Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The boys basketball season came to a close last week at the state tournament in Des Moines.

Two teams from the Your Prep Sports area were among the 32 teams that reached the four-class state tournament that concluded with state championship games on Friday at Casey’s Center in Des Moines.

With the season officially in the books Your Prep Sports takes a look back at some of the best performances, players, coaches and moments from a memorable season in the area.

Best individual performance: Christopher Watkins against Burlington. It was a senior season filled with big-time performances for Watkins who averaged a double-double on the season but the 6-foot-6 City High forward was never better than he was in a 67-50 win over Burlington. Watkins had a 35-point, 18-rebound double-double, making 15-of-22 field goal attempts while going 5-of-6 from the free throw line and adding five blocked shots.

Best individual performance part 2: Jerimiah Washpun against North Scott. Washpun added to his growing list of impressive performances pouring in a career-high 40 points in the season opener against North Scott. The Liberty High junior point guard was 16-of-31 from the field including 6-of-11 from 3-point range and added nine rebounds, five assists and a steal.

Best team performance: West Branch against Mid-Prairie. After a 65-57 road loss at Mid-Prairie in December the Bears put together perhaps their best performance of the season in the rematch in West Branch a month later. West Branch shot 64 percent from the floor, made 8-of-16 3-pointers, had eight players score and had 17 assists in a 76-44 win over a Mid-Prairie team that finished the season 16-7.

Coach of the year: In his third season at Regina Paul Rundquist directed the Regals to their most successful season in more than a decade capped by a Class 2A state semifinal appearance. Rundquist led Regina to a 23-2 season that included, an unbeaten River Valley Conference South Division title and the first state tournament win since 2015.

Coach of the year part 2: After a string of substate final setbacks Jared Galpin got Solon back to the state tournament for the first time in a decade. Galpin led the Spartans to a 23-3 record, an overall WAMAC Conference title and the first trip to the 3A state tournament since 2016.

Best game: Solon against Storm Lake. It didn’t end the way the Spartans would have liked but the Class 3A state quarterfinal between Solon and Storm Lake was one of the best games in the state this season. There were nine lead changes and seven ties in what ended as a 68-60 overtime win for third-ranked Storm Lake in the final 3A state quarterfinal.

Best win: Solon against Central DeWitt. Any win that snaps a 10-year state tournament drought is big but the way the Spartans did it made this one even bigger. Solon overcame an early 9-0 deficit and held off a furious rally from tenth-ranked Central DeWitt in the final few minutes to earn a 49-44 win in the Class 3A, Substate 4 title game.

Best comeback: Clear Creek Amana against West High. The Clippers trailed by as many as 11 in the first half and were down 44-38 with under four minutes to play in its season opener at West High before a late surge led to a 58-53 win. The Clippers used an 11-0 four-quarter run that spanned a little more than 2 minutes to take a 49-44 lead never trailed again.

Best clutch performance: Will Litton against Aplington-Parkersburg. On the state’s biggest stage Litton came up with perhaps his best performance of the season helping Regina to a 76-54 win over the Falcons in a Class 2A state quarterfinal. Litton had 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go with nine rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

Breakthrough performer: Clear Creek Amana junior Beckett Boeset. Perhaps no player in that state had a bigger breakthrough season than Boeset who went from averaging 5.4 points per game off the bench last season to earning WAMAC West Division player of the year honors while leading the Clippers in points (19.3), rebounds (6.8), assists (3.3) and steals (2.1) per game this year.

Most improved player: City High senior Iyon Harris. The Little Hawk guard was among the most improved players in Class 4A this season, more than doubling his scoring average and 3-point percentage while ranking second on the team in scoring as a senior. Harris averaged 4.3 points per game on 32 percent shooting and went 8-of-43 from 3-point range as a junior. This season Harris averaged 10 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and .7 steals per game, all career-highs, and shot 47 percent from the field including 36 percent from 3-point range (26-of-69).

Emerging star: Regina sophomore Ben Wade. The 6-foot-9 Wade averaged career-highs in both points (11.1) and rebounds (6.8) per game this season and the scary part for opponents is he just seems to be scratching the surface of his potential. The more Wade plays the better he gets, evidence by his strong close to the season as he averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1 block per game while shooting 73 percent from the floor (16-of-22) in two games at the state tournament.

