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Despite the graduation loss of 20.6 points per game scorer Izac Reifenrath from last year's 22-5 club, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge head basketball coach Todd Erwin's program is in good hands as it prepares to make a run at the Nebraska state basketball tournament next March.
Returning for last winter's Class C2-8 district runner-up Bears, 6-foot-4 senior forward Noah Schutte brings with him the state's top returning boys basketball stat line from a year ago.
A first team Class C2 all state selection by both the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star, Schutte posted 25 double-doubles in 27 games including a triple-double 19 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 70-46 win over Wynot last February. The Honorary Captain of the 2018-19 Lincoln Journal Star Class C2 all state squad averaged 24.2 points, 3.5 assists, 13.9 boards, 2.3 steals and 2.4 blocked shots a year ago.
Hitchcock County's Dionte Perkins pushed Schutte to the brink for the top spot in this week's Top 10 after posting the second best returning stat line from a year ago with averages of 18 points, 3.7 assists, 13.6 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 2.3 blocked shots per contest.
Jaden Rhynalds of Brainard East Butler posted the No. 3 line by scoring a Top 10 best 25.8 points per game while Seth Miller of Anselmo-Merna and Minatare's Kaleb Gonzales round out the Top 5 in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots respectively.
Classes A, C2, D1 and D2 are all represented in this week's Top 10. But that does not mean that returning athletes in Classes B and C1 did not produce All-State caliber stat lines a year ago.
Lexington's Nick Saiz leads the way in Class B after averaging 16.2 points, 2.4 assists and four rebounds a year ago while Justin Bubak of Lincoln Christian scored Class C1's top returning stat line after averaging 19.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game a year ago.
In order to be considered for this week's Top 10, an athlete had to post an average of 15 points, 3.5 assists, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and/or 1.2 blocked shots. Several members of this week's Top 10 qualified in multiple categories.
Nebraska's Top 10 returning boys basketball stat lines
1. Noah Schutte, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (Laurel) 6-4 Sr. SF, PF24.2 Points | 3.5 Assists | 13.9 Rebounds | 2.3 Steals | 2.4 Blocked Shots
2. Dionte Perkins, Hitchcock County (Trenton) 6-2 Jr. F, C18.0 Points | 3.7 Assists | 13.6 Rebounds | 4.2 Steals | 2.3 Blocked Shots
3. Jaden Rhynalds, East Butler (Brainard) 6-0 Sr. SG, PG25.8 Points | 1.7 Assists | 6.0 Rebounds | 4.8 Steals | 0.3 Blocked Shots
4. Seth Miller, Anselmo-Merna (Merna) 6-1 Sr. SG, PG19.8 Points | 3.7 Assists | 9.5 Rebounds | 2.3 Steals | 0.7 Blocked Shots
5. Kaleb Gonzales, Minatare (Minatare, Neb.) 5-8 Sr.16.5 Points | 4.4 Assists | 6.6 Rebounds | 6.9 Steals | 0.2 Blocked Shots
6. Blake Brewster, Paxton 6-11 Sr. C, PF20.3 Points | 0.6 Assists | 9.8 Rebounds | 0.6 Steals | 2.9 Blocked Shots
7. Bryan Leslie, Southwest (Bartley) 6-4 Sr. SF, PF, C16.7 Points | 2.3 Assists | 8.4 Rebounds | 3.0 Steals | 2.7 Blocked Shots
8. Chucky Hepburn, Bellevue West (Bellevue) 6-0 Jr. PG18.3 Points | 5.0 Assists | 5.1 Rebounds | 3.4 Steals | 0.5 Blocked Shots
9. Donovan Williams, North Star (Lincoln) 6-5 Sr. PG, SG21.0 Points | 2.7 Assists | 5.2 Rebounds | 1.9 Steals | 0.2 Blocked Shots
10. Tommy Watson, Sioux County (Harrison) 6-0 Sr. G13.0 Points | 4.1 Assists | 10.9 Rebounds | 2.0 Steals | 0.9 Blocked Shots
