Iowa boys’ state basketball tournament features Cedar Rapids Metro Mania, Linn County Lunacy

CEDAR RAPIDS — Metro Mania. Linn County Lunacy.

However you want to label the 2023 boys’ state basketball tournament, it has a heavy Cedar Rapids, Marion presence. A heavy Cedar Rapids, Marion, Troy Mills presence.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy is undefeated and the top seed in Class 4A. Cedar Rapids Xavier and Marion are the second and third seeds in 3A.

The 1A field includes North Linn. Of course.

The Lynx are at state for a seventh consecutive year, seeking a sixth straight year in a championship game.

Last year, there were three Metro entrees in Kennedy, Marion and Cedar Rapids Prairie. North Linn was there, too, obviously.

This is two years in a row with a fine four, if you will. That’s a sign there is some good hoops being played around these parts.

“I think it speaks to the quality of basketball,” said Cedar Rapids Xavier Coach Mike Freeman. “Obviously, Jon (McKowen) and Kennedy have had an unbelievable season, and we all want to see them do well. Pete (Messerli) over at Marion, they’re having a good year, and they’ve had good players over the past few years.

“Yeah, I think the Metro has some really good teams. I think it’s great for the Metro area to have such good representation down there. It’s exciting that the Cedar Rapids area has three teams at state. I think we should be proud.”

Freeman’s Saints might have been a tad overlooked at the start of this season, though they shouldn’t have been. Xavier had two all-Mississippi Valley Conference players returning in guards Aidan Yamilkoski and Joe Bean, basketball-only kids.

You throw in a bunch of athletes coming off a state championship football season and an improved 6-foot-8 big guy in Tyler Netolicky, and that turned out to be a real good mix. Xavier was ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history at one point, survived the MVC gauntlet and Dubuque Wahlert in overtime in a substate final.

“I knew we were going to have a good group coming back. We had a lot of guys who had played ... I thought we had a chance to have a really good season,” said Freeman, a Xavier grad. “We have great parents and great kids. Honestly, getting to the state tournament is a big deal. The kids work all season for that. It’s not easy to do. Just really proud for Xavier, all the kids. This group of seniors was the first group I had when I took the job. They’ve really worked hard, believed in what we were preaching, and obviously have really delivered this year.”

Marion had a plethora of returning players from last season’s state tourney team, so Coach Messerli beefed up the regular-season schedule, playing Kennedy, 3A top-ranked Bondurant-Farrar, Iowa City High and Cedar Rapids Washington, among others.

The Wolves took a couple of hits here and there but they are playing good basketball at the right time of the season. Earlier this week, senior guard Brayson Laube (who had 37 points in a substate final win over Charles City), was named the Wamac Conference East Division Player of the Year for a second straight year.

He set the school’s all-time scoring record earlier this season. Myles Davis, Alex Mota, Calen Claypool, Payton Hodges and others will not be intimidated by the atmosphere they’re facing this week.

Marion is seeking its first state tournament win since 1952.

“It’s about time for us to get one,” Davis said. “We’re just going to focus on the first game, and we’re going to get it. One game at a time.”

There’s not much that hasn’t been said about this Kennedy team. The Cougars didn’t lose a Mississippi Valley Conference game for the first time in school history or a regular-season game for the first time in school history.

They regularly bludgeoned opponents with their 3-point prowess, pressure defense and deep bench. Colby Dolphin was named the MVC Valley Division Player of the Year, with point guard Kenzie Reed also a unanimous pick.

Forwards Micah Schlaak and Cyrus Courtney were second teamers. Schlaak, in particular, has been impressive down the stretch, with the versatility to score inside, outside or mid-range.

Kennedy grinded out a comfortable substate final win over North Scott that was way more a half-court game than most of the Cougars’ affairs this season. That’s a good sign going into the state tournament.

“Not that they would get rattled, but that was a single-digit game for a long time,” said McKowen. “We looked the same as we did when we were up 15 or 20. They went about every possession the right way. Maybe more of a lunch pail type of game, but it should be this time of year.”

“We didn’t give them easy possessions. A lot of contested shots, took them out of their initial actions. That speaks to the kids paying attention to the scouting reports. Our on-the-ball defense was great.”

Then there’s North Linn, which is on an incredible run. Though the Lynx graduated three starters from last year’s team, including all-state guard Austin Hilmer, the winning has continued.

Good players just seem to cycle in and out of this program. Hilmer, Dylan Kurt and Cade Haughenbury graduate, but kids like Ty Pflughaupt and Mason Bechen come in to replace the.

They averaged over 30 points between them.

“With these younger guys coming up now, this is their first year taking these big roles, obviously losing that big group of seniors,” said North Linn’s Tate Haughenbury. “They’ve done a tremendous job of stepping up and playing in these big games.”

“Something special. You can’t take that for granted,” said North Linn’s Breckyn Betenbender, another of the first-year starters. “There are not many teams out there who get the opportunity to go down to state seven years in a row. A lot of it has to do with the coaching, the way we practice. We practice so hard to make sure we’re always in shape. That really helps. You’ve just got to be really thankful to be down there again for a seventh year.”

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