Class of 2012 Rankings

There is some movement in our rankings, but the one that everyone will be talking about is the change at the #1 spot. That's right, Marcus Paige has taken over the throne after having a stellar summer leading his team to a ton of victories and looking very good against some of the best players in the country. On the other hand, Wesley Staten was not seen or heard from much. We still like his size and athleticism, but out of sight, out of mind.

Ultra-quick point guard, Dwight Sistrunk, moved up a few spots after having a very nice run this summer. He is still small, but he is the real deal. Kale Abrahamson also jumped up a few spots by proving he has a knack for making the jumper. Another riser is guard Darren Stringfellow.

We aren't sure what to make of this class just yet, but there is certainly some very good talent from top to bottom. We are excited to see what happens this winter when they play for a shot at the state tournament. Remember, this is the last time we will update the rankings until after the high school season is over.

1. Marcus Paige 5-11 Linn-Mar
2. Wesley Staten 6-1 Sioux City West
3. Adam Woodbury 6-8 Sioux City East
4. Dwight Sistrunk 5-6 Des Moines Hoover
5. Casey Kasperbauer 6-0 Carroll
6. James Harrington 5-10 Cedar Falls
7. Taylor Olson 6-0 Cedar Rapids Jefferson
8. Teyshawn Campbell 5-8 Cedar Rapids Jefferson
9. Corey Meyers 5-10 Ankeny
10. Anthony Shaw 6-2 Iowa City High
11. Kale Abrahamson 6-3 West Des Moines Valley
12. Amarra Darboh 6-2 West Des Moines Dowling
13. Jerel Moore 6-3 Iowa City High
14. Jeremy Johnson 5-11 Iowa City High
15. Sam Skogen 5-10 Mason City
16. Trey Sathoff 6-3 Pekin
17. Cole Pedersen 6-3 Waukee
18. Kade Olson 6-0 Iowa Falls
19. Darren Stringfellow 5-11 Davenport West
20. Austin Stubbs 6-2 Des Moines Christian
21. Jordan Hay 6-5 North Cedar
22. Louie Ingoli 6-2 Des Moines East
23. Jordan Stotts 6-2 Waukee
24. Dillon Godfrey 6-6 Sioux City East
25. Conner Schabel 6-3 Ankeny
26. Zach Burnham 6-5 Davenport Assumption
27. Josiah Coleman 6-4 Cedar Rapids Kennedy
28. Nick Hughes 6-1 Bettendorf
29. Scott Bruxvoort 6-3 Altoona
30. Elliot Christians 6-7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Just missed: JC Abrahamson, Kyle Rosacker, Austin Perry, Andrew Fritz, Carter Valentine, Michael Carney, Connor Coleman, Luke Schafer, Dan Amelon, Austin Vaske, Cole Meyers, Adam Paulsen, Gabe Summerhays, Griffin Gaeta.

Paige Ranked in ESPNU's "Terrific 25"

Marcus Paige, the outstanding guard who led Linn Mar High School to a runner-up finish in the Iowa High School State Tournament has been ranked #17 in ESPNU's new "Terrific 25" for 2012. Paige hasn't stopped since the high school state tournament, having an outstanding summer with Martin Brothers Select, including a 15U Iowa State Championship, and making the 17U State All-Tournament team while playing up with their 17U Squad.

Class of 2011 Rankings

The biggest shake up in this class is the removal of electric guard Rasham Suarez. We have been informed that he will not be moving back to Iowa, but instead has moved to Gatlinburg, TN, where he has enrolled in a public school. With him no longer living here in Iowa we have removed him from our rankings.

So, now Josh Oglesby is the top dog. The funny thing is he would have taken over the top spot even had Suarez stayed in Iowa. He really looked good this summer. Forward Seth Tuttle made a move up, but Jared Uthoff is our biggest mover jumping into the Top 10. Also new to the Top 10 is the athletic Reggie White.

There was also a few other slight changes to include both Jon Getting and Paxton Strub cracking the rankings as Tim Olejniczak dropped off our list. So, here's our final rankings update until the conclusion of the high school season. Take a look and let us know what you think.

