Cedar Rapids Kennedy player/coach duo highlights The Gazette’s 2022-23 all-area boys’ basketball team

CEDAR RAPIDS — Video of the game is out there. It’s not difficult to find, as simple as a click or two on a computer.

But Jon McKowen has no interest. None whatsoever.

“No, I won’t watch it,” McKowen said. “Not unless we play them next year.”

The Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys’ basketball coach is talking about his team’s upset loss a couple of weeks ago to Pleasant Valley in the Class 4A quarterfinals of the state tournament. It was the first and only defeat the Cougars incurred in what otherwise was an unreal season.

A record-setting season. Kennedy went unbeaten through the regular season for the first time in school history, was ranked No. 1 the majority of the winter.

One subpar game can’t take away everything that was accomplished.

“Obviously we had one of the best records in Kennedy history, so it was nice to kind of cement ourselves in Kennedy history,” said Kennedy’s Colby Dolphin. “We can come back in five, 10 years and say that was us. We were proud of the season. It may hurt now, but we did a lot of great things. Conference champs back to back, back-to-back state tournaments ... Not really any regrets.”

Dolphin, a senior guard, is The Gazette area’s 2023 boys’ basketball Player of the Year. McKowen is Coach of the Year.

“It was an unbelievable year,” McKowen said. “I thought what our kids did to rally community support, not just within the school, but within the community, is not easy to do in a big city, because there are so many other things to do. It seemed like at times they were the talk of the town. People who hadn’t been to games in years were coming to games.

“The amount of emails and compliments I got on how the kids played just made it such a special year. Not only were they great basketball players, but they changed outlooks on not only Kennedy basketball, but Kennedy as a school. Just the high-character kids we were able to put out in front of the community ... was a special part to me.”

Dolphin was one of those kids. He and teammate, classmate, guard-court mate Kenzie Reed were named first-team all-state in 4A by the Iowa Print Sportswriters Association.

They played off of each other so well: Reed setting Kennedy’s school record for career assists, Dolphin Kennedy’s single-season 3-point mark. The Kirkwood Community College recruit made 72 of them, shooting 47.2 percent from that range.

He averaged 15.6 points per game, was named the Valley Division Player of the Year in the Mississippi Valley Conference. His shot is kind of funky, he doesn’t wow you at first glance, but the kid gets it done.

“I’ve never seen a kid put more time in the gym and the weight room as he does,” McKowen said. “He’s mature beyond his years. He’s an early-to-bed kid, which most kids are not. He’s a wake-up-early kid, lifts before school, which allows him more time during the day to work on basketball. He’s a great student, so he’s very organized.

“From where he was as a freshman, or even a middle-school or elementary kid when we had him in camp ... he was a nice player, but he just keeps passing people. If you have a ranking system in your head, he’d just pick off one or two people every month.”

“I would say definitely I improved as a leader, being more vocal with my younger teammates,” Dolphin said. “Obviously growing up in the program, I’ve always had guys who led me and mentored me, help make the game easier. This year, I had to take a step up and try to be more vocal with teammates. I like to be more quiet.”

Kennedy’s program is not quiet. McKowen has it rolling to the point where it should be a state tournament contender every season, a state title contender.

The son of Hall of Fame Wapsie Valley coach Marty McKowen and brother of Upper Iowa University Coach Brooks McKowen, this was Jon’s 10th season at Kennedy. He began his head coaching career at the old Cedar Falls NU High, then won a state championship in Kansas before coming back to Eastern Iowa.

“He has just given us so many opportunities,” Dolphin said. “Obviously you might look at him (from the outside) as someone who yells a lot. But no one is in the practices with him. He is so reassuring, he has a lot of confidence in you, he gives you opportunities. He just gives you the confidence to go out there and play free.”

“I don’t think we’re cutting any corners. We are what we are. We play extremely hard, I think we play with as much enjoyment as any other team in the state,” McKowen said. “We have every resource we need to win a state championship.

“We were set up, were talented enough, worked hard enough, we were a good enough team to do it (this year). Three weeks before we beat (state champion West Des Moines) Valley on their home floor. The biggest thing is you’ve got to play well at the right time. Usually in a tournament, you’ve got to get lucky, win a game maybe you weren’t supposed to win. A lot of things have to fall into place because there’s a lot of good teams there.”

Below is the entire 2023 All-Gazette team. It features 15 members, the amount of players you usually find dressed for games by most teams.

Without further ado, here is the Fabulous 15.

The Gazette’s 2022-23 all-area boys’ basketball team

Joe Bean (Cedar Rapids Xavier), junior: Helped the Saints to the state tournament and a runner-up finish in Class 3A. Averaged 14.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game en route to first-team all-state honors by the Iowa Print Sportswriters Association.

Ben Bockman (Decorah), junior: Forward averaged 22.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Vikings. Also averaged 3.8 assists. Second-team all-state in Class 3A.

Colby Dolphin (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), senior: First-team all-state pick in Class 4A helped the Cougars to an unbeaten regular season for the first time in school history. Set the school record for 3-pointers with 72, shooting 43.9 percent from that range. Averaged 15.6 points per game.

Da’Shon Fisher (Iowa City Liberty), senior: One of the top scorers in 4A, the wing averaged 22 points per game, as well as 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Shot 55.6 percent from the field.

Padraig Gallagher (Dyersville Beckman), senior: First-team all-state pick in 2A averaged 21.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Division player of the year last year in the Wamac Conference and this year in the River Valley Conference. That’s not bad.

Tate Haughenbury (North Linn), senior: The Lynx made it to a state championship game for a record sixth year in a row in large part because of the kid they call “Cletus.” Averaged 16.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game and was named first-team all-state in 1A.

Davis Kern (Linn-Mar), sophomore: The 6-foot-9 forward scored at a 19.5 point-per-game clip despite being the main emphasis of opposing defenses. Also averaged 7.3 rebounds per game. Third-team all-state in 4A.

Brayson Laube (Marion), senior: Repeat first-team all-stater in 3A. Led the Wolves to the state tournament for the second straight year, averaging 22.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Became the school’s all-time career scoring leader.

Jack McCaffery (Iowa City West), sophomore: The forward averaged 16 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots per game this season. Was the team’s primary offensive weapon much of the season due to the injury of teammate Kareem Earl.

Tate Petersen (Monticello), senior: Not many four-year starters at the state tournament out there. The point guard averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game despite playing with a shoulder injury much of the season. School’s all-time leading scorer.

Kenzie Reed (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), senior: The point guard averaged 10.2 points and seven assists per game en route to first-team all-state honors in 4A for a second straight year. Upper Iowa recruit set Kennedy record for career assists.

Preston Ries (Monticello), junior: Iowa football recruit was a rock for a team that suffered a barrage of injuries yet made it to state for a fourth season in a row. Averaged a double-double of 23.1 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Traijan Sain (Cedar Rapids Washington), senior: The long 6-foot-5 wing averaged 15.9 points and 6.5 rebounds, spearheading a late-season push by his team. Second-team all-state in 4A.

Derek Weisskopf (Williamsburg), junior: Division player of the year in the Wamac Conference and a first-team all-state pick in 2A. Iowa football recruit averaged 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Aidan Yamilkoski (Cedar Rapids Xavier), senior: Averaged 17.8 points to lead the Saints. Shot over 41 percent from 3-point range. A first-team all-stater in 3A.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com