How many Iowa high school teams have had 2 NBA players on them? And Barnes has been a consistent NBA starter for 10 years now? And look at the numbers McD put up at Creighton. I think you’re pushing it here.
Yeah, probably a stretch to say there were a lot of teams that might have smoked the 3 teams I mentioned.
But you have to realize those guys weren't NBA players at that time. Of course Barnes was a top rated guy. But nobody would have guessed that McDermott would have turned into anything close to what he has. As I mentioned, Gatens' City High team smoked Ames in a holiday scrimmage. Although, as I recall, Barnes was just a sophomore. City didn't have any NBA players. But some college players and NFL athletes.
There are plenty of teams that have had great athletes, that weren't NBA players, that could dominate at the high school level. Over several decades of great teams, I'm not sure Ames is the hill I'd die on.
A lot of it comes down to matchups. For example, Waukee was loaded, but had trouble staying in front of quick guards that would take it right at them. I don't think they'd have done very well against a few of the East Waterloo teams over the years.
There also used to be a lot more size. Collison's team has been mentioned. I don't recall what LaFrentz's teammates were like. But I'm sure he was a handful. The starting five on Russ Millard's Cedar Rapids Washington team, I believe, went 6'9", 6'8", 6'5", 6'5", and 6'3". Their coach at the time made the mistake of not bringing sophomore Dedric Ward up to varsity until the tournament, or that team would have been super scary. But that's another story. But also an example of a 4.29 NFL athlete that could have been a Big Ten PG had he chosen basketball.
As it turned out, that CR Washington team didn't even make it to state, which brings up another point. The power used to be in eastern Iowa. And there are so many great teams from eastern Iowa that never even made it to state because they all had to go through each other in the earlier rounds.
Pretty sure Ricky Davis had at least one really good teammate at Davenport North. But I don't think they won state.
Systems are also huge in highschool ball. For example, Iowa City West has had some teams that will absolutely lock you down with their half-court D. And they've had some talented teams too. Linn-Mar's had some teams that have been running motion offense in their sleep together since they were 7 years old. Jason Bohannon's team was damn good.
So many great teams that go back long before my time. And too many in my time to mention them all. I don't recall how stacked his team was, but I remember Kirk Heinrich put on a mesmerizing performance at state.
It's not necessarily as simple as two NBA players. Although there's no arguing that Ames was great. But a lot can change. For example, Jacob Jaacks name in high school was Jake Crane. He could barely dunk. And he was the fifth best starter on his CR Jefferson team that did not win state. And of course, the Murray twins were two skinny little guys at CR Prairie that had one scholarship offer in highschool
