Oskaloosa sophomore Xavier Foster has become one of the nation’s most sought-after basketball prospects. The 6-foot-10, 210-pound forward is considered a consensus top-25 recruit in the 2020 class. Rodney White/The Register
Here are this week's top observations and takeaways from Iowa high school boys' basketball ...
Kings of Class 1A
Something has to be said about what North Linn is doing over in Troy Mills.
First of all, the Lynx have the best record in the state at 15-0.
Second, they boast two elite scorers in Ryan Miller (25.9 points per game) and Jake Hilmer (25.1 ppg), and those two rank first and second in the state in total points scored. Hilmer also leads the state in assists (188) and steals (109).
Third, and this shouldn't be a surprise given what you just read, North Linn is averaging 93.3 points per game while holding opponents to 36 points per game — a 57.3 margin, by far the best in the state. Its 1,400 total points this season outpaces second-place Danville by 430.
Even by the Lynx's lofty standards, it's truly staggering what they're are doing on offense. Last year's 25-1 team averaged "only" 77 points per game.
Des Moines Grand View Christian (12-0) and St. Mary's Remsen (12-0) are great teams, too. But, at this rate, it's hard to pick anyone other than North Linn as the 1A favorite as we hit the dog days of January.
Balance in the CIML
The Central Iowa Metropolitan League annually boasts some of the best hoops talent in the state. But there's plenty of depth this year, too.
Realistically, there are seven teams that could beat each other on any given night: Johnston, Des Moines North, Des Moines Hoover, Waukee, West Des Moines Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines Valley and Ankeny Centennial. Plus, Southeast Polk, Fort Dodge and Ankeny have shown the ability to either win a big game or take one of the top-tier teams to the wire.
The only other Class 4A conference that can say anything similar would probably be eastern Iowa's Mississippi Valley Conference.
Johnston, ranked No. 2 in the Super 10, is the highest-rated CIML team at the moment. But the Dragons have lost to North.
North, ranked No. 4, has beaten a who's who of CIML teams. But it's also lost to Waukee and Hoover.
Waukee and Hoover, No. 6 and No. 5, have a combined 19-3 record and have both topped North. But Waukee just lost to Centennial.
Centennial, an unranked team that started the season poorly, has now ripped off five straight wins.
Dowling, unranked, has its losses to North and Johnston. But it also has impressive wins over Centennial and Valley.
Valley, unranked, has that loss to Dowling, but also wins over Waukee and Centennial.
Southeast Polk has beaten Valley. Ankeny nearly toppled Waukee in double overtime. Fort Dodge just lost by four to Johnston last Friday.
No stress-free nights in the CIML.
Joe Wieskamp watch
With 38 points in a 76-57 win over Iowa City High last Saturday, Muscatine's Joe Wieskamp bumped his high school total to 1,951 points. That's fourth all-time in Class 4A — 43 points shy of third-place Dean Oliver (Mason City) and 243 shy of first-place Jeff Horner (Mason City).
The Muskies have nine more regular-season games before playing at least one postseason contest. So that's 10 guaranteed games for Wieskamp, who is leading the state with 33.8 points per game.
Teams have tried anything and everything to stop the Hawkeye signee this season. But just like last year, nothing works. Wieskamp is too big and agile to double-team in the post. He's too smart to double-team on the perimeter. His shot release is too high to block, and his arms are too long to thwart at the rim.
Even when it looks like a team has him figured out, he ends up with video game numbers. Iowa City High held Wieskamp to three points and three rebounds in the first quarter. He finished with 38 points and 15 boards.
Still no blemishes
Entering Monday, there were 12 undefeated teams left in the state: North Linn (15-0), Cascade (13-0), South Hamilton Jewell (13-0), Aplington-Parkersburg (12-0), Grand View Christian (12-0), St. Mary's Remsen (12-0), Van Meter (12-0), Dunkerton (11-0), East Marshall (11-0), Western Christian Hull (11-0), Treynor (10-0) and Iowa City West (10-0).
If you're keeping track at home, that's one 4A team, no 3A teams, seven 2A teams and four 1A teams.
Matthew Bain covers college football and basketball recruiting for the Des Moines Register. He also helps out with Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball coverage for HawkCentral and Cyclone Insider. Contact him at mbain@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.