By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
The 2008 Nebraska boys’ state basketball tournament is in the books. After being away from Huskerland for the better part of a decade, not much has changed. It is still cold in March and it is still surprising how physical basketball in Nebraska actually is.
It was an absolute honor to cover it for the first time in my young career for MaxPreps.com. The Bob Devaney Sports Center for the Nebraska state tournament has always been my favorite place in sports to attend, even more so that Wrigley Field, Memorial Stadium for Nebraska football, and Old Trafford.
However, this is not a Nebraska high school basketball love fest. The Nebraska School Activities Association needs to take a look at two main things heading into the 2008-09 basketball season.
It’s time for a shot clock. If the Class B bracket was any indication, the need for a shot clock is long overdue. Beatrice scored 48, 40, and 39 points and won a state championship. It seems that offense in Nebraska has regressed rather than gotten better over the years.
Letting the players play. Sometimes in Nebraska, basketball becomes reminiscent of a football or rugby game. Not so long ago, Nebraska finally went to three-man officiating crews. It is nearly impossible to tell the difference from two-man crews. Teams that qualify for the state tournament are always well-organized machines. There is some “over-coaching” going on, but the officials need to clean up the rough play.
Just a few minor things. There would be a third, but most of those covering the state tournament are pretty sure the NSAA will abolish its one-year experiment with the consolation games at Pershing on Saturday. According to a local television journalist, “We don’t care. We will not cover the games. Nobody cares.” At least I wasn’t the only one.
State Tournament Awards
Best Moment: Fremont Bergan’s Wes Eikmeier scoring 43 in the Class D1 final was the best tournament moment in at least the last 16 years. Eikmeier was not 100 percent due to a lower back strain, but he put his injury on the shelf for 64 minutes of basketball to ensure Bergan would win its first title since 1987. But the one moment that comes to mind was when he finally got to embrace head coach Chris Paulson to receive his championship medal. Wes did not want to let go as tears were streaming down his eyes. That is what this is all about.
Best Player: Eikmeier. Hands down. No discussion. Potentially a future All-Big XII player at Iowa State. Bet me. A few of the press members during the Class A title game got on me for saying Eikmeier was better than Omaha Central guard Josh Jones. Eikmeier went toe to toe with Jones in summer ball and would anywhere.
Bellevue East post player Jarrell Crayton, just a junior, was better than expected. In fact, he was great. He was absolutely dominant and may have earned himself an offer from Nebraska in the process. Jones and Bellevue West’s Antoine Young will both make Creighton fans very happy. Ralston's Greg Smith is a nice player, while Elkhorn post Josh Lynch will be a nice Division II player at Nebraska-Omaha.
Best Band: Lincoln Southeast, by default. Even though the Knights were not at the 2008 state tournament, they are the best pep band in the entire state year in and year out. In fact, the NSAA should look into giving Southeast the wildcard every year to ensure we get to hear it. If you need somebody that actually qualified, let’s go with Lincoln High. Why not?
Best Students: Beatrice’s ‘O’ Zone. Ironic because Beatrice apparently doesn’t like offense when it plays basketball, so maybe they should change the name to the "Stall Zone" in the future.
Best Uniforms: Omaha Central’s road black. Absolutely sharp. Made by Nike, Central has purple numerals with white trim. Down the side of the shorts, Eagles is written in purple and white. They wore them all three days of the tournament.
Best Dunk: Omaha Central sophomore Deverell Biggs gets the honor. He is listed at 6-foot. Maybe in those shoes that strengthen your leg muscles so you can jump better. Apparently, he uses them often. In the semifinal victory over Bellevue West, Biggs had a glorified lay-up that you could count as a dunk. In the state final? Not so much. Biggs had his elbow at the rim and threw one down against Bellevue East. Biggs is a star in the making for Omaha Central. The kid can flat out play. By the way, he’s more like 5-10.
Smith in Ralston’s first round loss to Bellevue East was nice. It was pretty simple, just a one-hander from the left side of the hoop, but it was effortless. Smith, a 6-6 junior, is a hidden gem. Crayton had two in the Class A final, while Jones had one. Elkhorn's Devan Walsh threw one down in the Class B first round upset of Omaha Skutt.
Best Storyline: Since Bellevue East never made it to the semifinals in my lifetime or as Bellevue East (they are the original Bellevue before Bellevue West opened), the Chieftains making it all the way to the championship game entering the tournament with nine losses was good to see. Also, Grand Island Central Catholic’s version of the ‘cardiac kids’ in Class C2 was heart-warming as well.
Strangest Fans: The Elmwood-Murdock band member wearing the cheerleader outfit was interesting. He looked interesting. Not a typo… it was a he. Elmwood-Murdock had another individual dressed in aluminum foil from head to toe. Then, another individual with Under Armour boxers and a caution sign around his waist… oh nevermind. Two words… dress code. Five words: Get out of Elmwood more. Or Murdock. Whatever. For this reason alone, Elmwood-Murdock’s entrance into the Small-School top ten comes with an asterisk. (to the fans, students, and players of Elmwood-Murdock... I am only joking with you.)
Odds and Ends
New Notre Dame football recruit Trevor Robinson of Elkhorn is apparently a huge hoops fan. Robinson was visible at pretty much every game at the Devaney Center. Wonder if Elkhorn would have got past Beatrice if Robinson was playing?
After moving to Italy, England, South Dakota, and Oklahoma I just have one thing to say. I miss you Valentino’s pizza.
Good-bye, Bob. I will miss you, Bob. (as in, Bob Devaney Sports Center.)
More Bergan Information
Also, another huge thanks must go out to Fremont Bergan and head coach Chris Paulson for allowing me access to its program en route to its third state title in school-history. Coach Paulson allowed me to hang out at practice the day before the state tournament. I waited for about ten minutes after the title game to thank him in person, yet that was not enough. And thanks to the players for following through in winning the title. Here is some cool video work done by the Omaha World-Herald and Fremont Tribune:
Omaha World-Herald video link
Fremont Tribune videos:
- Post-Tournament video link
- State Championship video link
- Semifinal video link
- First Round video link
- Road to State 2008 video link
MaxPreps.com Scott Hansen’s Four-Part Feature
Part 1: For Bergan, the Time is Now
Part 2: Believe the Hype; Bergan Rolls
Part 3: Eikmeier Fights Injury; Bergan in Final
Part 4: Eikmeier 43 Leads Bergan to Title
Another thanks to Jim Angele, assistant director of the Nebraska School Activities Association, for allowing me to attend the tournament for MaxPreps. Without him, it would not have been possible.
Final Boys Ratings
Nebraska Top 10 (All Class)
1. Omaha Central, 24-3 (3)
2. Bellevue West, 25-3 (2)
3. Bellevue East, 18-10 (NR)
4. Lincoln High, 20-6 (6)
5. Fremont Bergan, 27-0 (5) *Class D1
6. Omaha Benson, 16-8 (10)
7. Omaha Creighton Prep, 21-3 (1)
8. Ralston, 21-3 (4)
9. Kearney, 18-7 (7)
10. Papillion-LaVista South, 17-7, (8)
*Millard West, 14-8, is tenth in Class A.
Dropped Out: Grand Island, 17-5 (7)
Class B
1. Beatrice, 21-3 (2)
2. Elkhorn, 17-7 (5)
3. Omaha Skutt, 20-6 (1)
4. Gretna, 19-7 (4)
5. Lincoln Pius X, 16-8 (6)
6. Omaha Gross, 11-11 (8)
7. McCook, 16-11 (NR)
8. York, 13-9 (NR)
9. Waverly, 15-6 (3)
10. Crete, 14-8 (7)
Dropped Out: Norris (9), Sidney (10)
Small-School (Class C1 through D2)
1. Fremont Bergan, D2, 27-0 (1)
2. Hastings St. Cecilia, C1, 23-2 (NR)
3. Bennington, C1, 25-1 (3)
4. Pierce, C1, 25-1 (2)
5. Boys Town, C1, 21-6 (4)
6. Humphrey St. Francis, D1, 23-3 (NR)
7. Chadron, C1, 22-4 (9)
8. Elmwood-Murdock, C2, 23-3 (NR)*
9. Grand Island CC, C2, 17-8 (NR)
10. Ravenna, C2, 25-2 (8)
Dropped Out: Boone Central, C1 (5); Wisner-Pilger, C1 (6); Minden, C1 (7); Ponca, C2 (10)
Class D2 State Champion: Falls City Sacred Heart, 26-2
