Ratings: Creighton Prep tops Class A boys

 6 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

Class A

(Record in parenthesis, last year's final ranking included) 

  1. Creighton Prep (21-3)  5

[+]Enlarge

.

.

  2. Omaha Bryan (18-8)  -

  3. Lincoln High (20-6)  4

  4. Lincoln Southeast (16-7)  -

  5. Omaha Benson (16-8)  6

  6. Bellevue West (25-3)  3

  7. Bellevue East (18-10)  2

  8. Omaha Central (25-3)  1

  9. Lincoln Southwest (10-12)  -

10. Lincoln East (10-11)  -

Contenders: Grand Island, Millard North, Millard West, Omaha North, Omaha Westside.

The case for No. 1: Creighton Prep will rely on John Karhoff inside, along with Brett Potter and Nick Davis to handle the inside with Alex Hook running the offense from the perimeter. Karhoff had ACL surgery in June.

Football carryover: Millard West may need a little time to gel after winning the football state title, but the Wildcats will rely on Kyle Iske to run the show. Tyler Niederklein gives the Wildcats another force on the perimeter, with Ryan Longacre providing muscle inside.

Plenty of experience: Lincoln High has three starters back, with Pete Uhing running the show. Dylan Flinn has the added toughness from football to hold up the middle and Michael Partee is back. Southeast has just one returning  starter — Taylor Price, and he’s coming off surgery, but the Knights will rely on the inside presence of Matt Hagerbaumer and Eric Jackson, who missed last season with injuries. Southwest has four starters returning, including 6-foot-8 Jake Marvin inside. Lincoln East also returns four starters. Drew Sankey, Tyson Clark and Reece Schwartz should benefit from Scott Sunderman’s steady hand outside.

Perimeter strength: Omaha Bryan will look to returning starters Ben Imig and D.K. Augustine to give new inside players time to grow. Steville Burns gives Benson a weapon on the perimeter with a team that lacks some height.

Inside-outside: Bellevue East has arguably the best big man in Jarrell Crayton, who stormed into the spotlight down the stretch, but the Chieftains must find someone to get the ball to Crayton. Bellevue West will count on  perimeter players Greg Hardin and Tyler Seals, who set the football world on its ear, while Bryce Reinders (6-7) finds his way in the middle.

Class B

  1. Ralston (21-3)  7/A

  2. Beatrice (21-3)  1

  3. Waverly (15-6)  6

  4. Gretna (19-7)  4

  5. Omaha Skutt (20-6)  3

  6. Omaha Gross (11-11)  -

  7. Lincoln Pius X (17-7)  5

  8. McCook (16-11)  10

  9. Scottsbluff (16-12)  -

10. Columbus (4-17)  -

Contenders: Crete, Norris, Seward, South Sioux City.

The case for No. 1: Ralston moves back to Class B after showing it could compete in Class A last year. Greg and Dwight Smith give Ralston all the power it needs inside, but the Rams must find guards to complement the explosive Smith brothers.

Perennial powers: Defending state champion Beatrice will miss Mike Fox, but Trevor Menke can provide the Orangemen will a powerful perimeter weapon, along with Tommie Bardsley. Waverly guard Tyler Evans is one of the most explosive players in the state and Evan Kucera is a force inside.

Guards rule the day: Gretna has three starters back, including point guard Trent Miller, and McCook also has three starters returning, led by Matt Berry, who quarterbacked the football team to a strong season.

Loaded district: Beatrice, Waverly, Lincoln Pius X, Crete and Norris will tangle in B-1.

Class C-1

  1. Hastings St. Cecilia (23-2)  1

  2. Bennington (25-1)  2

  3. Chadron (22-4)  4

  4. Pierce (25-1)  3

  5. Syracuse (15-7)  -

  6. Boys Town (21-6)  5

  7. Norfolk Catholic (12-10)  -

  8. Battle Creek (13-10)  -

  9. St. Paul (16-5)  -

10. Grand Island CC (17-8)  2/C-2

Contenders: Boone Central, Broken Bow, Columbus Scotus, David City, Lincoln Christian, Wahoo.

The case for No. 1: Defending champion Hastings St. Cecilia returns four starters, including all-stater Jake Hamburger. Once the Blue Hawks settle on a point guard, they should take off. They are very athletic and strong, so defense will be St. Cecilia’s forte.

Football carryover: Pierce won the state football title, so the Bluejays may be a bit rusty at first, but they won’t be the only team carrying memories of football success. State runner-up Boys Town will build around Isiah Gandy, Syracuse has four starters back, including Nick Reed and a slew of players who were on the football team. Chadron, led by 6-11 Elliott Eliason, and Norfolk Catholic, with Eric Koehlmoos, have high hopes in basketball after solid seasons on the field.

Loaded districts: Bennington and Boys Town are in the same subdistrict and Battle Creek, Pierce and Norfolk Catholic are in a subdistrict.

Class C-2

  1. Archbishop Bergan (27-0)  1/D-1

  2. Ravenna (25-2)  3

  3. Ponca (22-4)  4

  4. Elmwood-Murdock (21-3)  1

  5. Freeman (16-7)  7/D-1

  6. Loup City (7-12)  -

  7. Wilber-Clatonia (11-10)  -

  8. Oakland-Craig (16-9)  8

  9. Laurel-Concord (15-7)  7

10. Thayer Central (10-10)  -

Contenders: Axtell, East Butler, Hartington CC, Humboldt-TRS, Malcolm, Maxwell.

The case for No. 1: Archbishop Bergan won Class D-1 last year and despite moving up a class, should be solid. Starters Jim Wilmes and John Melies are back. The Knights are big, deep and balanced.

Moving up: Freeman also moves up from D-1 and the Falcons will be solid contenders with four starters returning, including all-stater Ryan Busboom.

Loaded districts: Seven of the rated teams are in four subdistricts. Bergan and Elmwood-Murdock are in the same subdistrict and Oakland-Craig is in the same district. Also paired up at season’s end are Ponca and Laurel-Concord in a subdistrict and Wilber-Clatonia and Thayer Central in another.

Football carryover: Bergan made it to the championship game, so it might take the Knights some time to find their rhythm. Elmwood-Murdock made a long run in the playoffs and Freeman had a strong season.

Class D-1

  1. Burwell (14-7)  -

  2. Humphrey SF (23-3)  2

  3. Bruning-Davenport (20-6)  6/D-2

  4. Omaha Nation (18-3)  10

  5. Arapahoe (13-11)  -

  6. Mead (20-5)  4

  7. Giltner (13-8)  -

  8. Eustis-Farnam (12-8)  -

  9. Emerson-Hubbard (10-14)  -

10. Shelby (9-11)  -

Contenders: Amherst, Bancroft-Rosalie, Deshler, Elwood, Overton, Scribner-Snyder.

The case for No. 1: Burwell returns five starters from a solid team, led by Derek Snyder, who averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds. Two transfers should also bolster the roster, giving the Longhorns depth and some added — and much needed — height.

Football carryover: Humphrey St. Francis made it to the final and while the Flyers have no starters back from their runner-up team, they have plenty of athleticism to contend for the title. Bruning-Davenport also made a push in football, as did Shelby.

Loaded districts: Arapahoe and Eustis-Farnam are in the same subdistrict, while Mead and Bruning-Davenport could meet in a district final, as could  Shelby and Giltner.

Moving up: Bruning-Davenport moves up from Class D-2 and having three returning starters, including all-stater Brett Houchin, along with three part-time starters, should make the Storm a contender.

Class D-2

  1. Ewing (24-1)  5

  2. St. Mary’s (21-5)  4

  3. Hayes Center (24-2)  3/D-1

  4. Hampton (21-5)  3

  5. Falls City Sacred Heart (26-2)  1

  6. Sterling (14-8)  -

  7. Clearwater (8-12)  -

  8. Sargent (14-8)  -

  9. Elgin (14-7)  -

10. Pleasanton (24-2)  2

Contenders: Clay Center, Coleridge, Leigh, Pope John.

The case for No. 1: Ewing is the pick to earn a basketball title to go with the Tigers’ football championship. First-team all-stater Austin Kaczor got to give his big brother some grief after Brett was named second-team all-state last year. A solid group of athletes, including football standouts Chad Rokahr and Beau Fry, give Ewing a solid nucleus.

Guard-heavy: Defending champion Falls City Sacred Heart returns just one starter — Joe Santo — and the Irish will likely play four guards.

Good-hearted record: Heartland Lutheran broke a Guinness World Record last summer for the longest basketball game by playing 77 hours, 7 minutes and 7 seconds. The Red Hornets’ effort raised more than $62,000 for the school.

Loaded districts: There is one really loaded district, with Sacred Heart and Sterling in one subdistrict and Hampton and Pleasanton in the other subdistrict. Ewing and Clearwater are in the same subdistrict.

Football carryover: Ewing isn’t the only school that had success in football and now looks forward to a strong basketball season. St. Mary’s, Hayes Center, Sargent and Elgin were all in the final football ratings.