Little Hawkeye Conference

[HawkPT]

Before the year began, my prediction for the final standings was the following:

1. Pella
2. Pella Christian
3. Newton
4. Oskaloosa
5. Grinnell
6. Norwalk
7. DCG
8. Indianola

So far this year, there have been some surprises.

Grinnell has played really well with their two prolific seniors, Sam Allen and Cade McKnight. I thought the lack of a proven floor leader would hurt them, but so far they are looking like a contender.

Oskaloosa obviously has a lot of talent, but I thought that they might have too much youth. The fact that they won on the road at PC shows that they too are a contender.

Perhaps the biggest surprise so far, though, is DCG. They have not had the services of Trey Washington, their most athletic and proven returning player. However, others have stepped up, and they have shot the 3-ball well so far. I have not seen them play yet, so I'm not sure if they are a contender or fool's gold. They are, however, the only team without a loss just two games into the LHC conference.

I believe it's possible that the champion of the conference could end up with 3, or maybe even 4, conference losses. It is one of, if not the most, competitive conferences from top to bottom, in my opinion. It will be a fun winter!

 

[mylameusername]

Sheesh, the Little Hawkeye Conference seems loaded this year. The latest Fedderson top 10's have Pella, PC, Oskaloosa, DCG and Grinnell in them. I agree the conference winner could have 3-4 losses. Wouldn't be surprised to see this conference doing well in the post-season (2A and 3A).

 

[HawkPT]

They currently have 5 of the top 30 (all classes) and 7 of the top 40 according to BCMoore.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Agree that is one tough conference.

 

[HawkPT]

I'm not trying to keep it a secret that I'm a Pella Christian supporter, and this post will confirm that. What's amazing is the success that PC has had despite its size. Here is the enrollment for teams in the LHC (according to IAHSAA; grades 10-12, I believe):

Indianola (4A) - 842
Newton (4A) - 631
Norwalk (3A) - 610
DCG (3A) - 570
Oskaloosa (3A) - 542
Pella (3A) - 501
Grinnell (3A) - 405
PC (2A) - 200

The next smallest school to PC in the LHC has twice as many kids, and the largest now has over four times as many!

I know most probably think PC recruits, but that simply isn't the case. I would guess that 98%+ of players over the past two decades have grown up in the local Christian school systems in and around Pella that feed into Pella Christian.

Keeping up with the rest of the LHC in other sports is a much bigger challenge for PC.

 

[El_Doce]

I'm not trying to keep it a secret that I'm a Pella Christian supporter, and this post will confirm that. What's amazing is the success that PC has had despite its size. Here is the enrollment for teams in the LHC (according to IAHSAA; grades 10-12, I believe):

Indianola (4A) - 842
Newton (4A) - 631
Norwalk (3A) - 610
DCG (3A) - 570
Oskaloosa (3A) - 542
Pella (3A) - 501
Grinnell (3A) - 405
PC (2A) - 200

The next smallest school to PC in the LHC has twice as many kids, and the largest now has over four times as many!

I know most probably think PC recruits, but that simply isn't the case. I would guess that 98%+ of players over the past two decades have grown up in the local Christian school systems in and around Pella that feed into Pella Christian.

Keeping up with the rest of the LHC in other sports is a much bigger challenge for PC.

Not trying to stir this up, I think that PC has a great system around BBall and they have always been coached well fundamentally, However it also helps that the 2% of outsiders are guys like Kac, and a few years back a kid named Warner from Altoona, who was another all-state level player.

 

[mylameusername]

Interesting to see the size/amount of enrollment discrepancy.

I don't doubt the majority of PC's players are within the system. It's a little much to say they don't benefit from "recruiting" when just 2 years ago or so there was a kid from SEP that led them to deep runs at the Well.

Maybe it's not technically "recruiting", but let's not pretend PC hasn't benefited from kids that would be considered outside of their district/area.

Looks like El_Doce beat me to the SEP athlete.

 

[HawkPT]

Kacmarynski attended Pella Christian Grade School before his family moved to North Carolina (and before his dad was coach of the football team), and he came back to the Christian school when they moved back to Pella several years later. His parents may not have grown up in Pella, but Kac is not an outsider, and his situation is nothing like Warner's.

