Do yourself a favor this winter. Turn off the TV and attend some of the outstanding local college basketball games in Cedar Rapids.

You'll be glad you did and perhaps surprised at what you find.

Kirkwood, Coe and Mount Mercy have some very good teams, both men and women. They play entertaining games that feature numerous players from Iowa, including recent stars from the Metro high schools.

The Kirkwood men are ranked No. 2 in the nation in junior college Division II basketball with a 10-1 record. One of their top players is former Jefferson star Jacob Olson. The Kirkwood women are ranked No. 6 in the nation with an 8-3 record and one of their top players is Prairie grad Cyerra Hutchins.

Coe College has a talented men's basketball team that features a number of excellent players from Eastern Iowa, and their women's team has four prominent players from Cedar Rapids in Aleena Hobbs of Washington (a budding All-American), Courtney McCrary of Prairie, Jordan Holmes of Kennedy and Ashley Stulken of Xavier, although Stulken has been slowed by an injury.

You won't find a sweeter 3-point shooter in the nation than Coe marksman Mickey Hansche, who made 20 3-pointers for the Coe women in their first five games this season and was hitting 52.6 percent of her triples.

The Mount Mercy men's basketball team was ranked No. 15 in the nation in the NAIA poll before losing to a pair of ranked teams and dropping out of the poll, but the Mustangs are a fun bunch to watch and scoring 92.2 points per game. The Mustangs reached the second round of the NAIA national tournament last year and could be heading back again.

The Mount Mercy women's basketball team got off to a slow start this season and is 4-7 after Wednesday night's 49-48 loss at Iowa Wesleyan, but All-American Abby Herb from Cedar Rapids Washington is healthy again after missing four games with a hip injury and the Mustangs could be ready to take off. Prairie grad Alisa Weiland is another prominent player for Mount Mercy.

It's not a stretch to say that all six local college basketball teams could contend for conference titles and berths in national tournaments. The teams at Kirkwood, Coe and Mount Mercy are that good.

Kim Muhl has rolled up a 773-144 record with six national titles in 27 years with the Kirkwood women's basketball program, so he certainly knows what it takes to compete at the highest levels. And Bryan Petersen, the young head coach of the Kirkwood men, has fashioned a 56-18 record in three years with the Eagles and has a sharp eye for talent.

If you happened to see Coe top Mount Mercy, 95-82, in a men's basketball game Tuesday night, you saw how Coach Coach Bryan Martin had his team playing at a high level with terrific ball movement and shooting. Aaron Jennings has a fine club at Mount Mercy, but the Kohawks gave the Mustangs fits in that game at Eby Fieldhouse.

Nate Oakland has gotten off to a good start in his first year as head coach of the Coe women's basketball team with a 5-1 record after Wednesday night's 71-61 win at Carthage. Randi Henderson assembled a lot of talent at Coe before leaving for the Division I ranks after last season and Oakland appears to be the right coach to take them to the next level.

Jennings did a fine job as the head coach of the Mount Mercy women's basketball team before suddenly becoming the head coach of the men's team this fall when Paul Gavin became the school's athletic director. It's tough for any team to change coaches on the cusp of a new season, but Jennings undoubtedly will put his stamp on the club and get rolling again.

Jennings has Kennedy grads Ben Struss, Kyle Lamaak and Blake Murdock on his team, along with Linn-Mar grad Derik Gogg.

Bob Kintzel, a successful high school coach at Mount Vernon, is serving as the interim head coach of the Mount Mercy women this year, also on short notice and with Herb battling a nagging injury. They have talent and great potential.

Tickets for all of these local college basketball games are modestly priced. And depending on where you live, the gyms are probably only 15 or 20 minutes away from where you live.

Do yourself a favor and go check them out. You'll be doing the local teams a favor, too, by letting them know you care.