Boys’ basketball notebook: Cedar Rapids Prairie shoots lights out from free-throw line

CEDAR RAPIDS — Back in the day, not too long ago, most basketball teams would conclude their pregame warmups with players taking turns shooting free throws.

A guy would let one go, with his teammates clapping in unison twice for a make and once for a miss. You'd rotate to your left and around the lane after each attempt.

Players generally camp out around the 3-point arc these days, including those who would never take a shot from that distance during a game. Free throws aren't sexy and cool, treys are sexy and cool.

There is one Metro team, though, that's attempting to bring sexiness and cool back to free-throw shooting. Cedar Rapids Prairie sports numbers from the charity stripe that are insane.

The Hawks have canned 94 of 107 in their eight games. Do the math there, and that comes out to 87.9 percent.

'We do work on it,' Prairie Coach Jeremy Rickertsen said. 'We do a plus-minus drill every practice. We're spending at least five minutes in practice on them.'

But Rickertsen said his team's free-throw prolificacy can be traced specifically to one main guy. Junior guard Griff Clark has gone 50 of 53 from the line (94.3 percent).

He has more than half of his team's makes, including a string of 32 in a row that recently set a school record.

'He really takes pride in his free throws,' Rickertsen said. 'He spent a lot of time in the offseason on them ... I do think it's a cultural thing. One guy makes them, and it puts pressure on the other guys to make theirs. I think that's a good pressure.'

It's not just Clark, though. Max Smith Drahos is 17 for 21 (81 percent), Jake Eilers 5 for 5, Keegan Murray 4 for 4, Matt Lorenz 6 for 7.

Overall, the Hawks (5-3) are just a good shooting team, as they lead Class 4A in 3-pointers made, too. An 80-71 upset of then top-ranked Iowa City West right before the holidays showed what that shooting can do.

'I am pleased with where things are right now,' Rickertsen said. 'The guys have goals. Having five wins right now is good, and they realize that. But they are not satisfied with it. They want more.'

AROUND THE HOOP

• Highland is off to an 8-0 start, thanks to the play of a 6-foot-7 freshman. Zack Lasek averages 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Huskies and shoots 67 percent from the field. His older brothers also play: senior guard Trent Lasek averages 11 points per game and sophomore guard Trey Lasek 6.6. Highland is a small Class 2A school.

• North Linn sophomore guard Jake Hilmer leads the state in assists by a wide margin. Hilmer has 84 in eight games, 20 more than Jacob Wickenkamp of Keota. Hilmer also averages 23.8 points for the 8-0 Lynx.

• The Iowa High School Athletic Association will release Class 1A and 2A district and substate pods January 20, with 3A and 4A postseason pods released the following week. For the first time, coaches in each district will gather for meetings to determine district seeds February 1 (1A, 2A) and February 8 (3A, 4A) at sites the IHSAA will determine. Coaches also will seed the state tournament.

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