Video: High School Basketball Preseason Early Contenders
Counting down the national Top 25 heading into the hardwood season.
After shooting a mediocre 29-percent from beyond the arc during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Platteview's Nate Thayer pretty much moved into the Trojan gymnasium and improved his outside shooting beyond recognition during the offseason heading into his junior season.
Thayer, who knocked down 46-of-160 3-point attempts as a freshman and sophomore collectively, was good on 61-of-117 tries a year ago. The improved marksmanship was a catalyst in his scoring 544 points as a junior, and helped him reach 1,260 points just 75 games into his high school career.
Last season, Thayer shot over 50-percent regardless of where he was at on the floor. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard shot 53.6-percent from 2-point range and 52.1-percent from beyond the arc. Thayer also made 95-of-125 free throws a year ago, good for 76 percent. Thanks to his new shooting touch, and a ton of hard work, Thayer is Nebraska's top returning long-range threat for 2017-18.
Omaha Creighton Prep senior Kyle Luedtke returns after making 46.9 percent of his 3-point tries last season, the second highest percentage from 2016-17, and Grand Island Central Catholic's Jack Goering stretched opposing defenses with a 45.1 3-point percentage. Elm Creek's Jaydn Ford and Andrew Gilin of Millard South round out the Top 5, respectively.
In order to be considered for this week's Top 10, a returning player had to make at least 50 3-pointers a year ago and all six Cornhusker State classifications are represented in this week's Top 10. As you browse through the Top 10, listed on the line below each player's name is that player's 3-point field goal, total field goal and free throw shooting numbers as well as his total points scored for the year.
Nebraska's Top 10 returning boys basketball sharp shooters 1. Nate Thayer, Platteview (Springfield) 6-3 Sr. Shooting Guard – 52.1 3P FG%61 3PM-117 3PA | 194 FGM-362 FGA | 95 FTM-125 FTA | 544 Points
2. Kyle Luedtke, Creighton Prep (Omaha) 6-4 Sr. – 46.9 3P FG%68 3PM-145 3PA | 104 FGM-221 FGA | 47 FTM-66 FTA | 323 Points
3. Jack Goering, Grand Island Central Catholic 5-11 Junior Guard – 45.1 3P FG%83 3PM-184 3PA | 117 FGM-284 FGA | 64 FTM-85 FTA | 381 Points
4. Jaydn Ford, Elm Creek 5-8 Sr. Guard – 44.5 3P FG%53 3PM-119 3PA | 119 FGM-223 FGA | 28 FTM-49 FTA | 319 Points
5. Drew Gilin, Millard South (Omaha) 6-2 Sr. Shooting Guard – 43.5 3P FG%77 3PM-177 3PA | 100 FGM-228 FGA | 11 FTM-18 FTA | 288 Points
6. Brendan Lacey, Wahoo 6-2 Sr. Shooting Guard – 41.2 3P FG%63 3PM-153 3PA | 129 FGM-283 FGA | 64 FTM-97 FTA | 385 Points
7. Ty Hahn, Johnson-Brock (Johnson) 6-2 So. Shooting/Point Guard – 39.7 3P FG%56 3PM-141 3PA | 127 FGM-291 FGA | 46 FTM-60 FTA | 356 Points
8. Tyrell Maline, Wallace 6-1 Sr. Guard – 39.3 3P FG%55 3PM-140 3PA | 83 FGM-230 FGA | 17 FTM-26 FTA | 238 Points
9. Garrett Seagren, Oakland-Craig (Oakland) 6-2 Sr. Shooting/Point Guard – 38.0 3P FG%65 3PM-171 3PA | 149 FGM-350 FGA | 74 FTM-101 FTA | 437 Points
10. Jace Leibhart, Anselmo-Merna (Merna) 6-3 So. Small Forward – 36.5 3P FG%54 3PM-148 3PA | 111 FGM-265 FGA | 20 FTM-29 FTA | 296 Points