As I understand it, Warner joined PC, at least in part, because he wanted to play basketball with a childhood friend with which he competed in AAU. His parents chose to enroll him at PC, and he paid the same tuition as anyone else, "insider" or "outsider." Because of religious affiliation, kids drive to Pella Christian for high school from as far as 50 miles away... sometimes farther. Warner's commute was shorter than many others.

With open enrollment as it is now, private schools don't have much advantage over public schools in this regard.

 

[HawkPT]

Interesting to see the size/amount of enrollment discrepancy.

I don't doubt the majority of PC's players are within the system. It's a little much to say they don't benefit from "recruiting" when just 2 years ago or so there was a kid from SEP that led them to deep runs at the Well.

Maybe it's not technically "recruiting", but let's not pretend PC hasn't benefited from kids that would be considered outside of their district/area.

Looks like El_Doce beat me to the SEP athlete.

Nobody is pretending anything here. Warner definitely made PC a better basketball team. However, I can assure you that there was no coach or institutional effort to persuade him to come to PC, nor was his family given any special benefit for choosing to do so. It was done because he had a relationship with another kid, something that happens everywhere now. And that situation is a great outlier in the PC basketball story.

 

[mylameusername]

Kacmarynski attended Pella Christian Grade School before his family moved to North Carolina (and before his dad was coach of the football team), and he came back to the Christian school when they moved back to Pella several years later. His parents may not have grown up in Pella, but Kac is not an outsider, and his situation is nothing like Warner's.

As I understand it, Warner joined PC, at least in part, because he wanted to play basketball with a childhood friend with which he competed in AAU. His parents chose to enroll him at PC, and he paid the same tuition as anyone else, "insider" or "outsider." Because of religious affiliation, kids drive to Pella Christian for high school from as far as 50 miles away... sometimes farther. Warner's commute was shorter than many others.

With open enrollment as it is now, private schools don't have much advantage over public schools in this regard.

Correct me if I misunderstood, but your argument seemed to be PC is having success with a 200 student enrollment made up of 98%+ homegrown/local kids.

My counter would be, if kids are driving from 50 miles away, then the local homegrown argument isn't a strong one. PC is receiving a benefit of kids outside of their district.

And maybe recruiting is a term of semantics. So Warner wasn't actively sought after by PC admins or coaching staff. They did get the benefit of Warner's services while SEP did not. Let's not pretend all of PC's success is locally driven.

And if you think I'm being argumentative, my own kids attend a private school. Open enrollment is not the same as being able to attend a private school in any way, shape or form.

 

[EddieVedderPJ20]

Anyone know who coached the AAU team that Warner played on?

 

[HawkPT]

I'll say it again: I'm not pretending anything.

I'm saying that their success in basketball is primarily (98%+) due to the participation of kids whose parents would have sent their kids to the school whether or not they were good at basketball. A great majority of those who drive from a distance to attend PC do it because they want their kids to receive a Christian education. Most of them are not sports stars.

Almost none do it because they want their kids to play on a great basketball team. In fact, Warner is the only one I can think of in the past 40 years who you could potentially argue made his decision primarily due to a sports opportunity. And, lo and behold, he ended up playing for Dordt College, a college affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church and the college that PC graduates have attended more than any other. I could certainly be wrong about this, but I'm pretty plugged in.

EddieVedderPJ20... I have no idea who coached that AAU team.

 

[HawkPT]

By the way, Cliff Warner is also now the boys varsity basketball coach at Unity Christian in Orange City, Iowa. He's now an insider.

 

[mylameusername]

Hey HawkPT - I do see where you're coming from in regards to kids that have been in PC for their school careers. I can see your point where a lot of the kids at PC, have been there since grade school regardless of the distance in getting there. PC overall doesn't seem to be as active in pursuing kids to go there.

Didn't intend to hijack the thread into the whole private vs. public school argument.

Keep us up to date on how the conference is doing as I would be interested to see how it all plays out. There are a lot of solid teams in this conference regardless of size.

 

[HawkPT]

No problem. No offense taken.

I will stand up for PC though when I have the opportunity because there are a lot of assumptions made that aren't true about PC. I can't speak to other private schools, but I know PC well.

It will be a fun year of LHC basketball.

 

[EagleHawk]

I'll say it again: I'm not pretending anything.

I'm saying that their success in basketball is primarily (98%+) due to the participation of kids whose parents would have sent their kids to the school whether or not they were good at basketball. A great majority of those who drive from a distance to attend PC do it because they want their kids to receive a Christian education. Most of them are not sports stars.

Almost none do it because they want their kids to play on a great basketball team. In fact, Warner is the only one I can think of in the past 40 years who you could potentially argue made his decision primarily due to a sports opportunity. And, lo and behold, he ended up playing for Dordt College, a college affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church and the college that PC graduates have attended more than any other. I could certainly be wrong about this, but I'm pretty plugged in.

EddieVedderPJ20... I have no idea who coached that AAU team.

I can think off two other athletes that have been non-system that benefited PC over the last 30 years, one was a softball player from Newton, and one a tennis player from Oskaloosa. And the softball player came for the academics because of issues her sister had.

 

[HawkPT]

I'm talking basketball, but I hear you. There have been a few softball players come to PC the last 3 years. They all played on the same travel team, I believe. Don't know much about tennis except that it isn't a particularly strong girls program, and they don't even have a boys program currently.

 

[Hickory0]

PC's - All-District QB, Leading Scorer in BBall and now a College Pitcher at the NAIA Level, before Kac, paid a "reduced" tuition rate and lived outside of the Pella area...
You can talk enrollments all you want, I'll ask you one question to ponder: What is PC's free and reduced lunch percentage? Compare that number with the schools they are competing against and you will probably notice an advantage that comes from having affluent parents that can provide well for their children.

 

[EagleHawk]

PC's - All-District QB, Leading Scorer in BBall and now a College Pitcher at the NAIA Level, before Kac, paid a "reduced" tuition rate and lived outside of the Pella area...
You can talk enrollments all you want, I'll ask you one question to ponder: What is PC's free and reduced lunch percentage? Compare that number with the schools they are competing against and you will probably notice an advantage that comes from having affluent parents that can provide well for their children.

If you want to send your kid to PC, and can't afford it, you can apply for financial aid, much like college. It is based on income, not athletic ability. local churches help support the school.

 

[HawkPT]

The tuition assistance program exists. It's called STO, but I can't remember what the acronym stands for. It is available for all students based upon a strict set of criteria that, among other things, takes into account family income and number of children. Various levels of assistance are provided based upon that calculation, I believe.

The student-athlete that Hickroy0 mentioned did indeed transfer from outside the school district. As I understand it, one of his parents was a graduate of PC. So, though a variety of factors were likely considered including athletics, he wasn't exactly an outsider.

I have no idea what the free and reduced lunch percentage is at PC or even if that is considered at a private school, but I have not attempted to argue that PC on the whole isn't affluent. I did mention that there are many people that sacrifice to send their children there. Both of these statements can be true and are in this case. I have no way of proving it, but I would guess that median and mean family incomes are pretty similar between PC and Pella. Maybe someone smarter than me can enlighten me on this.

 

[mlbcatcher2007]

Can we just get back on topic....

 

[HawkPT]

I'd love to.

 

[HawkPT]

According to my calculations, here are the current standings:

DCG: 3-0 (7-0)
Newton: 2-1 (5-1)
Pella: 2-1 (5-1)
PC: 2-1 (4-1)
Grinnell: 1-2 (3-3)
Osky: 1-2 (5-2)
Norwalk: 1-2 (4-3)
Osky: 1-2 (5-2)
Indianola: 0-3 (0-6)

 

[fmclonefan]

Nice win by Newton at Osky Tuesday night. Got out rebounded pretty significantly, but still won by double digits. I see that Newton only played 6 guys. Hope they don't get wore down as the season goes on. Newton looks pretty salty.

Is really a toss up as to who will take the conference title this year. I could see it being so tight that the winner has a few losses. I thought Pella would be the favorite, but not so sure now. DCG is off to a nice start. PC is very strong. Osky has their skyscrapers. Newton and Grinnell are both very good. Norwalk also has very talented guards and had Pella on the ropes Tuesday at Pella. Sorry Indianola, but will be tough to even get a W this year. Tough year to enter the conference. Should be a fantastic race after break.

 

[HawkPT]

PC played Indianola on Tuesday. Indianola reminds me of a poor man's Norwalk right now. They have a couple of talented guards, but they're both sophomores. They're really deliberate offensively, so the games will be grind 'em out kinds of wins for their opponents. They could sneak a win here and there.

Newton is ultra-dependent upon Sturtz and Gholsen, though it looks like VanderLaan has shot the three pretty well. They are very thin though, literally and figuratively. That will be their concern over the course of the entire LHC race.

The primary reason I put Pella and PC at #1 and #2 is because of their talented and deep senior classes.

 

[GatorBait1988]

Very tough conference but Pella and PC are the class of the conference and I believe they will make the deepest runs in the playoffs. Too much talent and depth. Scary to think if Kac and Jungling played for Pella High....yikes!

 

[mylameusername]

Saw Pella beat Newton by one in OT. Is Pella that good this year, or on the fortunate end of breaks lately. Isn't this the 2nd OT win for them after squeaking one out against Nowalk?

 

[HawkPT]

Pella is very good, but the LHC is filled with tough competition.

 

[HawkPT]

Through this past weekend, here are the standings:

DCG: 4-0 (9-0)
PC: 4-1 (7-1)
Pella: 3-1 (7-1)
Newton: 3-2 (7-2)
Norwalk: 2-3 (5-5)
Osky: 1-3 (6-3)
Grinnell: 1-4 (4-5)
Indianola: 0-4 (0-9)

A few excellent games occurred last week as Pella outlasted Newton on the road in OT and Norwalk hit a free throw at home to beat Oskaloosa.

This week is separation week of sorts. DCG hosts PC on Tuesday and visits Pella on Friday. PC will also host a solid Newton team on Friday.

PC is looking very good with excellent team defense. Though they got their points, Sam Allen of Grinnell and Luke Vaske of Norwalk were hounded for the entire game by PC's quick defenders.

And DCG continues to shoot lights out, including their 3-point shooting.

 

[HawkPT]

We're halfway through the conference season, and here are the current standings:

Pella Christian: 6-1 (10-1)
Pella: 5-1 (10-1)
DC-G: 4-2 (9-2)
Newton: 3-4 (7-4)
Norwalk: 3-4 (6-6)
Grinnell: 2-4 (6-5)
Osky: 2-4 (7-4)
Indianola: 0-5 (1-9)

PC had a great week with wins over DC-G (previously undefeated), Newton (a great shooting team), and Des Moines Christian.

Pella keeps finding ways to win with a one-point victory at Osky and a three-point win over DC-G.

I'm not sure what happened, but Grinnell dubbed the Warriors at Norwalk, 87-44.

 

[mylameusername]

Which team was Pella Christian's only loss? They seem like the top team so far, with DCG and Pella close behind.

Pella is getting some fortunate wins, IMO. Wouldn't surprise me to see an occasional one point or OT win go the other way.

 

[HawkPT]

PC defeated Pella by two in OT, so Pella did end up on the short end of one of those battles.

PC lost to Osky in a 2OT game at home, the first conference game and second overall game of the season.

 

[HawkPT]

Another weekly update on the LHC. Here are the current standings:

Pella: 7-1 (13-1)
Pella Christian: 6-2 (12-2)
DC-G: 5-2 (10-3)
Newton: 4-4 (8-4)
Osky: 3-4 (8-4)
Grinnell: 3-5 (7-6)
Norwalk: 3-5 (7-7)
Indianola: 0-8 (1-13)

PC still hasn't solved Oskaloosa, losing there on Friday night. They recovered to win at Knoxville (non-conference) on Saturday, but they didn't shoot well either night. I'm not sure how Osky has only one conference win against teams not named PC. They are big, athletic, and (at least against PC) shoot the ball well.

There's a big rematch on Tuesday night when PC goes to Pella. Pella's only loss came at the hands of PC earlier this year. If PC is able to find a way to win, they take control of the conference despite two losses to Osky. If Pella gets revenge, they will be difficult to catch.