Under the radar star: West Branch senior Jayden Harris. Harris put together a second consecutive stellar season leading the Bears in scoring for the second year in a row. The 5-foot-10 Harris averaged 16.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 48 percent from the field this season and averaged 17.8 points per game in 48 games the past two seasons combined.

Player that wasn’t talked about enough: Solon junior Grant Gordon. A steady performer for the Spartans the past two seasons Gordon flashed his potential with a team-high 16 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range in a state quarterfinal loss to Storm Lake. Playing in the same Solon backcourt as all-conference picks Tate McCollum and Maddox Kelley it is easy to overlook Gordon but the 6-foot-2 guard had season worthy of accolades, averaging 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Most versatile: West High senior Ethan Headings. The stat line for Headings, 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game, only gives a small glance into the versatility the 6-foot-2 forward brought to the court. On offense Headings was at his best scoring in the paint and could get to the rim off the dribble or by posting up but also could step out to the perimeter hitting 13 3-pointers. Defensively, Headings could guard nearly any position one through five and was a key in the West High defensive game plan.

Unsung hero: Regina senior Drew Greve. The senior point guard wasn’t going to garner a lot of attention but Greve played a pivotal role in helping Regina to a 23-2 record, an unbeaten conference title and a spot in the 2A state semifinals. Greve led Regina with 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game, shot 47 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line while adding 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Hardest worker: West High junior Neil James. To average nearly six rebounds in Class 4A at 6-foot-1 requires a couple of things and at the top of that list is hard work. That’s exactly how James went about leading West High in rebounding this season, using his high motor and hard work, along with strength and impressive athleticism to average 5.9 rebounds along with 6 points, 1.8 assists, .5 steals, .4 blocks per game.

Best under the radar player: Liberty High sophomore Chase Goodheart. It’s easy for Goodheart to fly under the radar playing alongside one of the leading scorers in Class 4A in Washpun but the sophomore guard put together a solid season ranking second on the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line.

Defensive player of the year: Solon junior Maddox Kelley. Among the biggest reasons for Solon’s success this season was the emergence of Kelley as a lock down perimeter defender. Kelley was strong on-ball defender but was a menace in jumping passing lanes, ranking eighth in the state with 4 steals per game to go with 5 rebounds per contest.

Newcomer of the year: Clear Creek Amana sophomore Carson Meskimen. In his first season of varsity action Meskimen had an immediate impact, ranking second on the team in scoring with 14 points per game and leading the Clippers with 51 made 3-pointers. The 6-foot-1 Meskimen added 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1 steal per game while shooting 40 percent from the floor, 33 percent from 3-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line.

Comeback player of the year: Liberty High senior Jacob Stapleton. After sustaining a season-ending injury in the season opener last season Stapleton returned to the court and put together a strong senior season in which he ranked third on the team in points (9.8), rebounds (3.2) and assists (2) per game while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 36 percent from 3-point range.

Comeback player of the year part 2: West High senior Greg Ford. An injury sidelined Ford for the first nine games of the season but he returned in January to help West High go 8-5 down the stretch. Ford ranked second on the team with 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and led the Trojans with 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game after returning to the court.

Bench player of the year: Regina senior Jack O’Leary. In his first season at Regina O’Leary provided a big boost off the bench averaging 6.9 points per game while ranking second on the team with 19 made 3-pointers. O’Leary averaged 2.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while coming off the bench.

Most valuable player: Solon junior Tate McCollum. In his first season at Solon the junior guard provided an immediate scoring punch, averaging a team-high 18.9 points per game while helping the Spartans reach the state tournament for the first time since 2016. McCollum shot 41 percent from the floor, including 39 percent from 3-point range, and 79 percent from the free throw line and ranked second in the state with 101 made 3-pointers. The 5-foot-10 McCollum also averaged 2.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game helping Solon to a 23-3 record and a WAMAC Conference title.

Most valuable player part 2: Regina junior Tate Wallace. A three-year starter, Wallace turned in the best season of his career this winter while helping lead the Regals to their best season in more than a decade. The 6-foot-3 Wallace led Regina in scoring with 16.2 points per game while shooting 66 percent from the field. Wallace also averaged 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game while helping Regina to a 23-2 record, an unbeaten RVC South Division title and its first state semifinal appearance since 2015.

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating