Jess Shepard

[Norm Peterson]

And Jess Shepard is only a junior.  Man, she puts up crazy numbers.  And it's almost more impressive if she can do it for Fremont as sort of the only weapon (getting double- and triple-teamed) than when she did it for Southeast.  This girl is truly impressive.  Hands down the best player I've seen come out of Nebraska HS since Maurtice Ivy (and quite possibly the best ever.)  Very short list of players in her orbit.

[HB]

And Jess Shepard is only a junior.  Man, she puts up crazy numbers.  And it's almost more impressive if she can do it for Fremont as sort of the only weapon (getting double- and triple-teamed) than when she did it for Southeast.  This girl is truly impressive.  Hands down the best player I've seen come out of Nebraska HS since Maurtice Ivy (and quite possibly the best ever.)  Very short list of players in her orbit.

 

Norm, I agree with you that Shepard is qutie impressive.  I first saw her play as a freshman, and was amazed.   However, I respectfully submit that Hooper is currently the best player to come out of a Nebraska high school, rather than Ivy. Shepard may ultimately become that person, but people should appreciate Hooper this year, as she is a very special player, and one that doesn't come around often.

[Norm Peterson]

HB, what you say is true.  As far as how she's turned out, Hooper is just a terrific, terrific player.  Best yet based on college.  I was speaking more of what they did in HS, though.  I was going to say something about Katie Robinette being in that category.  Obviously, Katie's college career left a little to be desired.  But as a HS kid, Katie was in that stratosphere. 

 

But, for what they've done post-HS, yes, JHoop has to be on the top of the list right now.  She deserves to have her jersey hanging from the rafters at PBA when all is said and done.  Based on college career, JHoop absolutely at the top.

 

Based on HS, though, Maurtice was in a separate category.  And I'd have said Maurtice was probably the best girls HS player ever in Nebraska until you get a load of what Jess Shepard is doing as the primary option on a Fremont team that some say wouldn't be any good without her.  I'm blown away.  More blown away than I was watching 9th grader Katie Robinette lope up the floor like a gazelle while playing for South Sioux.

 

Ivey wasn't alone on her Central team.  Her teammate Jessica Haynes was also a terrific player who, I believe, ended up at Arizona for college.  Robinette similarly was surrounded by D1 talent her 4 years at South Sioux.  Neither of them faced double- and triple-teams and still managed to put up Shepard's numbers against quality opponents.  Wow.  Just ... wow.

[hoop_head]

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/10231726/hoopgurlz-nebraska-cornhuskers-recruit-jessica-shepard-hometown-fremont-buzzing-transferring-junior-season

 

Didn't see this posted yet. Thought I'd throw it in here. Pretty good ESPNW write up on Jess.

 

"The girls at Fremont, which finished 9-15 and out of the playoffs last season, are thrilled to have Shepard back -- except when it comes to the unlucky soul who draws that dreaded defensive assignment at practice."

[HB]

HB, what you say is true.  As far as how she's turned out, Hooper is just a terrific, terrific player.  Best yet based on college.  I was speaking more of what they did in HS, though.  I was going to say something about Katie Robinette being in that category.  Obviously, Katie's college career left a little to be desired.  But as a HS kid, Katie was in that stratosphere. 

 

But, for what they've done post-HS, yes, JHoop has to be on the top of the list right now.  She deserves to have her jersey hanging from the rafters at PBA when all is said and done.  Based on college career, JHoop absolutely at the top.

 

Based on HS, though, Maurtice was in a separate category.  And I'd have said Maurtice was probably the best girls HS player ever in Nebraska until you get a load of what Jess Shepard is doing as the primary option on a Fremont team that some say wouldn't be any good without her.  I'm blown away.  More blown away than I was watching 9th grader Katie Robinette lope up the floor like a gazelle while playing for South Sioux.

 

Ivey wasn't alone on her Central team.  Her teammate Jessica Haynes was also a terrific player who, I believe, ended up at Arizona for college.  Robinette similarly was surrounded by D1 talent her 4 years at South Sioux.  Neither of them faced double- and triple-teams and still managed to put up Shepard's numbers against quality opponents.  Wow.  Just ... wow.

 

Interesting discussion, Norm.  Certainly Ivy had a WAY better supporting cast, as you mention.  Hooper had nobody.  I mean nobody.  And still, she got her team to State, and her senior year they actually won two games (the second one being the 3rd place game).  And Hooper faced every bit as many triple teams and junk defenses as Shepard does.  So, I won't concede that Ivy was a better high school player than JHoop, but obviously she was very good. I lean (1) Hooper-Shepard, (2) Ivy, (3) Stephens-Robinette.  Although based just on high school play, Steph Jones was pretty impressive as well. 

[longtimefan]

During Hooper's freshman year when Alliance won state, she had pretty good talented teammates (all seniors but one). The point guard played for Doane College and another girl went to Chadron St. but I don't believe she stayed with it.  That said, her next 3 years she had basically no help.  The others girls, except maybe one player with maybe  average talent, were way below average.  She carried her team to state the next 3 years.   I think Hooper would of won 3 more state titles if she only had a couple of  average players on her teams. 

[caveman]

I am not sure I agree with the college assessment either.  Do not slight Ivy on the college front.  She won a league title with little help and got to the NCAA's when it was still 32 teams.  

Anyway they were both great in both arenas, but it's comparing apples to oranges.  One was way better at creating offense and one has to have the offense come to her, but has the quickest release I've ever seen.  One a great postt defender and the other could play better on ball.

The only comparisons of apples to apples is Miss Jess and Miss Hooper.  Give me 2 years and a coin to flip and I'll give you my answer

[Norm Peterson]

 

 

 

Not quite what I would have expected from an upper-level D1 recruit who's already a junior.  Pius got blown out.

 

 

 

Me neither. Although she did score 14 of Pius' 26 points.

 

Also, I should have mentioned in Natalie Romeo's first 3 games she recorded 2 triple doubles.

 

Wow.  Impact player.

 

a few thoughts. 

i remeber scotus sweeping hooper twice in volleyball and it wasn't even close.  Jordan Larson is still reguarded as one of the best in the world.  please cut Miss Simon a break, she's a heck of an athlete.

 

about Miss Romeo.  WOW!

 

The comment "Wow.  Impact player" was directed at the line I quoted from the previous post that said: "Also, I should have mentioned in Natalie Romeo's first 3 games she recorded 2 triple doubles."

 

Two triple doubles in three games.  Like I said.  Wow.  Impact player.  (Maybe I should have used exclamation points.)

[Norm Peterson]

What were Hooper's offers coming out of HS?  Robinette could have gone virtually anywhere.  She was that highly-regarded of a player.  And deservedly so.  And Maurtice Ivy was like the girls' version of Ron Kellogg and Kerry Trotter of the time, though a couple of years younger but still in the same era.  She could have gone anywhere. 

 

I was thinking about this last night but, based on what people thought of her at the time, I think people expected of Katie Robinette the kind of career that Jordan Hooper has produced.  I don't think people expected Jordan Hooper to be quite as good as she's turned out to be.  But what Jordan Hooper is now is what people thought Katie Robinette would become.

 

Let me ask this question, raise your hands:  Who honestly thought that Jordan Hooper, coming out of high school, would become the player she's become?  Aren't you at least a little bit pleasantly surprised?

[caveman]

 

 

 

 

Not quite what I would have expected from an upper-level D1 recruit who's already a junior.  Pius got blown out.

 

 

 

Me neither. Although she did score 14 of Pius' 26 points.

 

Also, I should have mentioned in Natalie Romeo's first 3 games she recorded 2 triple doubles.

 

Wow.  Impact player.

 

a few thoughts. 

i remeber scotus sweeping hooper twice in volleyball and it wasn't even close.  Jordan Larson is still reguarded as one of the best in the world.  please cut Miss Simon a break, she's a heck of an athlete.

 

about Miss Romeo.  WOW!

 

The comment "Wow.  Impact player" was directed at the line I quoted from the previous post that said: "Also, I should have mentioned in Natalie Romeo's first 3 games she recorded 2 triple doubles."

 

Two triple doubles in three games.  Like I said.  Wow.  Impact player.  (Maybe I should have used exclamation points.)

 

yup

[HB]

What were Hooper's offers coming out of HS?  Robinette could have gone virtually anywhere.  She was that highly-regarded of a player.  And deservedly so.  And Maurtice Ivy was like the girls' version of Ron Kellogg and Kerry Trotter of the time, though a couple of years younger but still in the same era.  She could have gone anywhere. 

 

I was thinking about this last night but, based on what people thought of her at the time, I think people expected of Katie Robinette the kind of career that Jordan Hooper has produced.  I don't think people expected Jordan Hooper to be quite as good as she's turned out to be.  But what Jordan Hooper is now is what people thought Katie Robinette would become.

 

Let me ask this question, raise your hands:  Who honestly thought that Jordan Hooper, coming out of high school, would become the player she's become?  Aren't you at least a little bit pleasantly surprised?

 

Honestly, Norm, I did.  I had the privilege of watching her play, a fair amount. Saw her score 47 against Skutt, but missed her getting 54 against Scottsbluff. I also saw Ivy and Robinette a fair amount.  I really did think we hit a home run by getting Hooper, at the time. 

 

I am not surprised by the player she has become.  In fact, I am a little disappointed (don't take this wrong--I think she is awesome as a player; one of the alltime Husker greats--so thankful to have her).  But at the time (senior year in high school), I thought she could be a program changer; perhaps she has been.  I thought she could be an All-American--she might be at the end of the year. 

 

Specifically,  I thought she would develop the drive better than she has.  That is the one area Griffin clearly was better than Hooper.  At the end of Hoop's junior year, she had a ways to go with rebounding, defense, and driving the ball.  She improved quite a bit with rebounding and defense after her stint with the US World University team.  She has improved somewhat in scoring off the dribble, but it is still a hole in her game.

 

I would have to search the internet to bring back Hooper's offers and interest, but she had some good programs after her; including Stanford.  Actually, I don't believe Robinette could have gone anywhere she wanted.  Steph Jones had more interest from the Uconns of then world than did Robinette.  When he was recruiting Robinette, Sanderford told me point blank that Kendra Wecker was considerably better than Robinette, but there would be no telling anyone in Nebraska that.  If he had to pick one, it would have been Wecker.  I don't think Sanderford was the only coach who figured that out during recruiting.

 

Me thinks there could be an urban bias to talking about Ivy/Trotter/Kellogg.  Hooper lived in the middle of nowhere, 45 miles from a class B school.  Didn't have as many AAU/Club opportunities as some others.  But watching her back then, it was pretty easy to see--a very special, comes along only once in a long while type of player. 

[Norm Peterson]

Agreed about Wecker.  I remember that McDonald's AA game.  Robinette was a starter.  Tried playing all finesse and really couldn't accomplish much.  (Think Christian Standhardinger trying to force something up inside against taller KU players.  That's what Katie looked like.)  And then Wecker comes in off the bench like a wrecking ball and just waylays some of the people.  Boy, it was obvious that Wecker would be a better player.  Much more aggressive sweeping the glass and going to the rack.  Liked that kid.

 

Now, IIRC, atskooc from over on the men's board is from Wecker's hometown of Marysville, KS.  Apparently, Kendra was a Husker fan (which a lot of people in northeast and north central Kansas are or at least were) and apparently didn't like the KSU coach all that well.  I'm trying to remember the back story but apparently Sanderford screwed the pooch somehow on trying to recruit Kendra.  Apparently, she'd have come here.  (That's just what I think atskooc says, so don't take my word for it.) 

 

By the way, I would say Wecker was clearly better.  But perhaps not considerably better.   There's a subtle difference.  Wecker was better but not by leaps and bounds.  Robinette was a fine player in her own right.  Her last year at ISU (her 3rd year as a college player -- lost a year transferring within conference) she averaged 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.  That's not nothin.

[Row6Seat10]

Here's what Jeff Walz, Sanderford's top assistant at the time told me on the recruitment of Wecker. Nebraska had 3 scholarships to give that year. Jina Johansen committed early in the spring leaving two more. Sanderford spent a lot of time that summer in South Sioux playing golf with Robinettes dad. So basically he knew he would get her. They thought for sure the third scholarship would go to Wecker as they thought they had her in their back pocket.

 

Here's what Walz told me about Wecker. She decided she wanted to play volleyball also and wouldn't come to NU unless she could play volleyball too. Sanderford tried to set it up with John Cook to where she could play both sports. Only thing was Cook said the only way she could play volleyball for him was to only play volleyball and not basketball. In other words he didn't want her as a volleyball player. Hence she chose KState.

 

Jordan Hooper's recruitment schools came down to Nebraska, Colorado St, Wyoming, K-State and Colorado. She visited Stanford and they offered her a scholarship but she didn't like the idea of being that far away from home. She was very close to picking either Colorado St or Wyoming as they were closer to Alliance than Lincoln. In the end Nebraska's constant recruitment of her caused her to commit to the Huskers.

 

If you can remember her senior year when they played Seward in the second round of the state tourney Yori and the Nebraska team delayed the plane they were supposed to catch to OK State to see the end of that game. The reason being Kristin Holt the Colorado St head coach was at every game Jordan played that year in the state tourney.  But Yori's biggest competion for Hooper came from Husker volleyball coach John Cook.

[Row6Seat10]

Mr Peterson this is too good of a thread to have a red down mark in it...so I took it out.

[longtimefan]

What were Hooper's offers coming out of HS?  Robinette could have gone virtually anywhere.  She was that highly-regarded of a player.  And deservedly so.  And Maurtice Ivy was like the girls' version of Ron Kellogg and Kerry Trotter of the time, though a couple of years younger but still in the same era.  She could have gone anywhere. 

 

I was thinking about this last night but, based on what people thought of her at the time, I think people expected of Katie Robinette the kind of career that Jordan Hooper has produced.  I don't think people expected Jordan Hooper to be quite as good as she's turned out to be.  But what Jordan Hooper is now is what people thought Katie Robinette would become.

 

Let me ask this question, raise your hands:  Who honestly thought that Jordan Hooper, coming out of high school, would become the player she's become?  Aren't you at least a little bit pleasantly surprised?

Norm, I know I'm probably biased but if you saw her play almost every game in high school, you wouldn't be surprised at all that she's become the college player she has. Being out in the sticks  and not playing club ball, she didn't get much recognition.

[huskerchode]

When I have watched Jess play I think of Kelsey Griffin in her final year. Can grab a rebound and go coast to coast, high confidence level, and a good skill level to match. Her ball handling skills are solid and she is comfortable enough she can reach up to adjust her head band while she has someone hounding her. She uses her frame very well and isn't afraid of contact. Not used to seeing that in a girl her age.

[Row6Seat10]

Here is a pretty good ESPN article written about Jessica just a few days ago. Click on the link below to read it.
 

When it came to leaving Southeast, Shepard had a similar attitude. She didn't necessarily want to leave, but she knew it was best for her family, and she was going to make the best of the situation.

 

Beyond that, she viewed her transfer to Fremont as a homecoming.

 

"When my dad told me we were moving, I was really excited just because I was going to get to play with the girls I grew up with," Shepard said. "But I was also a little upset because I had gone to Southeast for two years, and we had success."

 

 

 

 

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/10231726/hoopgurlz-nebraska-cornhuskers-recruit-jessica-shepard-hometown-fremont-buzzing-transferring-junior-season

[Norm Peterson]

Mr Peterson this is too good of a thread to have a red down mark in it...so I took it out.

Thanks, although I'm OK if people disagree with me.  I'm not one to get uptight about such things (unless I get the sense I'm being targeted, which has happened.)  In this case, though, I just think Caveman misunderstood my post and when I looked back on it, I could understand how someone would think I was busting Maddie Simon's chops when my intent was to praise Natalie Romeo's numbers.  Anyway, thanks, and you're right, this is a good discussion.

[Norm Peterson]

Here is a pretty good ESPN article written about Jessica just a few days ago. Click on the link below to read it.

