Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Big 4 Mens Basketball Players Of The Decade


The decade started out with so much promise. Iowa State made the Elite 8 where they were edged out by eventual National Champion Michigan State. Don't even get me started on that one. Larry Eustachy was the AP Coach of The Year. The Cyclones finished 32-5, rated #3 in the Coaches Poll. They were Big 12 regular season AND tournament champions. It looked like ISU was a school on the rise nationally. Then Marcus Fizer decided to go pro, Hampton pulled one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, Eustachy decided to party like it was 1999, and it was all down-hill from there. At least for the Cyclones.

The Hawkeyes began the decade with a new coach: Steve Alford. Remember all the hoopla surrounding the former Hoosier legend? It certainly didn't diminish after his first game as the Hawkeyes Coach--they beat #1 UConn in Madison Square Garden. It was a roller coaster ride after that which included NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2005, the Pierre Pierce debacle, and an embarrassing loss to Northwestern State in the first round of the 2006 tourney which would be the straw that broke the back on the Alford era.

The UNI Panthers, remarkably, have been the state's most consistently successful men's basketball program of the 90's. After making the field of 64 just once in the 1990's, UNI advanced four times in the 2000's: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009.

As for Drake, who can forget their remarkable run in 2008 with one-year-wonder Coach Keno Davis? The Bulldogs finished 28-5, Davis was National Coach of The Year, and Drake made a decade of bad basketball all worthwhile during that magical 5-month span.

It certainly was an interesting decade of college basketball for the state of Iowa. Putting together an All-Decade Team for this group was no easy task, but here it goes. Let me know what you think by posting your thoughts.

1st Team:
C---Craig Brackins--ISU--2007,2008,2009: 16.1 PPG; 7.4 RPG
PF--Reggie Evans--Iowa--2001,2002 : 15.2 PPG; 11.5 RPG
SF--Marcus Fizer--ISU--2000: 22.8 PPG; 7.7 RPG
SG--Josh Young--Drake--2007,2008,2009: 13.8 PPG; 3 RPG; 1 SPG; 218 3-pointers
PG--Jamaal Tinsley--ISU--2000,2001: 12.6 PPG; 4.4 RPG; 2.5 SPG; 6.0 APG

2nd Team:
C---Grant Stout--UNI--2005,2006,2007: 11.8 PPG; 8.4 RPG; 2.1 BPG
PF--Greg Brunner--Iowa--2003,2004,2005,2006: 11.9 PPG; 7.8 RPG
SF--Luke Recker--Iowa--2001,2002: 17.6 PPG; 3.6 RPG; 2.5 APG
SG--Curtis Stinson--ISU--2004,2005,2006: 17.5 PPG; 5.5 RPG; 4.7 APG
PG--Jeff Horner--Iowa--2003,2004,2005,2006: 12.2 PPG; 4.6 RPG; 4.9 APG; 262 3's

3rd Team:
C---Jackson Vroman--ISU--2003,2004: 13.2 PPG; 9.4 RPG
PF--Eric Coleman--UNI--2005,2006,2007,2008: 11.8 PPG; 7.7 RPG
SF--Wesley Johnson--ISU--2007,2008: 12.3 PPG; 5.8 RPG
SG--Adam Haluska--Iowa--2003,2005,2006,2007: 14.4 PPG; 4.1 RPG; 252 3-pointers
PG--Ben Jacobson--UNI--2003,2004,2005,2006: 14.2 PPG; 2.5 APG; 203 3-pointers

Honorable Mention:
C--Jordan Egleseder--UNI--7'1" center averaging 11 ppg and 7.8 rpg this year
C--Jared Homan--ISU--'02-'05: averaged 12.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 2.1 bpg in 04/05
PF--Jonathan Cox--Drake--'06-'09: averaged 12.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg in 08/09
SF--Klayton Korver--Drake--'04-'08: averaged 9.2 ppg; 241 career 3-pointers
SF--Tyler Smith--Iowa--averaged 14.8 ppg and 4.9 rpg in 1 season at Iowa
SG--Jake Sullivan--ISU--'01-'04: averaged 14.7 ppg for career and made 270 3-pointers
PG--Will Blalock--ISU--'04-06: averaged 11.6 ppg and 4.9 apg over 3 years
PG--Dean Oliver--Iowa--'00-'01: averaged 14.2 ppg and 4.5 apg in 00/01

