plays defense.
10. Davenport Assumption- 11 returnees led by multi-year starter Peeters.
The next group could all make the top ten during the season and some may belong there now- Ballard, Carroll, Western Dubuque, Clear Lake, Dennison-Schleswig, ADM, Fairfield, Maquoketa, Mt. Vernon, Glenwood, West Delaware.
3A is absolutely and totally loaded this year. Comments?
1. Norwalk. Odds-on favorite with UNI recruit Born and very good supporting cast.
2. Oskaloosa- Need I say more than Xavier Foster, but a lot of his support has graduated.
3. Sergeant Bluff Luton- 13 returnees off a strong team!
4. Gilbert- Played 7 sophs last year on a very strong team.
5. Pella- another squad that returns most players.
6. CR Xavier- Very tall and veteran team with good guards.
7. Marion- Best team in the very strong Wamac. Made state.
8. Winterset- Returns almost everyone from last year's 18-win powerhouse.
9. Dubuque Wahlert- Very balanced and experienced team that plays defense.
10. Davenport Assumption- 11 returnees led by multi-year starter Peeters.
The next group could all make the top ten during the season and some may belong there now- Ballard, Carroll, Western Dubuque, Clear Lake, Dennison-Schleswig, ADM, Fairfield, Maquoketa, Mt. Vernon, Glenwood, West Delaware.
3A is absolutely and totally loaded this year. Comments?
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I don’t really know much about a lot of the other 4A schools, but I do know that Josh Dix from CBAL is the real deal. The 2022 player has an offer from South Dakota St and with the transfer of Jadin Johnson, should really have a breakout year.
Johnston, Ankeny Centennial will be in the top 10-- Dowling will be in the top 5. Overall, the CIML is deeper than the MVC this year.
I see Waukee as the next best team to CF. They have the top recruit in the state in the junior class (for what it’s worth, I think he’s more like a top 10-15, but hey I’m not paid to offer scholarships and I’m not a pro recruiter) he’s a sniper with good length and has a great feel for the game. They will have another junior who is very tall and can shoot. Potentially 2 6’6 guards
Not real sure on him... to be honest I’ve seen both him and Sandfort play in AAU and in high school ball and neither came off to me as even Division One caliber athletes? Both aren’t very athletic and can’t handle the ball like an elite guard, although they can dribble well for high schoolers especially at there height. Although they will be great school ball players this year. Should both average 12-15 a game and stretch the floor perfectly for the rest of there team. I’m more looking at them as to how they fit with there team rather then them being overwhelming forces like maybe a Patrick McCaffrey or a Noah Carter
I agree that the MVC is down a little overall this year...CR teams outside of Xavier are significantly weaker than usual. The CIML should have the strongest league in the state this year overall. I still believe that Cedar Falls is the top team in the entire state and has a great shot for the 3 peat. One team that could surprise in the MVC is Waterloo West...have the talent to be very dangerous and capable of beating anyone on a given night.
MVC may be down a bit but still a solid conference with maybe the exception of City High in Iowa City. Not sure how good Xavier will be this year with a new coach, who I heard that process to hire him was somewhat shady, and some senior leaders graduating. They still have the Moses kid though. Dub Wahlert will be a tough out because of good guard play for sure. The other Dub schools will be tough but it looks like the Cedar Rapids schools might be down a bit. Going to be a fun season!
Can't argue too much with Cheese and Sam. The MVC may be down a little bit but several teams will still be strong-- Cedar Falls and Iowa City West, especially with the Brauns kid. Yes, CR is down except for Xavier (which I think may actually challenge Norwalk for the championship in 3A), but several other teams are going to be better- Liberty will be better, as will Wahlert, West Waterloo, Western Dubuque and Dubuque Hempstead, which has two terrific young players in Cameron Davis and Michael Duax. You can count on Senior still being tough although there is no single player to replace Noah Carter. I'd expect CR Kennedy and Linn Mar to get better as the year goes on. But, this may be the year for the CIML to shine. West Des Moines Dowlling plays both Iowa City West and Dub. Wahlert, so there should be some indication of relative strength after those two early meetings. I see Waukee finishing ahead of Dowling, however.
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My MVC Predictions:
Mississippi:
1. CF
2. CR Prairie
3. Dbq Senior
4. CR Xavier
5. Western Dubuque
6. CR Wash
7. City High
8. Waterloo East
Valley:
1. Dbq Hempstead
2. IC Liberty
3. Waterloo West
4. IC West
5. Dbq Wahlert
6. CR Jeff
7. CR Kennedy (What could have been)
8. Linn Mar
4A Prediction: Waukee over CF
3A Prediction: Norwalk over SBL
Mississippi:
1. CF
2. CR Prairie
3. Dbq Senior
4. CR Xavier
5. Western Dubuque
6. CR Wash
7. City High
8. Waterloo East
Valley:
1. Dbq Hempstead
2. IC Liberty
3. Waterloo West
4. IC West
5. Dbq Wahlert
6. CR Jeff
7. CR Kennedy (What could have been)
8. Linn Mar
4A Prediction: Waukee over CF
3A Prediction: Norwalk over SBL
denison returns 4 of 5 top scorers, they will be very good, and sort of tall too...they return allmost everyone from a 18 -5 team..i believe they will be the favorite to win the hawkeye 10, and maybe a top 10 team
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Where is Dowling's top frosh from? Omaha Billou?
QUOTE="EastIowaHawk, post: 175968, member: 5244"]4A Pre-Season Basketball Rankings (For what it's worth this early)
1. Cedar Falls. Lots of star power returns in bid for a three-peat.
2. Iowa City West- Evan Brauns and cast will be quite tough.
3. Sioux City East- 10 returnees off a very good team.
4. Waukee- graduated some talent, but almost played for championship last year.
5. Bettendorf- Eleven returnees from another power squad.
6. Valley, WDM- an always- good team.
7. North Scott- 12 returnees make this another strong year.
8. Iowa City Liberty- Return all but one player for this surprise outfit.
9. WDM Dowling- Always strong team has a talented frosh in Omaha Billou.
10- Dubuque Senior- Very deep team that has to replace 4 starters.
Other top teams that may find their way into top ten- Ames, CR Prairie, Pleasant Valley, Linn-Mar, CR Kennedy, DM North, Dubuque Hempstead, DM Hoover, CBAL, Davenport Central, all in no particular order.
Feel free to chip in with your comments, as your guess is as good as mine.[/QUOTE]
QUOTE="EastIowaHawk, post: 175968, member: 5244"]4A Pre-Season Basketball Rankings (For what it's worth this early)
1. Cedar Falls. Lots of star power returns in bid for a three-peat.
2. Iowa City West- Evan Brauns and cast will be quite tough.
3. Sioux City East- 10 returnees off a very good team.
4. Waukee- graduated some talent, but almost played for championship last year.
5. Bettendorf- Eleven returnees from another power squad.
6. Valley, WDM- an always- good team.
7. North Scott- 12 returnees make this another strong year.
8. Iowa City Liberty- Return all but one player for this surprise outfit.
9. WDM Dowling- Always strong team has a talented frosh in Omaha Billou.
10- Dubuque Senior- Very deep team that has to replace 4 starters.
Other top teams that may find their way into top ten- Ames, CR Prairie, Pleasant Valley, Linn-Mar, CR Kennedy, DM North, Dubuque Hempstead, DM Hoover, CBAL, Davenport Central, all in no particular order.
Feel free to chip in with your comments, as your guess is as good as mine.[/QUOTE]
Here's my top 10 for 4A, this is mostly based on each team's success from last year, as well as who's returning.
1. Cedar Falls - Chase Courbat should be getting starter minutes this year, and they have some great juniors/sophomores coming up too.