1. Josh Oglesby 6-5 Cedar Rapids Washington
2. Grant Lang 6-4 Ankeny
3. Matt Bohannon 6-1 Linn-Mar
4. Seth Tuttle 6-8 West Fork
5. Tavian Pomlee 6-5 Davenport Central
6. Kelly Madison 6-2 Des Moines Hoover
7. Corey Schaefer 5-10 Johnston
8. Jarod Uthoff 6-7 Cedar Rapids Jefferson
9. Reggie White 6-5 Des Moines Hoover
10. Alex Savage 6-0 West Des Moines Dowling
11. Wesley Washpun 6-0 Cedar Rapids Washington
12. Travis Perry 6-3 Urbandale
13. Kyle Lamaak 6-3 Cedar Rapids Kennedy
14. Brandon Voss 5-9 North Scott
15. Zach Twedt 6-3 Benton Community
16. Josh Montague 6-5 Linn-Mar
17. Jake Guenther 6-5 SE Polk
18. Patrick Burmester 6-9 DeWitt Central
19. Zach Otting 6-3 Western Dubuque
20. Alex Malloy 6-4 Sioux City Heelan
21. Shane Benton 6-3 Linn-Mar
22. Nick Wuebker 6-8 Emmetsburg
23. Henry Kreiger-Coble 6-4 Mt. Pleasant
24. Kasey Semler 5-9 Marion
25. Kyle Nikkel 6-6 Pella Christian
26. Tyler Wolterstorff 6-4 Hull Western Christian
27. Darreus Caston 5-11 Ft. Dodge
28. Brock Meis 6-5 Treynor
29. Jon Getting 6-2 Waukee
30. Paxton Strub 6-6 LeMars

Just missed: Christian French, Tim Olejniczak, Quinton Behlers, Nate Wells, Lincoln Vorba, Brock Dagel, Trent Washington, Ricky Torres, Jacob Logan, Luke Norville, Neil Bryant, Seth Nutting, Brandon Eley, Jamison Lalk, Jordan Holdsworth, Austin Christiansen, Isaiah Miller.

Class of 2010 Rankings

This spring we revealed our player rankings and took some hits for some of the picks. Some folks thought that we were off the mark, but others liked the way things looked. In the end, it appears we weren't very far off the mark as only two new faces cracked the Top 10. Our biggest mover was Waukee big man Will Artino as his stock went off the charts this summer. Joining the fast moving big man in the Top 10 is dynamic athlete TrayVonn Wright. All things said, our Top 10 is chalk full of D-I talent so check it out and let us know what you think. Also, this will be the last time we update the rankings until the conclusion of the high school season.

1. Harrison Barnes 6-6 Ames
2. Zach McCabe 6-7 Sioux City Heelan
3. Will Artino 6-10 Waukee
4. Doug McDermott 6-6 Ames
5. Nate Buss 6-8 Charles City
6. Jordan Dykstra 6-8 Rock Valley
7. Chanse Creekmur 6-5 Marshalltown
8. Marcus Heemstra 6-9 Rock Valley
9. TrayVonn Wright 6-6 Waterloo West
10. Branden Stubbs 6-0 Des Moines Christian
11. Kody Ingle 6-2 SE Polk
12. Isaac Gardner 6-4 Washington
13. Quincy King 6-0 Des Moines Hoover
14. Tyler Putz 6-0 Forest City
15. A.J. Derby 6-5 Iowa City High
16. Trevor Hook 6-5 Grundy Center
17. Max Martino 6-5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy
18. Tayler Bontrager 6-0 Iowa City West
19. Dau Jok 6-2 Des Moines Roosevelt
20. Josh Vander Maten 6-1 Boyden-Hull
21. Michael Kaufman 5-11 Harlan
22. Will Roth 6-6 Linn-Mar
23. Michael Weber 5-8 Ames
24. Chad Malloy 6-0 Williamsburg
25. Blake Haluska 6-4 Carroll
26. Creon Reed 6-0 Des Moines North
27. Nick Wilson 6-9 Iowa City West
28. Nick Smith 6-7 Johnston
29. Austin Katje 6-4 Unity Christian
30. Ryan Powers 6-2 Calamus-Wheatland

Just missed: Jon Keller, Alex Vogel, Tim Bennett, Andrew Wirth, Tyler Ellerman, Jared Stogdill, Jody Henton, Ryan Coon, James Humpal, Jordan Thomas, Bryce Irlbeck, Michael Wetrich, Zach Brehmer, D.J. Stokes, Damek Tomsha and T.J. Van Dyke.

