Monday, April 12, 2010

The End of the 2009-2010 Basketball Season Leaves Plenty of Promise for The Next



Hard to believe the high school basketball season ended nearly a month ago with Ames High hoisting the 4A trophy for the second straight year. If you love high school hoops as much as I do, the start of the 2010-11 season is less than 8 months away. Let the countdown begin.

As a resident of the Ballard school district and a graduate of Colo-Nesco, I am fortunate to be able to root directly for two of the areas premier basketball players and teams. One player happens to be the reigning Ames Tribune Mid Iowa Girls Player of the Year: Taylor Greenfield of Ballard. The other happens to be the reigning Ames Tribune Mid Iowa Boys Player of the Year: Brandon Eley of Colo-Nesco. So I get the best of both worlds. Greenfield was selected to the 2010 team as part of the Ames Tribune special that was published on April 9, 2010. The following is an excerpt from that article:

{Greenfield averaged 19.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals this season to be named The Tribune’s Mid-Iowa girls basketball player of the year. She also ranked second on the team with 2.7 assists per game.

“There’s not anything on the basketball floor that she can’t do,” Ballard coach Merle Olberding said. “Anywhere we put her, it’s a tough matchup for our opponent.”
That versatility has led to Greenfield being recruited by some of the biggest names in women’s basketball.

Greenfield said she is most interested in Iowa State, Stanford and Duke, and she wants to schedule visits to Texas, Tennessee and Connecticut, the two-time defending national champion.}

Eley was selected for the second consecutive year as part of the Ames Tribune special that was published on Sunday, April 11, 2010. The following is an excerpt from that article:

{ “He lives for the game; he loves it, and that’s probably what makes him a good player,” Colo-Nesco coach Pat Wynja said.

Eley averaged 19 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, leading the conference in each category. His 4.4 steals were second-best in the conference, and his 1.64 blocks per game were just behind teammate Michael Warren.}

The Royal boys finished 20-3, losing a stunner to Grandview Park Baptist in the second round of tourney action. The Ballard girls finished 23-2, losing in the State Tournament semi-finals to eventual champion Sioux City Bishop Heelan. Colo-Nesco returns 5 of their top 7 players next season, including 4 starters. Ballard returns all but 2 players next year, and 7 of their 8 leading scorers from 09-10.

With all of the issues surrounding the basketball programs at Iowa and Iowa State (can it get any worse?), it would be easy for a central Iowan to be discouraged about the prospects of the 2010-2011 hoops season. But as a fan of two great high school programs with plenty of promise, I can’t wait.

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