Baxter’s Damman earns IPSWA all-state basketball honors

Baxter’s Cole Damman turned a record-setting season into an all-state honor on the hardwood this past season.

Damman led the Bolts to a school-record 15 wins and was rewarded with an all-state honor by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association recently.

Damman earned third-team all-state recognition in Class 1A.

All-state teams in all four classes were released on Tuesday. Eight players were selected for first, second and third teams in each class.

The Iowa Basketball Coaches Association’s all-substate teams also were announced recently.

Damman was selected to the 1A Substate 6 team, while Colfax-Mingo senior Brady Berkey was voted to the 2A Substate 6 squad and Prairie City-Monroe’s Jason Stafford earned a spot on the 2A Substate 7 team.

The 1A Substate 6 team included Damman, Madrid’s Braden Gibbons, Grand View Christian’s Gage Fry, West Fork’s Kayden Ames, AGWSR’s Luke Starr, Ogden’s Griffin Diggs and Ankeny Christian’s Cale Leaver and Nic Worsham.

The 1A Substate 6 Coach of the Year was West Fork’s Frank Schnoes.

Berkey’s 2A Substate 6 team also included Van Meter’s Anthony Potthoff and Chris Schreck, Woodward-Granger’s Bryce Achenbach, Albia’s Blake Chance, Chariton’s Jackson Curnutte, Pleasantville’s Teron Mount and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Kalen Walker.

The 2A Substate 6 Coach of the Year was Woodward-Granger’s Brent Achenbach.

Stafford was joined on the 2A Substate 7 team by Des Moines Christian’s Curran Ingram and Ben Loverude, Pella Christian’s Josh Van Gorp and Dan Jungling and Aplington-Parkersburg’s Jayden Mackie and Joshua Haan.

The 2A Substate 7 Coach of the Year was Pella Christian’s Larry Hessing.

Damman’s 475 points, 66 made 3-pointers and 53 steals all were Baxter school records for a season. He scored at least 17 points in all but four games and was held to single digits in only two games this season.

Against Montezuma, which finished third in 1A, Damman finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. He finished with a pair of double-doubles.

In two wins against Collins-Maxwell, Damman tallied 60 points. He put in 31 points four times this season.

He had 31 points and 10 assists against Saydel, 31 points six rebounds and eight assists against Waterloo Christian and 31 points six rebounds and five assists against GMG. He scored at least 20 points 14 times.

Damman had 116 assists, which ranked second all-time for the Bolts. Damman, who went past 1,000 career points this season, was 10th in 1A in scoring at 21.6 points per game.

He also shot 45 percent from the floor, 39 percent from 3-point range and 79 percent from the free-throw line.

Damman, who led the Bolts to a 15-7 record, averaged 3.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

Berkey averaged 18 points, 7.3 rebounds, five assists, 2.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game this season for the Tigerhawks.

Berkey shot 44.2 percent from the floor, 25.5 percent from 3-point range and 74 percent from the foul line. He made 25 3-pointers.

The Tigerhawk senior scored in double-figures in all but one game this season, tallied four double-doubles and nearly claimed a pair of triple-doubles.

Berkey finished with 33 points and eight rebounds against Collins-Maxwell and 36 points and 12 rebounds against Baxter.

He put in more than 20 points six times.

Stafford had career numbers in almost every major statistical category this past season.

He set career-highs in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and made 3-pointers.

Stafford ranked second on the team at 14.1 points per game. He led the Mustangs with a career-best 40 made 3-pointers and averaged a team-best 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Stafford also averaged 4.9 rebounds per game and shot 43.8 percent from the floor, 35 percent from 3-point range and 77 percent from the free-throw line. He also had a career-best seven total blocks.

He set career-highs with 324 points, 113 rebounds and 34 steals.

Stafford scored 580 points in his four-year prep career, improving his total in each season.