Tuesday, April 23, 2019 ● The Gazette 1B

SPORTS
BUCKS ADVANCE IOWA FOOTBALL RECRUITING: ANALYSIS

Jacobs stays
true to the
Hawkeyes
Editor’s note: Fifth in a series of ar-
ticles taking an analytical look at Iowa’s
latest football recruits.

By Marc Morehouse, The Gazette

IOWA CITY — Iowa found gold last

USA Today Sports
Detroit Pistons guard Wayne Ellington
(20) goes to the basket on Milwaukee
Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) in the
first half last night at Little Caesars
Arena in Detroit. Story, 2B.
year when it had Amani Hooker slide
about 10 yards closer to the line of
scrimmage and play the “star” position.
It’s a safety/linebacker hybrid posi-
tion that fit Hooker’s skill so well that
247Sports
he’ll skip his senior year and now is
Iowa freshman linebacker Jesten Jacobs, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Ohio, had 25 offers, includ-
;; IOWA, PAGE 4B ing from Ohio State, Michigan State and Nebraska.

SIDELINE J.R. OGDEN

MIDWEST LEAGUE

Kernels rained out,

playing twice today
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. —
Last night’s game between the
Legendary track coach
Raffensperger dies
Cedar Rapids Kernels and the
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
was rained out at Fox Cities
Stadium.
The two teams are now
playing a doubleheader today.
The opener is at 12:05 p.m.
with the second game 30 min-
utes after the first. Both are
7-inning games.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Ex-Cyclone Lard
declares for NBA Draft
AMES — Iowa State
sophomore Cameron Lard an-
nounced last month he didn’t
plan to return to Ames in the
fall. On Monday, Lard an-
nounced he plans to enter the
NBA Draft rather than trans-
fer to another college.
“I truly believe the time is
now for me to give this my
all,” Lard wrote on Instagram.
Lard played in 24 games as
a sophomore and averaged 5.6
points and 2.8 rebounds per
game.
The 6-foot-9 forward is the
third Cyclone to declare for
the NBA Draft, along with
freshman guard Talen Horton-
Tucker and sophomore guard
Lindell Wigginton. Senior
Marial Shayok hopes to be
drafted as well.
The NBA Draft is June 20.

Coe promotes Molinari

to associate head coach
CEDAR RAPIDS — Coe
College and head men’s bas-
ketball coach Byran Martin
announced Monday the pro-
motion of Paxton Molinari
from assistant coach to associ- The Gazette
ate head coach of the men’s Former Iowa City High track coach John Raffensperger holds up the jersey of Mike Muller, who ran for him in 1973, during a ceremony in 2000 dedicating
basketball program. the new City High track to Raffensperger. Raffensperger died Monday.
Molinari finished his fourth
season on Martin’s staff serv-
ing as the recruiting coordina- ‘Raff’ was among the elite, es who mentor, mold and John Raffensperger, or he was much more at peace.”
tor, the guards coach and the teach those aforementioned “Raff” to his many friends, Woody, who ran for
defensive coordinator.
on and off the track athletes. died at his home in Iowa Raffensperger at City High
“I am excited to continue Not every encounter is City. in the 1990s and is one of the

working with the great young
men we have in our program
and the new recruits we have
coming to Coe,” Molinari said.
Coe finished 14-12 last
season and had three play-
ers earn All-American River
Conference honors, including
Adam Dermott and Calvin
Winker, both Xavier grads.
O
ne of the greatest
perks of this job is
the people we meet.
The boys and girls at the
high school level, the men
and women who are lucky
enough to compete colle-
giately.
And, of course, the coach-
wonderful, but the vast —
and I mean vast — majority
of those athletes, coaches
and administrators are good
people.
Last week I found out one
of those good ones was sick.
Very sick.
On Monday, I learned
This one hits hard.
“I got a chance to see him
last week” before leaving for
Torrance, Calif., and the Mt.
SAC Relays, Iowa track and
field coach Joey Woody said
later in the week. “We had a
good conversation.
“When he got back home,
state’s all-time best, got an-
other chance to visit his old
coach Sunday.
“He’s more than just a
coach, not only to myself
but to many others,” Woody
said. “It’s kind of surreal
;; OGDEN, PAGE 2B