 

When it came to leaving Southeast, Shepard had a similar attitude. She didn't necessarily want to leave, but she knew it was best for her family, and she was going to make the best of the situation.

 

Beyond that, she viewed her transfer to Fremont as a homecoming.

 

"When my dad told me we were moving, I was really excited just because I was going to get to play with the girls I grew up with," Shepard said. "But I was also a little upset because I had gone to Southeast for two years, and we had success."

 

 

 

 

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/10231726/hoopgurlz-nebraska-cornhuskers-recruit-jessica-shepard-hometown-fremont-buzzing-transferring-junior-season

Thanks Row6.  You get the sense that, on top of everything else, Jess is just a great kid.  Good attitude.  Made the best of what had to be a difficult adjustment going back to Fremont, etc.

 

Now, I confess I didn't see a lot of Jordan Hooper play in HS.  So, I have to beg some latitude there.  But one of the things that has so impressed me about Jess Shepard is her skill level.  She has tremendous, tremendous skills.

 

They always say bigs take longer to develop.  That doesn't seem to be the case for Jess.  She already has college-level size.  She might need to hit the weights to bring her strength up to what college players have but just in terms of her current measurables, she has really good size and decent athleticism for a college post. 

 

But, on top of that, she is +++ on skills.  When Connie says that Jess could be playing/starting for Nebraska right now, I think that's actually not hyperbole.  I think it's true.  Her skill level around the basket is superb.  She is an extremely special player and it is so fortuitous for Nebraska that, like Jordan Hooper, she's from here.  Because if Jess Shepard was some superstar HS center from Poughkeepsie, she'd be on her way to UConn.

[caveman]

 

Mr Peterson this is too good of a thread to have a red down mark in it...so I took it out.

Thanks, although I'm OK if people disagree with me.  I'm not one to get uptight about such things (unless I get the sense I'm being targeted, which has happened.)  In this case, though, I just think Caveman misunderstood my post and when I looked back on it, I could understand how someone would think I was busting Maddie Simon's chops when my intent was to praise Natalie Romeo's numbers.  Anyway, thanks, and you're right, this is a good discussion.

 

i did not put a red down mark on anything.  i appreciate all opinions especially when they differ from my own.  

[Row6Seat10]

I received this message recently from a coach from another state, and they passed along the following observations about Jessica and thought I would put it out there for all to see.

 

I can tell you that I watched hundreds of kids on the summer circuit all over the country in the summer of 2013, and Jess was the most dominant kid I saw.   I watched her vs a very good Eclipse team in Kansas City that has 2015 MU commit Sophie Cunningham who is generally ranked in the top 30 in her class and a great player, and Jess was at a whole other level.  Probably hung 40 plus on them.  It was an amazing performance.  I saw her numerous times though, and she was always impressive. My comments aren't just based on that one performance.

[Row6Seat10]

Congratulations go out to future Husker Jessica Shepard as she broke Maurtice Ivy's 30 year old Class A single season scoring record tonight in Fremont's 67-53 win against Millard West. Maurtice held the previous record of 614 single season points. Jess needed 4 points to break the record going into tonights game, she wound up with 32. Jess has two more regular season games left plus district play and possibly state tourney games to play yet, so her record will grow with each passing game.

 

It may not be safe though as next season there's a good chance it will be broken again....by Jess herself!

[huskerchode]

Guess there was some confusion.  Jess broke Maurtice Ivy's record a year ago.

 

http://journalstar.com/sports/high-school/basketball/girls/prep-girls-basketball-setting-shepard-s-records-straight/article_dbb22202-af9e-538d-8ac4-c3d68eb23bf6.html

[Row6Seat10]

So I guess she needs 17 points against Southeast tonight to break her own record?

[huskerchode]

Heard she was held to 16 points in Fremont's loss to Lincoln Southeast last night.  LSE double-teamed her and the rest of the Fremont team wasn't able to hit enough shots.  Doesn't matter since district seeding was set earlier in the day, and I'm wondering how much of a psychological edge LSE has when playing her since that was her team the past few years.