Iowa high school boys' basketball 2018-19: 15 area players to watch

There are several other talented players out there in the Gazette area this season. But this 15-man team certainly would do a lot of damage to opponents:

— Andre Brandon (Iowa City Liberty): The 6-5 junior is a jumping jack who can dunk with ease. Averaged 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds for Liberty's first-ever team, adding 22 blocked shots.

— Even Brauns (Iowa City West): The 6-foot-8 junior transferred from Iowa City Regina and gives the Trojans a talented post presence. Averaged 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season and had 68 blocked shots.

— Beau Cornwell (West Branch): The multi-sport star averaged 23.3 points last season. Second in career points at his school. Third-team all-stater in Class 2A in 2018.

— Jake Hilmer (North Linn): Senior guard already is Iowa's all-time leader in career assists. Upper Iowa signee averaged 23.1 points last season, helping the Lynx to the Class 1A state championship game. Had 356 assists and 180 steals.

— Haris Hoffman (Cascade): First-team Class 2A all-state player last season. The senior guard averaged 'just' 12.3 points, but Cascade had five very even scorers and played a true team game offensively. Also led the Cougars in rebounding.

— Willie Guy (Cedar Rapids Jefferson): The 5-foot-9 senior is a whirlwind on the floor. Led Jefferson last season in scoring (16.6 ppg), field goals, 3-pointers, free throws, assists and steals and was second in rerbounding. That's doing everything.

— Trey Hutcheson (Linn-Mar): The 6-foot-6 senior forward averaged 18.7 points and 7.3 rebounds last season. Made 160 of 185 free throws (86.5 percent). Second-team all-state in Class 4A. Has signed with Division I Albany.

— Derek Krogmann (West Delaware): Third-team all-stater in Class 3A last season. Averaged a double-double of 20.7 points and 12.4 rebounds. Six-foot-7 senior will be a preferred walk-on at Northern Iowa.

— Keaton Kutcher (Mount Vernon): Sophomore guard hit 10 3-pointers in a game last season as a freshman. Averaged 12.9 points per game. Has received an offer from Western Illinois.

— Zack Lasek (Highland): The 6-foot-7 junior is drawing some interest from Division I colleges. Averaged 20.7 points and 9.4 rebounds last season, adding 49 blocked shots.

— Patrick McCaffery (Iowa City West): The 6-foot-8 senior and Iowa signee averaged 19.9 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, shooting 52 percent from the field.

— Keegan Murray, Kris Murray (Cedar Rapids Prairie): The identical twin sons of former Iowa Hawkeye Kenyon Murray both have grown to 6-foot-7 as they enter their senior seasons. Both can stroke it from the perimeter, each attempting exactly 130 3-pointers last season. How about that? Kris averaged 16.6 points per game and Keegan 12.9.

— J.D. Stout (Keota): Leading returning scorer in the area. Junior guard averaged 23.6 points per game last season. Made 65 percent of his two-point field-goal tries.

— Jack Wetzel (Cedar Rapids Kennedy): The 6-foot-4 junior wing averaged 13.3 points per game last season, making 41 percent of his 3-point attempts. Also averaged 5.5 rebounds, improving noticeably as the season progressed.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com