COLLEGE BASEBALL JUNIOR HOCKEY

Kornstad, Jamesson
earn MWC honors
MOUNT VERNON — Cor-
nell swept the Midwest Con-
ference honors, with senior
Sam Kornstad earning Pitcher
of the Week and junior third
baseman Cale Jamesson win-
ning Player of the Week.
Kornstad pitched a 2-hitter
as the Rams blanked Mon-
mouth last week, striking out
C.R. power play getting job done in playoffs
RoughRiders return home for against Chicago at the Ce-
2 critical games against Steel dar Rapids Ice Arena having
scored eight times with the
man advantage.
By Jeff Johnson, The Gazette That includes
at least once in
CEDAR RAPIDS — The Ce- each game, and
dar Rapids RoughRiders have twice each in the
won three of their four United first two games of
States Hockey League playoff this best-of-5 set.
Tonelli said. “Getting a lot of
pucks to the net, rebounds, USHL PLAYOFFS
creating havoc. Not trying to
make things too complicated.” WESTERN CONFERENCE
SEMIFNALS
Cedar Rapids won Sunday’s
Game 2 at Chicago with an (Series tied, 1-1)
Tonight
overtime power-play goal by
Aidan McDonough. It kept the Chicago at C.R.
RoughRiders, 7:05 p.m.
puck in the Steel zone most of
the nearly two minutes, with Wednesday
© 2019 The Gazette

eight and walking one. Chicago at C.R.

Jamesson hit .500 (11 of 22)
at the plate with four doubles,
two home runs and 10 RBIs.
Cornell is 15-13 (3-5 MWC).
The Gazette
games so far for a lot of rea-
sons. One is by having a lot of
power in their power play.
The Riders go into tonight’s
pivotal Game 3 of an Eastern
Conference semifinal series
With 19 total op-
Jordan Tonelli portunities, that’s
C.R. center a torrid 42.9-per-
cent success rate.
“I think we’re just making
smart plays,” forward Jordan
good puck movement and a
RoughRiders, 7:05 p.m.
plethora of shot attempts.
That’s been a regular thing Saturday
(If necessary)
in the postseason. The Riders
C.R. RoughRiders at
;; HOCKEY, PAGE 2B Chicago, 7:05 p.m.
2B The Gazette ● Tuesday, April 23, 2019

SPORTS
NBA PLAYOFFS
Ogden/‘Raff’
touched many
lives on, off track
;; FROM PAGE 1B admired him greatly while
coaching against him.”
right now. He’s always been Even my oldest son, Jack,
that strong person in my who ran at Washington and
life. UNI, noted in a text that
“He’s definitely like a fa- Raff “always was great to
ther figure to me.” me every time I saw him,
Raff is survived by his was always interested like
wife of more than 50 years, I was one of his own ath-
Sharon, who was by his side letes.”
for many, if not all, of those He always had a smile
prep meets, keeping stats. and, during those City High
They have two sons and days, offered kind words for
three grandchildren. There his athletes and competi-
will be a visitation Sunday tors. He took time for inter-
at City High. Funeral servic- views or just a quick “hel-
es are Monday at 11 a.m. at lo.” He not only answered a
First Presbyterian Church journalist’s questions, but
USA Today Sports photos
in Iowa City. asked his own about you
Raffensperger coached at and your family.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova (77) and center Brook Lopez (11) surround Detroit Pistons center Andre Drum- City High, his alma mater, And he loved track and
mond (0) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. for 36 years, 34 as the head field.
boys’ track and field coach.

