Boys' hoops notebook: Healthy Anamosa on a serious roll

ANAMOSA — They're healthy, they're racking up points and wins to go with them.

No one in the state appears to be playing as well right now as the Anamosa Blue Raiders. They're 9-4 overall but 5-0 since the holiday break, with point totals of 84, 88 and 91 in three of those wins.

They smacked defending Class 1A state champion Gladbrook-Reinbeck by 10 points in another. The fifth was one Coach Kevin Barnes actually was most happy with, 50-47, over a very good 3A team from West Delaware.

'We are playing well, no doubt about it,' Barnes said. 'The ball is moving and going through the hoop. I tell you what, in each of our last two games, we've had 27 assists and four turnovers. That's the name of the game.'

There is no coincidence this uptick in play has come with the return of Tyler Zumbach.

The senior forward had a fractured bone in his leg that was likely incurred during football season. He hobbled around in preseason practice and played sparingly in Anamosa's first two games, then shut things down until the new year.

Barnes said Zumbach isn't 100 percent, yet, but is moving around better than he thought he would. The mere presence of last season's leading scorer has been huge, even if he's not scoring as many points right now.

'Having him back on the floor is great for us,' Barnes said. 'He just does so many things for us. He can guard the post, guard the point guard and anyone in between. He moves the ball so well, helps us when teams pressure us. And he opens up the floor for Schulte and Schepanski.'

Schulte and Schepanski isn't a musical group or law firm, rather the guard tandem of Kolin Schulte and Kyle Schepanski. They average 39 points between them, with Schepanski a 96.9-percent free-throw shooter.

They both can fire it, obviously, though Barnes said Schulte has improved his strength enough to be able to get to the lane and finish.

Anamosa suffered all of its losses without Zumbach during a two-week stretch in December, avenging one of those Tuesday night by routing Maquoketa, 88-57. It gets a chance for revenge again Friday night against Mount Vernon, another 9-4 team that's playing as well as anyone right now.

The Blue Raiders' Class 2A postseason path is treacherous again but seemingly more manageable than a year ago. The IHSAA split up a group of quality clubs from roughly the same area, with Anamosa being placed in a district with Camanche and Northeast Goose Lake.

Good area teams like Dyersville Beckman, Cascade and Monticello are not in the same substate.

'They absolutely got it right this year,' Barnes said. 'I don't know what else they could have done. I commend the state.'

AROUND THE HOOP

● Kellan Coppinger scored 21 points to help give English Valleys to its first win of the season Tuesday night, 55-48, over Tri-County in overtime. It was the largest point total of the season for the Bears. That leaves Mid-Prairie (0-13) as the only winless team in the area. Bellevue also won its first game last Friday.

● Speaking of the South Iowa Cedar League, Montezuma (14-0) is the last remaining undefeated team in the area. The Braves are one of 10 teams in the state without a loss. The others are Ar-We-Va, Danville, Dike-New Hartford, West Fork, Pleasant Valley, Stanton, Treynor, West Des Moines Valley and Grand View Christian.

● Iowa City West guard Connor McCaffery missed his team's 61-49 win Tuesday night at Bettendorf, the second straight game the son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery has missed after suffering a concussion at the end of a game last week against Dubuque Wahlert. McCaffery collided with fellow future Hawkeye player Cordell Pemsl of Wahlert. West plays Friday night at Dubuque Senior.

● You may have done a double take when you saw the final score of Tuesday night's game between Postville and Elkader Central. Postville won, 21-16, with sophomore Owen Jacobson scoring 12 of his team's 21. The Pirates led at halftime, 10-5, and it was 15-8 after three quarters. This wasn't a slow-down game, just a case of icy shooting. Postville was 9 of 38 from the field to Central's 5 of 44, including 0 of 20 from the 3-point arc. Just one of those nights.

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