Every offseason, basketball prognosticators, coaches and even some fans busy themselves poring through rosters, postseason awards and statistics from the previous year, hoping to put together an accurate depiction of how the upcoming basketball season may play out.
But one element is always missing in their research. The newcomer. While most first-year players spend the better part of their basketball season playing with the freshman or junior varsity teams, or even riding the varsity bench, some do make a huge impact on the varsity season.
MaxPreps decided to take a look at which Cornhusker State freshmen are playing more like veterans this winter. And there are some outstanding rookies.
It all starts at Omaha South, where Sierra Thomas is having a monster rookie campaign. Not only is the 6-foot forward scoring 15.8 points a contest, she is pulling down 11.6 rebounds, swiping 2.1 enemy balls, dishing out 0.5 assists and swatting a game-changing 1.8 enemy shots a night.
Omaha Brownell-Talbot's Abbi Gibbs steps in at No. 2 after scoring 12.7 points per game and ripping down 10.8 rebounds while Halle Dolliver of Malcolm sits in the No. 3 spot with 17.6 points an outing, 1.3 blocked shots and 7.0 rebounds.
Ayanna Hill of Omaha North and Winside's Aubrey Russell round out the Top 5 in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots respectively after posting scoring averages of 17.6 and 17.7 points respectively.
Classes A, C1, C2, D1 and D2 are all represented in this week's Top 10. But that doesn't mean first year players in Class B aren't competing at a high level as well. South Sioux City shooting guard/small forward Bailee Durant leads the way for Nebraska's second largest classification by averaging 10.2 points, 1.0 assist, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 0.2 blocked shots.
In order to be considered for this week's Top 10, a player had to post a scoring average of 10 points or more or reach certain criteria in one of the other four statistical categories.
As you look through this week's Top 10, the top line displays the players school as well as their height and position(s) played. Lines two and three are reserved for the player's stat line and their shooting stats respectively. The stat lines used in this week's Top 10 were taken from MaxPreps' statistics database Monday morning.
Nebraska's Top 10 girls basketball newcomers1. Sierra Thomas, Omaha South (Omaha)15.8 Points | 0.5 Assists | 11.6 Rebounds | 2.1 Steals | 1.8 Blocked Shots
43 2PM-94 2PA | 0 3PM-1 3PA | 40 FTM-72 FTA | 126 Points
2. Abbi Gibbs, Brownell Talbot (Omaha)12.7 Points | 3.0 Assists | 10.8 Rebounds | 4.5 Steals | 0.8 Blocked Shots
38 2PM-69 2PA | 1 3PM-8 3PA | 4 FTM-8 FTA | 83 Points
3. Halle Dolliver, Malcolm17.6 Points | 1.9 Assists | 7.0 Rebounds | 2.8 Steals | 1.3 Blocked Shots
48 2PM-74 2PA | 6 3PM-26 3PA | 27 FTM-36 FTA | 141 Points
4. Ayanna Hill, Omaha North (Omaha)17.6 Points | 2.0 Assists | 4.0 Rebounds | 4.0 Steals | 0.3 Blocked Shots
40 2PM-88 2PA | 10 3PM-27 3PA | 31 FTM-43 FTA | 141 Points
5. Aubrey Russell, Winside17.7 Points | 2.3 Assists | 5.3 Rebounds | 1.8 Steals | 0.2 Blocked Shots
34 2PM-73 2PA | 7 3PM-31 3PA | 17 FTM-32 FTA | 106 Points
6. Tierston Moore, Mullen9.6 Points | 2.6 Assists | 9.6 Rebounds | 4.0 Steals | 0.0 Blocked Shots
18 2PM-48 2PA | 0 3PM-2 3PA | 12 FTM-21 FTA | 48 Points
7. Mya Turman, Hay Springs9.0 Points | 3.8 Assists | 9.3 Rebounds | 2.5 Steals | 0.5 Blocked Shots
14 2PM-29 2PA | 6 3PM-38 3PA | 8 FTM-24 FTA | 54 Points
8. Taryn Arbuthnot, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (Sumner)10.7 Points | 2.3 Assists | 7.0 Rebounds | 3.7 Steals | 0.3 Blocked Shots
30 2PM-56 2PA | 1 3PM-9 3PA | 12 FTM-27 FTA | 75 Points
9. Mylee Tichota, Yutan10.5 Points | 2.8 Assists | 4.5 Rebounds | 4.8 Steals | 0.0 Blocked Shots
14 2PM-26 2PA | 4 3PM-12 3PA | 10 FTM-14 FTA | 50 Points
10. Zaria Townsend, Buena Vista (Omaha)8.5 Points | 0.4 Assists | 10.4 Rebounds | 0.6 Steals | 0.4 Blocked Shots
21 2PM-51 2PA | 1 3PM-7 3PA | 23 FTM-58 FTA | 68 Points