2. Waukee - the Sandfort/DeVries duo should be the top in the CIML over the next two years.
3. North Scott - Tytan Anderson and the Lancers will continue their dominance of the MAC this year.
4. Dubuque Senior - Cooper Medinger is the only returning starter for the 4A runner ups, but he should have a good enough supporting cast to keep the Rams competitive.
5. Iowa City West - Even Brauns is a beast, and expect Marcus Morgan to show off more his junior year. (Also did Coach Bergman retire after all? I looked at City West's website and it only said Rundquist was the HC)
6. Bettendorf - Losing Carton won't be as devastating as Muscatine losing Wieskamp last year. They're not that experienced in the varisty level, but they have the size to make up for it.
7. Des Moines North - These guys already had a good crew to start, but bringing in Manny Austin from Hoover and Davion Turner from East already gives them the city title.
8. Ames - So Tamin Lipsey's pretty much out for the year, but that doesn't mean they're out of contention yet. They have a good core coming back and a couple of underclassmen that can be game changers in the future.
9. Davenport Central - They went 16-7 last year coming off of a 5-16 record in 2018. They have some good kids, but they just got to break the glass ceiling.
10. Sioux City East - Almost always the best in the West for 4A, just got to prove they belong with the rest of 4A.
Honorable Mentions: Valley and Dowling are obvious, Johnston has a lot of contributors coming back from last year, Waterloo West has starters going back to their freshmen year and want to make at least one state tournament, Ankeny has a good trio of guards, and Centennial's on their way up with those twin towers McCullough & Johnson.
1. Cedar Falls - Chase Courbat should be getting starter minutes this year, and they have some great juniors/sophomores coming up too.
2. Waukee - the Sandfort/DeVries duo should be the top in the CIML over the next two years.
3. North Scott - Tytan Anderson and the Lancers will continue their dominance of the MAC this year.
4. Dubuque Senior - Cooper Medinger is the only returning starter for the 4A runner ups, but he should have a good enough supporting cast to keep the Rams competitive.
5. Iowa City West - Even Brauns is a beast, and expect Marcus Morgan to show off more his junior year. (Also did Coach Bergman retire after all? I looked at City West's website and it only said Rundquist was the HC)
6. Bettendorf - Losing Carton won't be as devastating as Muscatine losing Wieskamp last year. They're not that experienced in the varisty level, but they have the size to make up for it.
7. Des Moines North - These guys already had a good crew to start, but bringing in Manny Austin from Hoover and Davion Turner from East already gives them the city title.
8. Ames - So Tamin Lipsey's pretty much out for the year, but that doesn't mean they're out of contention yet. They have a good core coming back and a couple of underclassmen that can be game changers in the future.
9. Davenport Central - They went 16-7 last year coming off of a 5-16 record in 2018. They have some good kids, but they just got to break the glass ceiling.
10. Sioux City East - Almost always the best in the West for 4A, just got to prove they belong with the rest of 4A.
Honorable Mentions: Valley and Dowling are obvious, Johnston has a lot of contributors coming back from last year, Waterloo West has starters going back to their freshmen year and want to make at least one state tournament, Ankeny has a good trio of guards, and Centennial's on their way up with those twin towers McCullough & Johnson.
Mtdew_fever--From what I have heard and seen posted somewhere on this site (and I'll certainly hear if I'm wrong) is that Dowling's freshman is from the Des Moines area and has attended the Des Moines Catholic elementary schools that traditionally feed into Dowling. I have seen various spellings of his name- maybe it's Omaha Billew. It's been a very long time since Dowling has been prominently at the very top of 4A boys basketball, so maybe this kid will eventually help their program match up with the other Des Moines powers like Valley, Waukee, etc. I mean, every year there are always tall freshmen that come into programs across the state, and some of them actually turn out to be good. He has an unusual name and that is bound to get folks' attention. I like it that most schools and the local media do not give much media attention to middle school and freshman players, even if they are pretty good.
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