Jeff Johnson

Here are boys’ basketball standings from schools and conferences from The Gazette area.

Mike Hilmer has been named one of 24 recipients of a National Coach of the Year award by the National Federation of State High Schools Coaches Association for the 2023-24 school year. Hilmer led North Linn to the Class 1A boys’ basketball state championship before leaving to take a superintendent job at Bellevue.

Cedar Falls remained atop Class 4A in the second Iowa High School Athletic Association boys’ basketball rankings of the season. Huxley Ballard (3A), Western Christian (2A) and Bellevue Marquette (1A) stay at No. 1 in their respective classes, as well.

In this edition of Corridor Cross Checks, the discussion is on the Iowa Heartlanders and their five-game in streak. And an down-and-up weekend for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

Senior guard Trey McKowen nailed a pull-up jump shot with 3 seconds to go to give Class 4A No. 4 Cedar Rapids Kennedy a 52-50 win over No. 10 Dubuque Senior on Friday night at Kennedy.

Tim Lambert has led the Monticello boys’ basketball program for 26 years. His brother Todd, has been by his side most of the way. They have three children each (two boys and a girl) who all are the same ages. This season is the eighth consecutive and final season that the brothers get to coach a son and nephew.

The North Linn boys’ basketball team has been a state tournament qualifier eight years in a row. It has played in a state championship game seven years in a row, including winning the Class 1A title last season. It has six seniors, including one of the best players in 1A in Mason Bechen. Yet a 20-point loss this past Saturday at Dunkerton meant the Lynx weren’t even included in the first IHSAA top-10 rankings of the season.

Call It Both Ways: High school basketball podcast with Gazette sportswriters Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson talking area high school basketball.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders came into existence after a move from Mason City. That move was contingent on the first indoor ice facility being constructed in town. The Cedar Rapids Ice Arena was built, with the first game in it coming exactly 25 years ago. A standing-room-only crowd of 4,104 fans watched the RoughRiders beat Rochester in a shootout.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has released its first official boys’ basketball rankings of the 2024-25 season. Your No. 1 teams are Cedar Falls, Huxley Ballard, Western Christian and Bellevue Marquette.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s boys’ basketball team lost Friday night at home to Cedar Rapids Prairie and had a very tough opponent Saturday night in the ServPro Crossover Challenge at Alliant Energy PowerHouse. But Trey McKowen scored 31 points, including the first five of overtime, as the Cougars picked up a good 64-61 win over Johnston.

Iowa City West rolled to a win at Saturday’s ServPro Crossover Challenge, while Iowa City Liberty and Dubuque Senior lost.

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s boys’ basketball team upset Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday night but a mere 14 hours later fell to Ames, 60-38, Saturday at ServPro Crossover Challenge

Linn-Mar’s boys’ basketball team definitely belongs somewhere in Class 4A’s top 10. But the Lions dropped one at the ServPro Crossover Challenge to Ankeny on Saturday, 61-55, in part due to the absence of point guard Trey Wright (flu) and not getting the ball inside enough to star Davis Kern.

Senior forward Jack McCaffery lost his No. 22 Iowa City West home jersey, so he’s been wearing No. 52 for games at the school. It’s worked well, as he has had scoring games of 40, 38 and Thursday night 29 in a win over Cedar Rapids Washington.