Bucks complete sweep

Antetokounmpo pours in
41 points for Milwaukee
Field Level Media
DETROIT — Giannis An-
tetokounmpo poured in 41
points, and the visiting Mil-
waukee Bucks earned their
first playoff series victory in
18 seasons by completing a
four-game sweep of the Detroit
Pistons with a 127-104 win last
night.
The All-Star forward added
nine rebounds, three assists
and four blocks for the top-
seeded Bucks, who will play
fourth-seeded Boston in the
Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Celtics swept the Indiana
Pacers in a first-round series.
Milwaukee had lost in the
first round during its past eight
playoff appearances.
Khris Middleton had 18
points and Eric Bledsoe con-
tributed 16 points and five
assists for the Bucks. Nikola
Mirotic tossed in 12 points off
the bench. Sterling Brown
added nine points, 12 rebounds
and five assists for Milwaukee,
which also swept the Pistons
during the four-game regular-
season series.
Milwaukee shot 41 free
throws, hitting 31, compared
to Detroit’s 9-of-12 finish at the
line.
The eighth-seeded Pistons
were swept in the opening
round of the playoffs for the
Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) is fouled by Milwaukee Bucks forward
Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the first half last night at Little Caesars Arena.
third time since 2009. They lost
their 14th consecutive post-
season game, an NBA record.
They haven’t won a playoff
game since the 2007-08 season.
Reggie Jackson led Detroit
with 26 points and seven as-
sists. Blake Griffin had 22
points, five rebounds and six
assists before fouling out. An-
dre Drummond chipped in 15
points and 12 rebounds.
Jackson carried the Pis-
tons’ offense in the first half,
pouring in 20 points as Detroit
grabbed a 62-56 halftime ad-
vantage.
Griffin made a 3-pointer
early in the third to give the
Pistons a 71-62 lead, but Griffin
and Drummond soon picked up
their fourth fouls.
Middleton hit three free
throws when Bruce Brown
committed his fifth foul, tying
the score at 73-all.
Griffin hit a pair of threes in
a 29-second span to put Detroit
back in front.
Pat Connaughton’s steal and
dunk with 4:21 remaining in
the quarter allowed Milwaukee
to regain the lead, 83-82. Ante-
tokounmpo attempted six free
throws in a 1:39 span and made
five, stretching the Bucks’ ad-
vantage to 91-84.
A Bledsoe layup in the final
minute of the quarter made it
95-85.
The Bucks also scored the
first five points of the fourth.
Woody said at a lot of
Before retiring in 2004, he high schools, track and
directed the Little Hawks to field is “spring training for
17 Mississippi Valley Con- football,” but Raff made it
ference divisional titles, 11 “an important sport” at City
MVC Super Meet crowns High. His teams not only
and 10 state titles. Fifty-six were talented, they were
of his athletes won state large. Kids wanted to run,
titles, 36 were Drake Relay throw and jump for Raff.
champions and, in 2001, After Woody was named
the Little Hawk medley re- head coach at Iowa, he
lay was declared national brought Raffensperger out
champion. of retirement and hired him
A two-sport standout as a volunteer assistant.
as an athlete at Iowa State “Fortunately for me, I’ve
Teachers College (now been able to see him every
Northern Iowa), he was day for the last 13 years,”
named state coach of the Woody said. “For me, hav-
year eight times, MVC ing him around was huge.
coach of the year 15 times “He understands how to
and national coach of the work with 18-, 19-, 20-year
year in 2000. He’s in the olds.”
UNI, City High and Iowa And Raff loved it. Every
track coaches halls of fame. time we talked, far too in-
The track facility at City frequently over the past 13
High was named in his hon- years, he lit up when asked
or in 2000. about his role — which he
But those are just the downplayed, of course —
facts and figures — impres- and the fact he still is active
sive numbers, for sure, that in the sport.
showcase that he truly was “He’s brought more to
one of the greatest track our program than we can
coaches in state history. ever bring to him,” Woody
They tell you what he did, said.
but are only part of who he I might argue that point,
was. but just a little. Raff loved
Raffensperger was, sim- working with Woody and
ply, one of the nicest people the Hawks. He told me that
you’ll ever meet. He was a many times.
good man, But Raff also touched
The City High boys’ track many during his lifetime,
and field Twitter account during his coaching career.
posted this Monday: It’s kind of fitting that the
“We are going to miss Drake Relays, one of Raff’s
our mentor, our friend and favorite weekends, kicks off
our COACH! Rest in peace Wednesday. But there will
RAFF.” be an empty seat at Drake
Randy Bates, who Stadium this year. And that
coached at Cedar Rapids hits hard.
Washington, commented on l Comments: (319) 368-8696;
Facebook that he “always jr.ogden@thegazette.com

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Messerli invested in Marion Hockey/RoughRiders

Girls’ basketball assistant
named head boys’ coach
By Jeff Johnson, The Gazette
MARION — Invested? They
don’t come any more invested
than Pete Messerli.
He is Marion High School,
through and through.
The 35-year-old played mul-
tiple sports for the Indians, has
been a coach at multiple levels
in multiple sports for them.
He’s a legacy, as his father,
Dave, was a teacher and coach
at the school for years.
If caring about every single
thing red and gold means any-
thing, officially naming him
the new head boys’ basketball
coach Monday, as the school
did, was a home-run hire.
“It’s special because I played
in the program, I grew up
watching teams,” Messerli said
last night. “It has always been
important to me because it’s all
I’ve ever known ... I’ve always
had a passion for Marion ath-
letics.
“To have this be my first
head coaching job in any sport,
and for it to be a program that
I’ve seen for the last 20 years or
so, one way or another, is just
special.”
add 2 in dispersal draft
;; FROM PAGE 1B
were pedestrian on the man-
up in the regular season,
converting on 17.7 percent
of their tries, which ranked
12 out of 17 teams in the
USHL.
The two power-play
groups obviously have a lot
of confidence right now.
“I think everything gets
magnified in the postsea-
son,” McDonough said. “But
the power play is really im-
portant, especially being in
Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette close games in the playoffs.
Marion assistant coach Pete Messerli (center) encourages players from the bench We’ve just had an emphasis
along with head coach Corby Laube (second from right) and assistant coach on keeping it simple. Get-
Josh Claypool (right) during a high school girls’ basketball game Jan. 9, 2018, ting pucks to the net, getting
at Marion High School in Marion. On Monday, Messerli was named the new boys’ traffic to the net, getting on
basketball head coach at Marion. rebounds. We’ve done some
video to work on it. So far,
A 2002 Marion graduate and with the players. it’s just been good.”
2006 Mount Mercy University “I think that’s advantageous The thing about going
grad, Messerli was freshman to me that I know the kids,” he 3-of-5 with the man advan-
coach for four years under said. “Whether I’ve had them tage thus far in the Chicago
Manderscheid and has spent in class or just talked to them series is their best set-up
the past seven seasons as an in the hallway. Seen them ev- guy, Nathan Smith, hasn’t
assistant for Corby Laube in ery day there, maybe coached been in the lineup. C.R.’s top
the girls’ program. He got his them in football. I do know the point getter in the regular
start as a teacher and coach at kids, have some background season has missed the first
North Linn. on them, some type of base re- two games with illness, his
Throw North Linn’s Mike lationship with them. availability for today and
Hilmer in there, and Mes- “That will help quite a bit Wednesday in question.
Tonelli said. “We’ve always
seemed to have guys go
down — injuries, suspen-
sions, whatever. Kind of
that next-man-up mental-
ity.”
“We’ve had to move a
couple of things around be-
cause we found out on game
day (Saturday) that Smitty
wasn’t going to be playing,”
Coach Mark Carlson said.
“The guys have done a good
job of being able to adjust.
We’ve just executed on the
plan. We’ll have to have
another plan for Tuesday,
depending on if Smitty is
back or not.”
The RoughRiders took a
pair of 16-year-olds Monday
in the USHL’s Dispersal
Draft. The Central Illinois
Flying Aces are going dor-
mant, with their players
and affiliate list players
available to be taken by
other clubs.
Cedar Rapids took Cana-
dian forward Joshua Barnes
first. He’s a Penn State
commit who played in two
games this season for Cen-
tral Illinois.
The Riders also selected
© 2019 The Gazette

Messerli replaces Mike Man-
derscheid, who stepped down
last month after 11 years as
head coach. Manderscheid led
Marion to four state tourna-
ments.
serli has had some tremendous
mentors.
He doesn’t think switching
back to the boys’ side will be
a big deal, as he is a business
teacher at Marion and familiar
moving forward, that at least
I’m not a new face to them and
they are not new faces to me.”
l Comments: (319) 398-8259;
jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
Smith, a Winnipeg Jets
draft pick, had three goals
and 12 assists on the power
play in the regular season.
“It’s just kind of the way
our team has been all year,”
forward Jason Siedem of
New Jersey, an original
Boston College commit who
has reopened his recruiting.
l Comments: (319) 398-8259;
jeff.johnson@thegazette.com