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.

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

Team (W-L) Apps Titles

Ames (24-0) 19 7
C.R. Jefferson (18-4) 8 1
C.R. Washington (14-8) 16 1
Clinton (17-6) 9 1
Linn-Mar (22-1) 8 3
Sioux City East (20-3) 14 2
Southeast Polk (19-3) 5 0
W.D.M. Dowling (17-7) 12 2

SCORING LEADERS Avg.

Harrison Barnes (Ames) 26.9
Kody Ingle (SEP) 23.8
Jarrod Uthoff (CRJ) 21.5
Doug McDermott (Ames) 20.5
Adam Woodbury (SCE) 17.4
Matt Bohannon (L-M) 17.4
Josh Oglesby (CRW) 16.3
Jordan Thomas (SCE) 15.7
David Johnson (Clinton) 15.5

REBOUNDING LEADERS Avg.

Adam Woodbury (SCE) 12.3
Harrison Barnes (Ames) 10.5
Jarrod Uthoff (CRJ) 10.2
Jeff Sponder (SCE) 8.8
Doug McDermott (Ames) 7.8
David Johnson (Clinton) 7.8

PREDICTIONS
Quarterfinals
Ames 65, C.R. Washington 45

Sioux City East 46, C.R. Jefferson 43
Linn-Mar 62, Clinton 48
SE Polk 66, W.D.M. Dowling 55

Semifinals
Ames 77, Sioux City East 58
Linn-Mar 74, Southeast Polk 66

Championship
Ames 80, Linn-Mar 60

NOTES

- This is the first time the Cedar Rapids Metro area has three teams in the Class 4A state tournament.

- This is the seventh straight trip to the state tournament for Linn-Mar, which was second to Ames last season. The Lions have never lost a quarterfinal game and are 16-5 overall at the state tournament.

- Linn-Mar has won three 4A state titles, finished second twice, third once and fourth once.

- Cedar Rapids Washington is making its 16th state tournament appearance but hasn’t won a state tournament game since 1980. The Warriors placed third that season.Washington has one title (1969), two second-place finishes and two third.

- Cedar Rapids Jefferson hasn’t won a state tournament game since 1996. It’s the eighth appearance for the J-Hawks, who won it all in 1967 (under the recently passed away Gay Dahn), placed second in 1964 and third in ‘96.

Cedar Rapids Washington's Josh Oglesby (left) bumps with Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Joby Frey during a game earlier this season. Both Wash and Jeff have advanced to the Class 4A state basketball tournament.

2009-10 All-Metro Boys' Basketball

Striking how much better the Valley Division was this season than the Mississippi Division. Three MVC are at the state tournament next week, all from the Valley Division.

2009 10.PDF All MVC Hoops

“We’ve been overlooked most of the season,” Warriors guard Wes Washpun said after his team’s 54-47 Class 4A substate final basketball win last night at the U.S. Cellular Center over Iowa City High. “So we’re just going try and make some noise there.”

Washington (14-8) won its eighth game in a row to qualify for next week’s state tournament in Des Moines. You’d have to ponder awhile to come up with a more prohibitive favorite for a championship than North Carolina recruit Harrison Barnes and these Little Cyclones, who are ranked as high as fourth nationally by some folks.

But Washington will gladly take its shot at Goliath. The teams are matched up in the quarterfinals next week in Des Moines.

“I’m so proud of our team,” said Wash’s Josh Oglesby. “I’m so excited right now.”

As you’d expect, it was Washpun and Oglesby down the stretch offensively for the Warriors, who had a 12-point third-quarter lead evaporate. A John Chelf 3-pointer midway through the fourth gave City High (10-13) a 41-40 edge, but Washpun and Oglesby combined for nine consecutive points to put Washington up for good, 49-41, in the final minute.

Continually slashing to the hoop, Washpun had a game-high 22 points. Oglesby, who was shut out in the first quarter, finished with 20 points, including 4 3-pointers.

“We put together a good run,” said Chelf, who finished with 12 points. “We thought we had them, but they battled back.”

“I’m just not surprised. In big games, teams are going to come back,” said Washington Coach Brad Metzger. “We got up 12 … We’ve just got to work on some things ball-control wise. We also missed some bunnies, missed some free throws.”

The teams split their two regular-season games, with City High winning at “The Cell.” Terrance Brown had 15 points and 14 rebounds for City High.

Here’s a postgame interview with Washington’s Washpun: