Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

[DWadle1983]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

The overall level for most sports has improved greatly over the years in the state. You need to look beyond D I. There are seveal Iowa players that have had good careers at the D II and D III. With that said you are not going to get the number of blue chip players that larger metro areas have.

That is right. There isn't much comparsion between the number of good Iowa HS players today, and 30 years ago when I was in H.S. The number of guys we're seeing coming out now is a goldmine compared to what existed back then.

Oh, Wichita State is trying hard on ESPN U to lose at the Koch to Missouri State with late turnovers. Let's see if they succeed. Mac MacCausland is doing the color. The announcers are showing Drake lots of love.

[DWadle1983]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

The argument Eldon Miller made when he first became coach was how underrated Iowa HS players were because of their lack of exposure, and were not as far developed as kids from other states. It was that first recruiting class that was the core of the great 1990 team.

[Matt Trump]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080210/SPORTS0811/802100364

Interesting article in the Register Sunday about how the biggest population base in the state has so few DI basketball players

[Newsbreaker]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

I graduated from Linn-Mar High School, so I can tell you first hand watching Jason Bohannon, Grant Gibbs, Jordan Printy and Nate Hucheson that Iowa has plenty of talent. Maybe more than ever.

The problem is they are not staying in Iowa. Bohannon is in Wisconsin. Gibbs is headed to Gonzaga. Other Linn-Mar alums have gone to play Indiana State, Wyoming, among other places.

Also, the Mississppi Valley is EXCEPTIONALLY tough this year with Linn-Mar, Iowa City High, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy fighting for the state's top 3 along with Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Waterloo East, Iowa City West, Cedar Falls, and Dubuque Wahlert as tough teams.

No chance you went to Linn-Mar a few years ago, 2002 or so, when they had a little 'tussle' with Dubuque Senior? I love that story.


The talent level in Iowa isn't much different now than ever. Talent has come out of Iowa, though much of it hasn't stayed in state for college ball.

Personally, I think the difference is perception, and lies mostly in one man...Dr. Tom Davis. He got a great deal out of relatively little IMHO, and made "decent" talent look "very good." At this point, we don't have coaches in-state doing that. I think Licklitter can (and will) do that, McDermott might, and well, Jacobson, well, you know.

[9YRPLAN]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

ive heard that many coaches feel that iowa's limited high school schedule hinders the players' development.

[Matt Trump]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

ive heard that many coaches feel that iowa's limited high school schedule hinders the players' development.

Yep. Its like that with a lot of sports. Baseball and softball are included in that group. The best players join club teams and travel around the country from spring to fall. Football even plays a limited schedule compared to other states, I believe. The problem is that there aren't enough people in this state for every kid to go out for 1 sport. Participation is a priority, not specializing.

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

Not to try and bring up Linn-Mar again, but the Lions have just played Omaha Central (a good Nebraska team) in Omaha and Central will return the trip to Des Moines next year.

Linn-Mar has also played teams from Minnesota and Illinois in recent years.

And Newsbreaker, I went to LM from 2000-2004, but I don't remember anything with Dubuque Senior. To be honest, the CR schools view the Dubuque and Waterloo (not Cedar Falls) as patsy teams that serve as warm-ups against the Iowa Cities and other CRs.

[SteinPizza]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...0811/802100364

Interesting article in the Register Sunday about how the biggest population base in the state has so few DI basketball players

Interesting article, thanks for posting Trump. IMO, the biggest point made is the lack of middle school programs/bad setup in the DSM Public Schools. Football used to be the same way, not sure if it's changed. Keep in mind they're talking about the City of Des Moines, not the suburbs - where almost all the money and resources reside.

A point the article misses...Lincoln was the state's largest high school for decades. It was only recently surpassed by WDM Valley within the last 5 - 10 years (going from memory here). You'd think that shear population would dictate some decent B-ball prospects, but I can't remember any. They've recently pumped out some FB talent, but not considering the school's size. There's some money on the south side too, so they should be able to get booster support for resources. Southsiders all tend to be very loyal to their upbringing too, so they'd be more likely to give money/time etc. even though their kids are grown up.

[JD720]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

Participation is a priority, not specializing.

As it should be.

[Matt Trump]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

Interesting article, thanks for posting Trump. IMO, the biggest point made is the lack of middle school programs/bad setup in the DSM Public Schools. Football used to be the same way, not sure if it's changed. Keep in mind they're talking about the City of Des Moines, not the suburbs - where almost all the money and resources reside.

A point the article misses...Lincoln was the state's largest high school for decades. It was only recently surpassed by WDM Valley within the last 5 - 10 years (going from memory here). You'd think that shear population would dictate some decent B-ball prospects, but I can't remember any. They've recently pumped out some FB talent, but not considering the school's size. There's some money on the south side too, so they should be able to get booster support for resources. Southsiders all tend to be very loyal to their upbringing too, so they'd be more likely to give money/time etc. even though their kids are grown up.

There are numbers and talent on the southside and it remains a huge difference. Their best basketball player, Adam Robinson, is going to Iowa to play football. He probably has some of the best basketball talent in the city.

Lincoln has really cranked up their efforts and southsiders have pulled through with football. They have a head coach who started lighting a fire in the community, raised money, and the football team is now consistently back in the playoffs.

They have the numbers and talent but they don't have a lot of motivation. A lot of the kids with talent get taken down by their apathetic classmates who have little aspiration.

[GoCatz!]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

That sounds like the Waterloo Schools. I still say if there were a state title for drinking and fighting, West High would have been 4 time champs while I was there?

[WildmanMike]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

That sounds like the Waterloo Schools. I still say if there were a state title for drinking and fighting, West High would have been 4 time champs while I was there?

We were the state champs for drinking in 1986 when I graduated and were in the top 10 nationally that year. We were 20 points higher than any other school that year in the state high school drinking survey. Hell some of our teachers had drinking problems with a certain English teacher getting a DWI years after I graduated. We even lost one kid to a drinking related problem. I went on the teachers and families only PEP bus a couple of times when they went to state. Although it was after school and there was no high school students around, it was still a school event and they were drinking at a restaurant before the game.

Just a side note, what year did you graduate from West High?

[Newsbreaker]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

Waterloo is beer drinking amateur hour.

[GoCatz!]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

I graduated in '99, we had a wrestling coach who was forced to resign after his 4th (yes, 4th) OWI. And it was hard to see him go, as he started to bring back the program to powerhouse level. Hell, I think we had 4-5 kids have to sit out sporting events for drinking. We had guys on the baseball team just for that reason, so they wouldn't have to miss out on any football games.

The best is when I would inbound passes in front of the student section at basketball games and it smelled more like a brewery than a gym. I was just bummed that I had to wait until after the game to catch up!

And by the way NB, I think drinking is pretty darn close to the professional level in Waterloo.

[Matt Trump]

Re: Has talent in the state of Iowa gone down?

And by the way NB, I think drinking is pretty darn close to the professional level in Waterloo.

Dubuque is where News hails from and the river rats have drinking in the state locked up