Others Considered-- Jiri Hubalek(ISU), Rashon Clark(ISU), David Gruber(UNI), Eric Crawford(UNI), Adam Koch(UNI), Luke McDonald (Drake), Greg Danielson(UNI), Lonnie Randolph(Drake), Ajay Calvin(Drake), Adam Emmenecker(Drake)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Royals Storm Into Break With A 7-1 Record

While a winter storm stood on the states doorsteps, the Colo-Nesco boys had ice in their veins with a 57-56 double overtime victory at North Polk (3-3).  These are the kinds of victories that begin to define a team, and a season.  The Royals are now 7-1 as they head into the long Christmas break, with plenty of momentum for the stretch run before tournament time.

Despite foul trouble to two of the teams top players (Neuendorf and Guy both fouled out), and an illness to the teams starting center, Michael Warren, the Royals were able to claw their way to a victory behind a brilliant performance from junior guard Brandon Eley.  Eley, playing on his birthday, scored a game-high 17 points, including the game-winning 3-point basket.  The Royals also got key performances from Ethan Jamison (12 points), Bryan Angel (7 points), and Austin Larsen (6 points) in the last-second thriller.

Colo-Nesco remains in first place in the HOIC small-division with a 5-1 conference mark.  The only loss of the season was to Prairie City Monroe (6-1).  Some key January matchups to watch include a showdown with Bondurant-Farrar (4-2) on January 12 in Colo, and a rematch with North Polk on January 29th in Colo.  Saturday, January 23rd is a big night as well with the induction of the 1990 State Champion team into the Colo-Nesco Hall of Pride.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Beyond The Box Score: A Closer Look At Colo-Nesco Basketball and The Heart of Iowa Conference Boys Basketball


Conference Standings

Small Division                                Overall     Conference   Avg./Def Avg.

1. Colo-Nesco                                    5-1          3-1                 56.5           45.6

2. Ogden                                            4-2           3-0                 62.3           59.5

3. Grandview Park Baptist                  2-3           1-3                 56.8           58.8

4. Colfax Mingo                                  1-3           0-3                 48.0          56.0

5. South Hamilton                               0-5         0-5                    38.2           48.6



Large Division

1. Prairie City Monroe                       5-1           4-0                   62.6          46.6

2. Bondurant Farrar                           4-1           3-1                   66.6          59.2

3. Jefferson Scranton                         3-1         3-0                   49.5          42.7

4. North Polk                                    3-1           3-0                   48.2          44.2

5. Nevada                                         2-2           2-2                   58.2          61.2

6. Roland Story                                 1-3           1-3                   39.2          45.2

7. Collins Maxwell Baxter                  0-5           0-4                   51.4          61.6

8. Gilbert                                           0-2           0-2                   35.0          50.0



Top 10 Statistical Leaders

Scoring—Small Division

Reed Mells Jr Grandview Park Baptist  22.2

Brandon Eley Jr Colo-Nesco 18.3

Jesse Monthei Sr South Hamilton 15.4

Dylan Berkey Jr Colfax-Mingo 13.3

Tyler Baumhover Jr Ogden 13.2

Byron Klauenberg Soph Ogden 12.0

Gabe Summerhays Soph Ogden 11.7

Caleb Garrigan Jr Grandview Park Baptist 11.6

Travis Guy Sr Colo-Nesco 10.5

Mitch Tomlonovic Jr. Colfax-Mingo 8.5


Scoring—Large Division

Ryley Pruismann Sr Bondurant-Farrar 20.8

Scott Bruxvoort Soph PCM, Monroe 15.5

Chris Norton Sr Bondurant-Farrar 15.2

Dylan Hansen Sr Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 13.6

Eric Lande Sr North Polk 13.0

Nolan Muench Sr Jefferson-Scranton 12.8

Rand Hazelton Sr PCM, Monroe 12.7

Andrew Broderick Soph Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 12.4

Brook Thompson Fr. Nevada 12.0

Josh Fosenburg Jr PCM, Monroe 11.3



Rebounding—Small Division

Player                                                  Total Rebounds  Rebounds/Game

