Cedar Rapids Xavier senior pitcher Jon Keller was a second-team pick. The all-Americans were selected by Rawlings, in partnership with Perfect Game USA baseball club in Cedar Rapids.

Sweeney has recovered well from Tommy John surgery in his right elbow last fall. The brother of Oakland A’s outfielder Ryan Sweeney has committed to play college baseball at the University of San Diego.

Keller has committed to play at Nebraska.

The list of 400 Rawlings all-Americans can be found on Perfect Game’s Web site:

www.PerfectGame.org.

Event begins at 6 p.m. It’s a $3 admission for those 7 or older.

JEFFERSON DECA HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL CRANDIC 3 POINT/SLAM DUNK CONTEST

Cedar Rapids, IA  March 16, 2010 – The 3^rd Annual CRANDIC 3 Point/Slam Dunk Contest will be held at Jefferson High School on Thursday, March 18, 2010 . The contest will be hosted by Jefferson High School’s DECA chapter. Top players from nine Cedar Rapids, Marion, Dubuque, and Iowa City schools were invited to participate. Winners of the contest will designate their favorite charity to which DECA will make a donation in their name.

DECA is an association of marketing students sponsored by Jefferson marketing teacher, Cyndy Hilby. The 3 Point/Slam Dunk Contest is a project created for the Advertisers of the Future marketing contest. Jefferson students were coached by Mt. Mercy’s SIFE organization led by Tom Castle. Seniors Joby Frey and Alexandra Jacobson led a committee of students in the planning of the event. Hilby has high praise for the students. “The project was completely student directed. Students have contacted athletic directors, contestants, judges, and local businesses. They have handled the promotion, ordered trophies and t-shirts, borrowed equipment, lined up staff volunteers, and taken care of every detail. I’m very proud of them, and we’re thrilled that this has become an annual event.”

Participants in the slam dunk contest include Jarred Uthoff and Logan Ruffridge from Jefferson High School, Marcus Washington from Dubuque Senior, Issac Gardener from Washington High School (Washington, Iowa), Shane Benton and Darius Stokes from Linn-Mar High School, Wes Waspun from Cedar Rapids Washington High School, and Alec Clasen from Xavier.

Participants in the women’s 3 point shooting contest are. Jade Rodgers, Max Martino, Austin Christensen, and Spencer Fontana from Kennedy High School; Alex Jacobson and Joby Frey from Jefferson High School, DJ Norman from Linn-Mar High School, Kasey Semler and Amanda Petersen from Marion High School, Josh Oglesby and Olyssa Oney from Cedar Rapids Washington High School, and Jon Keller, Joe Sayre, and Colleen Bouchard from Xavier High School.

Linn-Mar's Marcus Paige (right) talks to head coach Chris Robertson during the second half of their substate final basketball game against Pleasant Valley at the U.S. Cellular Center on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in northeast Cedar Rapids. Linn-Mar won, 49-46. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The first order of business for Marcus Paige was obvious.

“Rest for a little bit,” the Linn-Mar sophomore said Saturday after his team’s Class 4A state tournament consolation victory over Sioux City East.

Paige contracted mononucleosis late in the regular season and missed the final game. He sat out Linn-Mar’s first substate game and played noticeably less than 100 percent the rest of the way.

The 6-foot-1 lefty point guard was sure something when he was healthy. He averaged 14 points, shot better than 60 percent from the field most of the season and owned a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

He is one of three area preps named first team all-state by the Iowa Newspaper Association, joining Cedar Rapids Jefferson junior center Jarrod Uthoff in Class 4A and Mid-Prairie senior forward Tanner Miller in Class 2A.

Another 11 players are second- and third-teamers.

Ames senior and North Carolina recruit Harrison Barnes is Iowa’s Mr. Basketball. The winner of the Morgan Wootten Award last week for national player of the year, Barnes averaged 26.1 points and 10.9 rebounds.

“I’m probably going to beef up a little bit in the off-season,” said Paige, also considered a big-time college recruit who has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. “Then over the summer I’ll play (AAU) with … Martin Brothers.”

Uthoff helped Jefferson to its first state tournament since 1999. The 6-foot-8 junior averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 54 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line.

He has college offers from Albany, Northern Iowa and Northern Colorado, and several other Missouri Valley Conference schools have been recruiting him.

The 6-3 Miller used quickness and athletic ability around the hoop to average 18.6 points and help Mid-Prairie to the state tournament. He’s a University of Iowa football recruit.

Further proof that the Mississippi Valley Conference should be a beast next season comes in second-team 4A picks Josh Oglesby of Cedar Rapids Washington, Matt Bohannon of Linn-Mar and James Harrington of Cedar Falls. All are D-I recruits: Oglesby and Bohannon juniors and Harrington a sophomore.

