116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Boys’ basketball notebook: MFL MarMac off to strong start
Bulldogs are 7-0, with closest game being 26 points
Dec. 15, 2022 3:52 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS - This is his 36th season as boys’ head basketball coach at MFL MarMac, and Eric Dettbarn insists he’s got a few more in him before he contemplates retirement.
And why wouldn’t he keep going? When you’ve got a run of athletes like the school has going right now, you absolutely should enjoy them.
MFL MarMac has one of the better small-school football programs in Northeast Iowa, if not the state. It came within a stone’s throw, as they say, from making it to the Class 1A playoff semifinals this past fall.
A number of guys from that team play basketball, too, and have helped guide the Bulldogs to a 7-0 start. Make that a dominating 7-0 start, since MFLMM’s closest game has been a 26-pointer over Kingsland (Minn.) last Saturday in the Border Battle at Luther College, a day of games between schools from Northeast Iowa and Minnesota.
“I’ve got a group of kids that have basically really bought into the defensive end of the floor,” Dettbarn said. “We play really, really well defensively. So far up to this point, things have gone real well on the floor for us.”
MFL MarMac went 18-5 last season and returned starters Wyatt Powell, Zach Driscoll and Carver Blietz-Bentien, so Dettbarn knew he’d have a good team. Sophomore guard Driscoll averages a team-best 21.4 points per game, coming off a freshman campaign in which he averaged 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The kid can play.
“He does just about everything for us,” Dettbarn said. “He can score, he’s a terrific defender, handles the ball very well, passes the ball very well. There is no selfishness in him at all. He’s willing to make the extra pass for you. Just an outstanding young man and outstanding ballplayer.”
These Bulldogs aren’t big, with sophomore Landyn Miene checking in at 6-foot-5 and senior Hunter Meyer at 6-2. Everyone else is 6-1 or shorter.
Yet MFLMM makes things work thanks to overall athleticism and the pressure defense Dettbarn earlier talked about. Of the 12 players on the varsity roster, Meyer is the lone senior, meaning the present and future are very bright.
It’ll be interesting to see where MFL MarMac ultimately winds up 2A postseason pairing wise. Last season was ended by Monticello, which beat the Bulldogs en route to a third consecutive state tournament appearance.
Dettbarn has led five teams to state, the last coming back to back in 2012 and 2013.
“We were fortunate in that everyone came in relatively healthy,” he said. “We had a week off after football season and the beginning of basketball season, and most of the kids took that week off to heal and get ready for basketball. I thought it probably took us a couple of weeks to get our basketball legs back, but once we did, things are going pretty smoothly. At least right now.”
AROUND THE HOOP
- Cedar Rapids Kennedy set a school record for points in a 113-35 win last week over Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The Cougars had a 36-2 lead after the first quarter. Sixteen different Kennedy players scored and 18 played. Five guys scored in double figures.
- The Iowa High School Athletic Association is expected to release its first-ever state rankings next week. In each class, representatives of the association, two former coaches and a media member will meet to come up with a top 10 each week, which will be used as a guide for the IHSAA when it puts together postseason pairings. The Gazette’s Jeff Johnson will take part in the 4A poll and local broadcaster Scott Unash (KGYM and CR-M Live) will take part in assembling the 3A poll.
- Jensen Wedeking scored 24 points to help Bellevue beat Monticello, 68-65, last week in a game featuring highly touted teams in their respective class. Monticello has been a state tournament qualifier three years in a row, last year making the Class 2A semifinals. Bellevue qualified for the 1A state tourney as a .500 team and played top-seeded Des Moines Grand View Christian down to the wire in the quarterfinals. Bellevue is 7-0 this season. Monticello (4-1) rebounded to give Cascade its first loss, 83-53, Tuesday night.
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
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