Travis Guy Sr Colo-Nesco                   47                      7.8

Brandon Eley Jr Colo-Nesco                46                      7.7

Byron Klauenberg Soph Ogden            41                      6.8

Tyler Baumhover Jr Ogden                   34                      5.7

Michael Wilson Sr Colfax-Mingo          33                      8.3

Adam Adreon Soph Ogden                  31                      5.2

Micah Westrum Jr Grandview Park Baptist 30                6.0

Cody Good Fr Ogden                          25                      4.2

John Shelley Sr Colfax-Mingo               24                      6.0

Wes Safford Sr Grandview Park Baptist 24                     4.8



Rebounding—Large Division

Player                                              Total Rebounds     Rebounds/Game

Scott Bruxvoort Soph PCM, Monroe   48                          8.0

Jacob Rathmacher Jr Roland-Story       38                          9.5

Andrew Broderick Soph Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 35           7.0

Jordan Van Roekel Soph PCM, Monroe 34                       5.7

Ryley Pruismann Sr Bondurant-Farrar   31                          6.2

Ryan Young Sr Nevada                        30                          7.5

Ross Van Allen Sr. Nevada                  30                          7.5

Josh Fosenburg Jr PCM, Monroe         27                          4.5

Freddy Koke Sr Bondurant-Farrar       27                          5.4

Dustin Ackerman Jr Jefferson-Scranton 27                         6.8



Assists—Small Division

Player                                           Assists

Gabe Summerhays Ogden             39

Brandon Eley Colo-Nesco            36

Cody Good Ogden                       36

Austin Larsen Colo-Nesco            28

Jesse Monthei South Hamilton       21

Travis Guy Colo-Nesco                15

Adam Adreon Ogden                    15

Reed Mells Grandview Park Baptist 15

Byron Klauenberg Ogden              10



Assists—Large Division

Player                                       Assists

Brook Thompson Nevada           23

Nick George Bondurant-Farrar   23

Chris Norton Bondurant-Farrar   21

Hutch Burns PCM, Monroe        18

Dylan Hansen Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 14

Rand Hazelton PCM, Monroe     13

Ryan Olson North Polk               12

Jacob Rathmacher Roland-Story  11

Josh Fosenburg PCM, Monroe    10

Max Herzberg Nevada                10



Steals—Small Division

Player                                                 Steals

Reed Mells Grandview Park Baptist    28

Brandon Eley Colo-Nesco                  23

Cody Good Ogden                             19

Gabe Summerhays Ogden                   13

Austin Larsen Colo-Nesco                  12

Adam Adreon Ogden                          10

Jesse Monthei South Hamilton              9

Bryan Angel Colo-Nesco                     8

Dylan Berkey Colfax-Mingo                 8

Travis Guy Colo-Nesco                       7



Steals—Large Division

Player                                                 Steals

Ethan Schmidt Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 16

Andrew Broderick Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 14

Josh Fosenburg PCM, Monroe            13

Ryley Pruismann Bondurant-Farrar       13

Logan Hamm Bondurant-Farrar           11

Chris Norton Bondurant-Farrar           10

Scott Bruxvoort PCM, Monroe           10

Dylan Hansen Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 10

Cody Schmitz Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 9

Marcus Schmidt Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 9



Blocks—Small Division

Player/School/Blocks

Michael Warren Colo-Nesco 27

Brandon Eley Colo-Nesco 10

Adam Adreon Ogden 8

Caleb Garrigan Grandview Park Baptist 6

Jayson Shepherd South Hamilton 4

Micah Westrum Grandview Park Baptist 4

Josh Turner Ogden 3

Byron Klauenberg Ogden 2

Michael Wilson Colfax-Mingo 2

Ethan Jamison Colo-Nesco 2



Blocks—Large Division

Player/School/Blocks

Freddy Koke Bondurant-Farrar 13

Dustin Ackerman Jefferson-Scranton 11

Jordan Van Roekel PCM, Monroe 6

Josh Fosenburg PCM, Monroe 5

Nolan Muench Jefferson-Scranton 5

Scott Bruxvoort PCM, Monroe 4

Ross Van Allen Nevada 4

Eric Lande North Polk 4

Matt Swanson Roland-Story 3

Jacob Ostrem Roland-Story 3