Other all-staters include Lisbon senior guard Matt Knake, who was named to the Class 1A second team, and Marion’s Kasey Semler, a third-team pick in 3A.

Linn-Mar beat Sioux City East, 62-57, in the Class 4A consolation game at Wells Fargo Arena to finish its season 24-2. The Lions tied a record held by Cedar Rapids Regis with their seventh consecutive state tournament trip and set a record with their seventh straight finish of fourth or better.

“I didn’t know that,” Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. “I was with Regis for their sixth and seventh as sophomore coach. I learned an awful lot from (former Regis coach) Dick Breitbach. Just to be mentioned with them, that’s a nice record to have.”

You wonder what would have happened had Linn-Mar’s Marcus Paige not picked up mononucleosis and been 100 percent for this tourney. But now there’s next season to get amped about considering Linn-Mar’s top three scorers (Paige, Matt Bohannon and Shane Benton) return.

“We do have a lot of guys coming back,” said Bohannon, who had a game-high 18 points. “Hopefully we’ll get back here next year.”

“We are going to miss our seniors,” added Paige, who had 12 points, including a dunk. “But hopefully we’ll be able to make another run next year.”

Linn-Mar celebrates with its fans after receiving its Class 4A third-place trophy.

The Metro had three 4A state entrants for the first time, and all three should be very good in 2010-11.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson returns four starters, including certain all-stater Jarrod Uthoff. Cedar Rapids Washington has its top two scorers (Josh Oglesby and Wes Washpun) back.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy should be a fine team, too. It won its division in the Mississippi Valley Conference and has a lot of firepower returning.

And, of course, there’s Linn-Mar, which went unbeaten in the MVC.

“Everybody is going to be very good,” Robertson said. “I don’t think you’re going to see anyone go undefeated next season.”

Here are short video interviews with Bohannon and Paige:

Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson strolled around the Wells Fargo Arena floor following Wednesday afternoon’s session. Cedar Rapids Washington wing Josh Oglesby said coaches from Florida, West Virginia and Virginia were in town to watch him play.

Well, maybe not just Oglesby. The potential future college players in action Wednesday included Linn-Mar’s Marcus Paige and Matt Bohannon, Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Jarrod Uthoff and Sioux City East’s Adam Woodbury.

Bohannon, Uthoff and Oglesby are juniors, Paige and the 6-foot-11 Woodbury sophomores. And we’re not even counting Ames’ Harrison Barnes (North Carolina) and Doug McDermott (UNI).

The paparazzi awaits the entrance of Harrison Barnes in the postgame interview room Wednesday.

“I’m not in any hurry at all to commit,” said Woodbury. “I’m just looking forward to the process and how everything happens. Just enjoy it.”

Woodbury said he has offers from Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska, with Utah and Minnesota recruiting him hard. Paige said he has offers from Iowa, ISU, UNI, Illinois and Minnesota. He added he’ll probably decide sometime his junior year.

Oglesby, a 6-5 shooter, was offered by UNI before this season started, with the interest continuing to pick up.

“A variety of schools, mostly Missouri Valley (Conference). Florida, some Big 12 schools,” he said. “My goal is to put on about 25 pounds for next year … I’m just really excited about the offseason, especially with AAU coming around.”

The rail-thin Uthoff had an early offer from Albany and said Wednesday that Northern Iowa and Northern Colorado also have joined the offer list. Bohannon has offers from Albany and Air Force, where his brother, Zach, is a freshman.

“I’m not sure, yet,” Uthoff said, when asked when he will commit. “Probably spring, but I don’t know, I’m not sure. It’s a tough decision.”

Sanquist sitting

Southeast Polk starting forward Tony Sandquist was suspended for two games by his school district and missed his team’s quarterfinal against West Des Moines Dowling. Police said Sandquist attended an underage drinking party last month and was originally suspended for the remainder of the season for violating SEP’s student conduct code.

But Sandquist’s parents hired a lawyer, who took the suspension to court, with a judge ruling he could play in SEP’s substate final win last week over Des Moines Hoover. Sandquist’s re-suspension, if you will, was announced Wednesday.

And the thing that doomed the Cedar Rapids Jefferson J-Hawks in their Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal was the 3-point shot. Go figure.

It was a trio of treys that were pivotal as Sioux City East rallied in the fourth quarter to end Jefferson’s season, 51-43, Wednesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

“We tried to stop their inside game the whole game,” said Jeff’s Jarrod Uthoff. “Then they hit those outside shots.”