The conference is playing pretty closely to my preseason predictions with the exception of DC-G, who has put together a better team than I anticipated. It will be interesting to see if the LHC figures them out better in the second half of the season.

 

[mylameusername]

Hey HawkPT - Would you have a summary of the Pella-PC game from Tuesday night? Saw Pella won 83-67. I thought it would be closer game than the score indicates. What was the atmosphere like -- packed house?

 

[HawkPT]

PC was without David Kacmarynski due to an injury tonight, so they didn't have an answer for Ryan Van Wyk defensively. Van Wyk went off for 34 points and 7 boards. It was a 9-point deficit at the half, but Pella took control early in the second half. They lead by as many as 25, maybe more.

Jungling got hot in the 4th quarter, but PC got no closer than about 15. It wasn't a close game really after the early part of Q2. I'm guessing Jungling ended up with 25-30 points, but PC's defense suffered without Kac, which is evidenced by the fact that PC gave up 31 more points tonight than in their OT win against Pella earlier this sesson.

 

[GatorBait1988]

Not having Kacmarynski was definitely a huge blow, but I believe that when Van Wyk gets going Pella will but tough to stop for anyone. As long as Holterhaus and Van Wyk stay out of foul trouble and Finney keeps defending the way he is, Pella looks awful tough to beat.

 

[HawkPT]

LHC update (through 1/31/17):

Pella: 10-1 (16-1)
DC-G: 7-3 (12-4)
PC: 7-4 (13-4)
Newton: 7-4 (12-4)
Norwalk: 5-6 (9-8)
Grinnell: 4-7 (8-8)
Osky: 3-7 (8-7)
Indianola: 0-11 (1-16)

With one more win, Pella clinches a share of the title. They do play some tough competition (Newton, Osky, & @ DC-G).

However, it's essentially a battle for 2nd place between DC-G (Indianola, @ PC, Pella, @ Osky), PC (Grinnell, DC-G, & @ Newton), and Newton (@ Pella, @ Norwalk, PC). I have no idea how that's going to turn out. If PC can win 2 of 3, they will likely claim that spot.

PC got Kacmarynski back last night, but the offensive flow was still choppy in a 55-50 road win at Indianola last night. PC has historically had some late January/early February hiccups, and they usually right the ship for the 2A tournament run. Let's hope that happens this year as well. They are definitely a different team when Kac is healthy.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how Osky can beat PC twice and still be sitting at 3 conference wins.

 

[fmclonefan]

Pella will still win the conference, but they got a butt kicking last night by Newton. Newton is playing outstanding basketball. Dominated Osky earlier this week and Pella last night. Very dangerous team. Impressive.

 

[HawkPT]

The final week of the conference season has arrived, and here are the current standings:

Pella: 10-2 (17-2)
PC: 8-4 (15-4)
Newton: 8-4 (13-4)
DC-G: 7-4 (12-5)
Norwalk: 5-7 (9-9)
Osky: 4-7 (10-7)
Grinnell: 4-8 (8-9)
Indianola: 1-11 (2-16)

Pella has ensured at least a share of the title, and with one win this week (vs. Osky & @ DC-G) will win it outright. PC, who holds wins against each already, will face the other contenders for the second spot in the conference in DC-G (home) and Newton (away). DC-G squares off against PC (away) and Pella (home) before finishing with a weather postponed game at Osky.

Newton beat Pella by 25 on the road last week and looks to be playing the best of any team in the conference currently, which is impressive given their lack of depth.

My beginning of the year predictions aren't too far off. It looks like a overestimated Osky a bit and underestimated DC-G a bit.

It should be a fun final week in the LHC, which is still ranked as the third best conference in the state (slightly ahead of the CIML) according to BCMoore.

 

[HawkPT]

Pella defeated Osky last night, 68-63, to earn the conference title outright. PC defeated DC-G (75-72), and Newton won at Norwalk (62-55). Therefore, the Eagles and Cardinals play Thursday night to earn the second spot in the conference. DC-G must defeat Pella to maintain a share of third place, though PC would hold the head-to-head advantage should they lose to Newton.