End of Summer Travel Team Rankings

Last month, the top teams and players from the state of Iowa took to the road to participate in some of the top summer basketball tournaments in the country. Many players impressed enough to land scholarship offers while younger players put their name on the recruiting map for the future.

Now that the travel team season has come to an end we have decided to take a look back at how the teams performed. After our review we came up with team rankings based upon how they did this past season. That said, here's a look at how we thought they stacked up.

17U Team Rankings
1. All-Iowa Attack Red – They started off the season a little erratic and even lost Harrison Barnes, but since then they have performed very well and even won the Next Level Invitational to go along with an earlier title at the Jayhawk Invitational. They are a nice looking bunch led by Iowa commitment Zach McCabe and TrayVonn Wright.

2. Iowa Barnstormers – This team has been solid, but not spectacular this season. They never won anything big, but they always competed well against top level competition. They are led by the dynamic duo of Will Artino (Creighton) and Nate Buss (UNI).

3. Martin Brothers – This group is hard to put a finger on. They lost to the Barnstormers, but defeated Attack Red. They looked good at times, but then would look merely average at others. They have been led all season by Doug McDermott and Jordan Dykstra.

Just missed: Iowa Mavericks Black and All-Iowa Attack Black

16U Team Rankings
1. Iowa Barnstormers – Consistently good is the best way to describe this team. They went deep in everything they entered and proved that they could compete with anybody. They never played against AIA Red, but they did face Martin Brothers in a game they easily rolled to victory. They are led by Josh Oglesby and Seth Tuttle.

2. All-Iowa Attack Red – This team is a close second as they proved they could also compete with anyone this summer. They weren’t as consistent as the Barnstormers, but when they clicked they were special to watch. They were led by sharp-shooter Kelly Madison and Grant Lang.

3. Martin Brothers – It’s hard to describe this team. On paper they look great, but on the court they never really put it all together. Something seemed to be missing. However, they did make a nice run to win the Gold bracket in Milwaukee. Leading the way was Matt Bohannon and Tavian Pomlee.

Just missed: Iowa Mavericks Blue and Bound 4 Glory

15U Team Rankings
1. Martin Brothers – They are the top team in this age group and it isn’t even close. These kids are fun to watch as they go out and win game after game. The trio of Marcus Paige, Mike Gessell and Adam Woodbury are fantastic in just about every way imaginable. Expect big things out of this team in the future.

2. All-Iowa Attack Red – This team was good throughout the season. Most years, this team would be ranked #1, but being #2 on this list isn’t so bad. This squad is led by Cory Meyers and Amarra Darboh.

3. Iowa Barnstormers – Sometimes this team looked very, very good and at other times looked very, very bad. They have some talent, but just don’t seem to have the maturity or leadership to keep them focused on playing to win. If they figure things out this team might surprise next season. They are led by Taylor Olson and Anthony Shaw.

Just missed: Iowa Stars and Bad Boys

14U Team Rankings
1. Iowa Barnstormers Gold – They have a talented squad and it showed all season long as they won a bunch of games. They also notched a couple victories over the other top programs in the state to include our #2 and #3 ranked teams. They won the USSSA Midwest Showdown and the Iowa 8th grade AAU state championship. They are led by nationally ranked power forward Josh Weeber.

2. All-Iowa Attack Red – This team was a close second to our #1 ranked team. Led by Peter Jok, who one service has ranked #1 in the nation, this team was very successful and won their fair share of games and tournaments. They are talented group and it will be fun to see how these guys fair this winter with their high school teams.

3. Iowa Storm – Over the last few years this has been the team to beat. This year, the pack finally caught up them and passed them just a little. Though they didn’t win as often as they did in the past, they went deep in most tournaments and had chances to win them. They were led by guard Jared Jones.

Just missed: The Pack and All-Iowa Attack Black

Now that you have seen our rankings, share your thoughts with us.