Jefferson (18-5) led 15-2 early, with East (21-3) not taking its first lead until Quenton James nailed a corner 3 with 4:15 left. James hit another one two minutes later to bring his team into a 41-41 tie, then Alex Kleene connected from the top of the key with 1:41 remaining to put the Black Raiders ahead for good, 44-42.

Jefferson was outscored in the final quarter by a 21-9 margin. The J-Hawks had just four points the final 2:44, one field goal, shooting 28.6 percent in the second half.

“We made them take some outside shots,” said Jeff Coach Stu Ordman. “And they hit them.”

“That first quarter was the worst one we’ve had all season,” said East Coach Jeff Vanderloo. “I don’t know if it was them or us. Whatever it was, it was great to see us overcome it because we dug ourselves a hole.”

Ordman pointed to foul trouble as a huge key, too. The 6-8 Uthoff, Jeff’s best player, was limited to 10 minutes and two points in the first half because he picked up three fouls.

Five-foot-10 forward Alec Saunders fouled out in the fourth, leaving a Jeff team undersized to begin with even fewer options to combat 6-11 sophomore banger Adam Woodbury and company. Woodbury finished with a game-high 17 points.

“We played hard,” said Jefferson’s Taylor Olson. “But the foul calls hurt us. We got into a lot of foul problems. But that’s not really an excuse.”

“Trying to stop 6-11 and 6-6, along with their athleticism, that makes it problematic,” Ordman said.

Jefferson got a big game off the bench from unheralded Tyler Meiborg, who finished with 13 points off the bench. He came in averaging 2.8. Olson added 12 points and Uthoff 11.

Here’s a short video interview with Uthoff:

[View with PicLens]

You make the call.

Make no mistake, Harrison Barnes is a great basketball player. You don’t get handed the Morgan Wootten Award as the nation’s top prep, as he did Wednesday, without being special.

And he was unstoppable at times in the second half as his team eased to a 57-44 Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal win over Cedar Rapids Washington at Wells Fargo Arena. But without trying to sound too homerish here, if Ames is the best team in state history, Washington must be in the top 25 or so.

“They came out with a lot of energy and matched our intensity,” complimented Barnes, the North Carolina signee. “That’s something we don’t see as much in some of our games.”

In fact, this was just a 22-18 game at halftime, as Washington (14-9) milked clock, limited possessions and hung around. That’s when the 6-foot-8 Barnes took over, scoring 22 of his game-high 29 points in the final half and proving impossible to defend when he really wanted to turn it on.

With a starting lineup of 6-8, 6-8, 6-7 and 6-4, Ames (25-0), which has won 51 straight, pounded Washington on the boards, particularly offensively, where they held a 14-4 edge. Barnes had seven of those rebounds.

“He’s great,” said Wash’s Wes Washpun, who guarded Barnes man-to-man much of the game despite giving up seven inches in height. “But I was excited for the opportunity to guard him.”

“They put pressure on you to score,” said Washington Coach Brad Metzger. “That’s one thing about them is they are so talented, you are going to have to keep scoring. It’s very hard to win a game in the 40s with them.

“So we had to manage that fine line between getting the most out of our possessions and stopping them on defense. For the most part, I’d say we were successful. The places we weren’t were places I don’t think we could physically (match up).”

Josh Oglesby showed off his silky smooth jumper, leading Washington with 15 points. Washpun added 11 and Evan Davis 10. Oglesby and Washpun return next season to what should be another good Wash team.

“A tough loss,” Oglesby said. “But I’m really excited about next year.”

“I am excited about next season,” Washpun agreed. “We’re trying to get back here again. Hopefully we’ll get a better draw.”

Here are video interviews with Barnes and Washpun:

[View with PicLens]

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON (14-8) vs. AMES (24-0), 1:45 p.m.: The Warriors will be heavy underdogs to an Ames squad that won last year’s 4A title and has notched 50 wins in a row. Harrison Barnes averages 26.9 ppg and 10.5 rpg and is a North Carolina recruit. Doug McDermott, a Northern Iowa recruit and son of Iowa State basketball coach Greg, averages 20.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg. The Little Cyclones aren’t so little, going 6-8, 6-8, 6-7 and 6-4 in the starting lineup … Washington’s big two-some all season has been wing Josh Oglesby and point guard Wes Washpun, both juniors. Oglesby, a Division I recruit, averages a team-best 16.3 ppg and made 49 3-pointers (third in the 4A field) despite not playing until after Christmas because of a suspension. Washpun averages 16.3 ppg. Ames shot a 4A-field best 54.1 percent from the field to Wash’s 40.8, which is last.

CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON (18-4) vs. SIOUX CITY EAST (20-3), 3:30 p.m.: This is the 4-5 game, as far as seeds. This is the first state tournament appearance since 1999 for Jefferson, which rallied from double-digits down to beat Cedar Falls in its substate final. The J-Hawks are led by 6-foot-6 junior forward Jarrod Uthoff, who averages a double-double of 21.5 ppg and 10.2 rpg. He is being courted by several Missouri Valley Conference schools. Guard Joby Frey (8.1 ppg) is the lone senior in the starting lineup … East won the Missouri River Activities Conference and is a repeat qualifier. Senior forward Adam Woodbury also averages a double-double of 17.4 ppg and 12.3 rpg. Four of the five Black Raiders’ starters are 6-foot-3 or taller, as opposed to just one for Jefferson.

LINN-MAR (22-1) vs. CLINTON (17-6), 6:35 p.m.: It’s the seventh trip to Des Moines in a row for Linn-Mar, which has never lost a quarterfinal game in its previous seven appearances. The Lions’ lone loss was in their second game to Bettendorf. Look for the guard tandem of junior Matt Bohannon (17.4 ppg) and sophomore Marcus Paige (13.9 ppg), who is a major D-I recruit. Paige has been suffering from mononucleosis, however, so it’ll be interesting to see if he is close to full strength … Clinton hasn’t been to state since 1992. It finished third in the Mississippi Athletic Conference. David Johnson, a Northern Iowa football signee, leads the River Kings in scoring at 15.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Guard Dylan Burn is next at 10.5 ppg. All five starters are seniors, including guard David Mangler (7.3 ppg), who has signed to play baseball at the University of Iowa.

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

Cedar Rapids Kennedy

Cedar Rapids Washington

Dubuque Senior

Dubuque Wahlert

Iowa City High

Linn-Mar

Waterloo West

VALLEY DIVISION

Cedar Falls

Cedar Rapids Jefferson

Cedar Rapids Prairie

Cedar Rapids Xavier

Dubuque Hempstead

Iowa City West

Waterloo East

“He’s something else.”

 And this from Josh Oglesby.

 “He’s really good. That’s about all you can say.”

There’s been more said about Harrison Barnes. A lot more.

The Ames superstar is considered the top college recruit in the country and perhaps the best prep boys’ basketball player in Iowa history. The consensus is he could have jumped straight to the NBA next year but decided to play at least one season at North Carolina.

Linn-Mar’s Paige and Cedar Rapids Washington’s Oglesby have played with or against the 6-foot-8 wunderkind in AAU ball and summer pickup games. You sure won’t hear anything negative about him coming from their mouths.

“I personally think he is worth the hype,” Oglesby said. “And he’s just an overall good kid. He has a 4.0 (grade-point average), focuses on more than basketball. That’s all you can ask for.”

Well, Washington can ask for a victory against him. The Warriors play Ames in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state basketball tournament Wednesday in Des Moines.

It’d be hard to find a more prohibitive favorite for a championship than these Little Cyclones, who are on a 50-game win streak — 26 last season and 24 this season. The pairings are set up for Ames to possibly meet all three 4A qualifiers from the Metro: Washington, Cedar Rapids Jefferson in the semifinals and Linn-Mar in the finals.

You can call this tournament the Ames Invitational, if you want, but that doesn’t mean anything is being conceded.

“I think that’s unfair because it takes away from how well the other seven teams in the tournament have played basketball this season,” said Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman, whose J-Hawks are in the state field for the first time since 1999. “Maybe Ames will win it, maybe they won’t.”

“It’s a great opportunity,” Washington Coach Brad Metzger said. “You’ve got to go down there and play somebody. At that point, everybody should be pretty good, and they are pretty good. But we play who they tell us to play.”

Todd Tharp of the Iowa High School Athletic Association said he expects some sort of attendance bump this week because of Barnes and Ames, though he’s not certain how big because much of Central Iowa already has been able to watch them. Ames has played games at Wells Fargo Arena, Drake’s Knapp Center and Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum this season and had a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Ames is beating opponents by an average of 30 points a game. Barnes (who averages 26.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game) is complemented by 6-7 forward Doug McDermott (20.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg), who has signed with Northern Iowa.

“I don’t think we’re really worried about what the other teams are doing,” said Paige. “I know we’re going to give everything we have, focus in one direction, be on the same page and just go in there blazing and try to do the best we can and get as far as we can. That’s regardless of who we play.”

Linn-Mar was in a one-possession game late with Ames in last year’s championship game before losing by 10. That was without one of its best players, Western Michigan freshman Nate Hutcheson, who was suspended.

They won’t say it publicly, but the Lions think they can play with Ames. For that matter, so does Washington and Jefferson.

No team is unbeatable. Right?

Harrison Barnes