Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The boys basketball season will officially come to an end on Friday with state title games in all four classes.

Before the season comes to a close Your Prep Sports takes a look at some of the best performances, players, coaches and moments from a memorable season.

Best individual performance: Jack McCaffery against City High. McCaffery had a career-high 40 points against Burlington earlier in the season but his best performance came in a win over cross-town rival City High when he scored 38 points on 9-of-16 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists and two blocked shots.

Best individual performance part 2: Christopher Watkins against Liberty High. A breakthrough season for Watkins was filled with big efforts but the City High junior forward was rarely better than he was in a win at Liberty High. Watkins had 32 points, 15 rebounds and two assists and went 15-of-26 from the floor in a 70-51 win at Liberty High.

Best team performance: West Branch against Tipton. These two River Valley Conference rivals split a pair of two-point games during the regular season. The postseason rematch was all West Branch from the beginning. The Bears made their first 12 field goal attempts, shot 70 percent from the floor in the first half and scored a season-high 83 points in a 41-point road win at Tipton in a 2A substate opener.

Coach of the year: Jared Galpin at Solon. Despite losing five senior starters and players that accounted for better than 87 percent of the scoring from a team that went 21-2 last season Galpin directed Solon to an 18-6 record, that included a 15-2 stretch to end the season, and a spot in a Class 3A substate title game.

Biggest upset: West High over Cedar Rapids Prairie. The Trojans were impressive in taking down eighth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie shooting 56 percent from the floor in a 66-55 win over a Prairie team that finished 19-5 and advanced to a 4A substate final.

Best game: City High at West High. What else would it be but the battle of long-time, cross-town rivals. There were six lead changes in the third quarter alone in a back-and-forth game that ended with an 11-1 West High run as the Trojans rallied from down six in the fourth quarter for a 57-53 win.

Best clutch performance: Caleb Bock against Nevada. In the final home game of his career Bock had one of his best games, posting a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double that included two assists and two steals in a 68-59 win over Nevada in a Class 3A substate semifinal.

Breakthrough performer: Regina sophomore Will Litton. In his first season in the starting lineup Litton exploded leading the Regals in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (8.9) while shooting 60 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line on his way to earning River Valley Conference player of the year honors.

Emerging star: Liberty High sophomore Jerimiah Washpun. After flashing impressive potential last season as a freshman Washpun backed it up with a sensational sophomore campaign that saw him establish himself as one of the top young players in the state. Washpun averaged a team-high 19 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 47 percent from the floor.

Player that wasn’t talked about enough: Regina sophomore Tate Wallace. The huge season from Litton overshadowed what was an equally impressive breakthrough season for Wallace. After averaging 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a freshman Wallace was even better this season averaging 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 58 percent from the floor.

Most improved player: West Branch junior Jayden Harris. The big jump for Harris came in his third season in the West Branch lineup as he emerged as one of the top guards in Class 2A. After averaging 4.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game on 38 percent shooting as a sophomore Harris exploded this season putting up a team-high 18.8 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor to go with 2.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, all career-highs.

Biggest shot: Grant Gordon against Nevada. The biggest shot of the young career for Gordon extended the season for Solon and sent the Spartans to the substate title game. The sophomore sharpshooter snapped a 58-all tie with a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:32 remaining in overtime to lift Solon to 68-59 win over Nevada in a 3A substate semifinal.

Most consistent player: Clear Creek Amana senior Andrew Rotzoll. Few players in the state consistently filled it up over the past three seasons like Rotzoll who leaves CCA as a 1,000-point scorer and the program’s career 3-point leader. A model of consistency, Rotzoll shot at least 43 percent from 3-point range and made at least 55 3-pointers each of the past three seasons and capped his career by leading the Clippers in scoring for the second consecutive season (16.2) while scoring in double figures in 16 of the final 17 games this season.

Most versatile player: Clear Creek Amana senior Hayden Umoren. Anything that Clear Creek Amana needed done on either end of the court Umoren was usually the one to take on the task. The 6-foot-6 senior was a versatile defender and ranked in the top three on the team in points (11.8), rebounds (4), assists (3), steals (1.7), blocked shots (.4) and field goal percentage (63%).

Unsung hero: Clear Creek Amana senior Brock Hilsman. Successful teams always seem to have a guy like Hilsman that does all the things that don’t show up in a box score like handle the ball, defend and scoop up loose balls. Hilsman filled the stat sheet averaging 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game to help the Clippers to a 19-5 record and the program’s first overall WAMAC title.

Hardest worker: West Branch senior Brandon Pickett. An undersized post player, Pickett simply wouldn’t be outworked in the paint or anywhere else on the floor. The 6-foot-3 Pickett averaged 7.6 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 55 percent from the floor.

Best under the radar player: Clear Creek Amana senior Robert Meade. It was rarely flashy but all Meade did was produce, averaging 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 assists per game while helping the Clippers to 19 wins and an overall WAMAC title.

Defensive player of the year: West High junior Julian Manson. The 6-foot-5 Manson was an important piece for West High on both ends of the court this season shooting 62 percent from the floor while averaging 12.3 points per game but did his best work on the defensive end averaging a team-high 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and .7 blocks per game.

Newcomer of the year: City High senior Jaxton Schroeder. In his first and only season in a City High uniform the 6-foot-5 Schroeder made a massive impact, averaging 13.2 points per game while leading the Little Hawks in field goal percentage (61%) and rebounds (9.4) and ranking second on the team in blocked shots (1.1).

Comeback player of the year: West High junior Mason Goering. A knee injury cut Goering’s junior season short but the West High junior forward returned better than ever this year averaging 8.6 points on 54 percent shooting to go with 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.

Freshman of the year: Ben Wade stepped into the Regina starting lineup as a first-year player and made an immediate impact averaging 4.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while posting a team-high 36 blocked shots while shooting 49 percent from the floor.

Bench player of the year: Clear Creek Amana senior Cale Berry. The best bench players bring immediate energy and that’s what Berry did on both ends of the court when he entered the game. Berry also produced averaging 5.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor.

Most valuable player: West High senior Jack McCaffery. One of the top players in the state McCaffery ended his career with his best season as a prep. The Butler recruit averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor and a career-high 82 percent from the free throw line. McCaffery averaged 7.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game while helping West High to a 15-8 record.

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