Prep Boys’ Basketball- The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) released their All-Conference lists for the boys’ teams of the North and South divisions and #4 Burlington Notre Dame swept the Player and Coach of the Year honors, as the Nikes punched their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2009.
North Division
Pekin’s Cole Millikin was on the top of everyone’s scouting report as the senior finished the season 3rd in the North in points per game with 19.4 and led the conference in three pointers made per game.
Taking home Coach of the Year was Hillcrest Academy’s Stephen Bender. The Ravens finished the season with an 18-4 record and three points away from winning the Class 1A Substate 5 District 10 championship, falling 48-46 to Calamus-Wheatland. The Ravens are now back-to-back North champions.
All-SEISC North First Team
Joining Millikin on the First team was his teammate Henry Adam along with Rowan Miller and Kale Bailey for Hillcrest Academy and Oscar Cline of Louisa-Muscatine, who led the division in points and rebounds per game as the only member to average a double-double.
Winfield-Mt. Union, who finished 3rd in the division, put Cody Milks on the First Team. Milks nearly averaged a double-double, securing eight rebounds to go along with his 11.5 points per game. He also notched three steals per game.
WACO’s Holden Hughes was the focal point of the Warriors this season, resulting in a First Team nomination. Hughes ranked 5th in points per game with 15.1 and 8th in rebounds per game with 7.9
Also finding a spot on the First Team was Wapello’s Justyn Faulker. The senior ranked second in the division with four steals per game and led the team in points (13.9) and rebounds per game (7.3), which were both top ten marks.
Ellis Hills-Carrier, a junior for Columbus, finished second in the division with 19.8 points per game and seventh in assists per game with three per outing. He was the lone Wildcat put on the First Team.
All-SEISC North Second Team
Winfield-Mt. Union’s Isaac Egli was a unanimous choice for the Second Team as he led the team in points per game and finished 4th in the division with assists per game. Another Wolve joining Egli was Max Edwards. The senior collected the 4th most rebounds per game in the division.
WACO’s Hayden Shelman earned Second Team honors after averaging 10 points per game on 32.7% shooting from three-point land.
Additionally, Drake Marin of Columbus and Kinnick Richenberger were placed on the Second Team. Both finished in the top 15 for the division in points per game.
Hillcrest Academy’s Gibson Scott, Landon Roling of Highland, Reece Holbrook of Lone Tree, and Pekin’s Alijah Brock also found a spot on the Second Team.
All-SEISC North Honorable Mention
Columbus: Drew Totemeier and Gabe Zuniga
Highland: Bryce Hazelett and Kyler Fink
Hillcrest Academy: Lincoln Miller and Kayden Estell
Lone Tree: Dom Garcia and Cade Willoz
Louisa-Muscatine: Dawson Wheeler and Owen Klockseim
Pekin: Nolan Glick and Riley Smith
WACO: Kellen Shelman and Nick West
Wapello: Wyatt Marlette and Cam Brewer
Winfield-Mt. Union: Nick Sparrow and Grant Anderson
Standings: Hillcrest Academy (15-1), Pekin (13-3), W-MU (13-3), WACO (11-5), Columbus (7-9), Wapello (5-11), Lone Tree (3-13), Highland (3-13), Louisa-Muscatine (2-14)
South Division
Burlington Notre Dame’s Shay Stephens has had quite the senior campaign, leading the Nikes back to the state tournament for the first time in 15 years, crossing the 1,000th point plateau and inching closer to 1,500 points, and committing to Western Illinois University to play basketball. For his effort, he earned All-SEISC South Player of the Year.
His 24.5 points per game ranked 10th in the state, while also leading the south division in assists and steals per game.
Along with taking the Nikes to their fourth state appearance in program history, Notre Dame head coach Dan Kies picked up his 200th career victory in the substate championship. Leading his team to a SEISC South championship and a 23-2 record earned him the Coach of the Year award.
All-SEISC South First Team
Joining Stephens from the Nikes on the First Team was L.J. Harris. The junior is a force on the low block with the 7th most rebounds per game and more importantly the 4th most offensive rebounds per game in the South. Additionally, he chips in 9.5 points per game and three assists per game.
Mediapolis placed three on the First Team in Max Griffin, Will Luttenegger, and William Worrall. Griffin and Luttenegger both finished in the top five for points per game in the south division, while Worrall scored 10.2 points per game, which ranked 17th in the dvision.
Silas Lotzow and Ayden Figuereo claimed a spot on the First Team for West Burlington. Figuereo led the team in scoring, while Lotzow nearly averaged a double-double with 13 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
Lastly, Will Hayes of Central Lee and Holy Trinity Catholic’s Layne Rung rounded out the First Team. Hayes averaged the 8th most points per game in the division, while nabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. Passing the 1,000th point plateau was Rung earlier this season as he finished second in the division in points per game with 19.5 and top 10 in steals per game.
All-SEISC South Second Team
New London’s senior tandem of London Franklin and Brigham Porter were placed on the Second Team. After Franklin’s slow start, the Tigers rattled off seven wins in their final 14 games, including a four-game winning streak at the tail end of the season. Porter led the team with 12.5 points per game, while Franklin added 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game to his 11.8 points.
Holy Trinity Catholic’s Jack Ragar is going to be someone to keep an eye on for the rest of his career. The freshman commanded the Crusader offense, scoring 14.6 points per game and grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, both top 10 measures in the south division. Crusader head coach John Hellige had this to say about the freshman,
“Yeah, we knew we were gonna have a good player in Jack, but he’s kind of blown away, even my expectations for a freshman year player. He plays like an upperclassman already…”
Joining them on the Second Team was Carson Morrison and Owen Swan of Central Lee, Leighton Rice of Danville, Notre Dame’s Eli Oleson and Griffin Kies, and Van Buren County’s Kinnick Millard.
Morrison finished with the 13th most points per game, while Swan tabbed the 9th most assists per game for the division. Rice finished with 5.2 assists per game to go along with his 10.3 points per contest. Oleson and Kies claimed 10.7 points per game apiece and each have had huge games on the Nikes path toward the state tournament. Lastly, Millard averaged 10.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.
All-SEISC South Honorable Mentions
Central Lee: Kaden Swan and Brett Cook
Danville: Connor Hulett and Dillan Mason
HTC: Nathan Box and Corbin Van Niewaal
Mediapolis: Gannon Gunn and Henry Luttenegger
New London: Kye Reighard and Israel Lemley
Notre Dame: Payne Prottsman and Kellan Porter
VBC: Will Cocherell and Jace Duncan
West Burlington: Cayson Brown and Ari Jannings
Standings: Notre Dame (14-0), Mediapolis (11-3), Central Lee (9-5), West Burlington (8-6), Holy Trinity Catholic (7-7), Danville (5-9), Van Buren County (1-13), New London (1-13)