Every off season 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 bench, some do make a huge impact on the varsity season.
Here at MaxPreps we have 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 Diller-Odell where Myleigh Weers is having a monster rookie campaign. Not only is the 5-foot-8 point guard scoring 23.8 points a contest, she is pulling down 3.8 rebounds, swiping 3.6 enemy balls, dishing out 4.0 assists and swatting a game-changing 1.1 enemy shots a night.
Leyton's Zaili Benish steps in at No. 2 after scoring 19.6 points per game and ripping down 4.7 rebounds while Madison Bunger of Wilcox-Hildreth sits in the No. 3 spot with 11.1 points an outing and 9.9 rebounds.
Reece Mlady of Blue Hill and Homer's Rylie Harris round out the Top 5 in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots respectively after posting scoring averages of 9.5 and 13.2 points respectively. Identical twins Neleigh and Norah Gessert of Millard West land in the No. 8 and No. 10 spots after posting scoring averages of 10.4 and 10.9 points respectively going into the new year.
Classes A, C1, C2 and D2 are all represented in this week's Top 10. But that doesn't mean first year players in Classes B and D1 aren't competing at a high level as well. Platteview's Lilly Stobbe leads Class B by averaging 13.0 points, 1.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.2 blocked shots. Ashley Bauer of Elm Creek is Class D1's top freshman after averaging 12.1 points and 2.1 steals through December.
In order to be considered for this week's Top 10, a player had to post a scoring average of 7.5 points or more. As you look through this Top 10 list, 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 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 first-year girls basketball players
1. Myleigh Weers, Diller-Odell (Odell), Fr.23.8 points | 4.0 assists | 3.8 rebounds | 3.6 steals | 1.1 blocked shots
63 2PM-98 2PA | 21 3PM-76 3PA | 25 FTM-40 FTA | 214 Points
2. Zaili Benish, Leyton (Dalton), Fr.19.6 points | 3.3 assists | 4.7 rebounds | 4.9 steals | 0.3 blocked shots
34 2PM-72 2PA | 21 3PM-69 3PA | 6 FTM-12 FTA | 137 Points
3. Madison Bunger, Wilcox-Hildreth (Wilcox), Fr.11.1 points | 0.4 assists | 9.9 rebounds | 1.2 steals | 1.7 blocked shots
44 2PM-80 2PA | 0 3PM-0 3PA | 12 FTM-36 FTA | 100 Points
4. Reece Mlady, Blue Hill, Fr.9.5 points | 0.9 assists | 9.8 rebounds | 2.9 steals | 0.1 blocked shots
24 2PM-54 2PA | 6 3PM-20 3PA | 10 FTM-16 FTA | 76 Points
5. Rylie Harris, Homer, Fr.13.2 points | 2.6 assists | 4.8 rebounds | 1.8 steals | 0.1 blocked shots
39 2PM-74 2PA | 7 3PM-22 3PA | 20 FTM-34 FTA | 119 Points
6. Alex Beveridge, Hershey, Fr.12.9 points | 1.1 assists | 4.5 rebounds | 2.8 steals | 0.4 blocked shots
30 2PM-58 2PA | 12 3PM-40 3PA | 20 FTM-32 FTA | 116 Points
7. Tacey From, Valentine, Fr.9.3 points | 1.9 assists | 7.3 rebounds | 3.3 steals | 0.1 blocked shots
10 2PM-29 2PA | 11 3PM-53 3PA | 12 FTM-28 FTA | 65 Points
8. Neleigh Gessert, Millard West (Omaha), Fr.10.4 points | 2.7 assists | 6.0 rebounds | 1.1 steals | 1.3 blocked shots
13 2PM-31 2PA | 11 3PM-33 3PA | 14 FTM-20 FTA | 73 Points
9. J.J. Black, Elkhorn Valley (Tilden), Fr.9.9 points | 0.8 assists | 6.1 rebounds | 2.4 steals | 2.3 blocked shots
30 2PM-66 2PA | 3 3PM-3 3PA | 10 FTM-20 FTA | 79 Points
10. Norah Gessert, Millard West (Omaha), Fr.10.9 points | 2.1 assists | 3.9 rebounds | 1.4 steals | 1.1 blocked shots
23 2PM-47 2PA | 7 3PM-28 3PA | 9 FTM-11 FTA | 76 Points
