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Talk about HS basketball talent in NE

Norm Peterson

By Norm Peterson
in Husker Hoops Recruiting

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Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

Posted
Posted

People always say our basketball being played in NE high schools is not on par with other areas of the country.

 

Let me just throw this out there to chew on.  Nebraska has a population of 1.8 million.  The U.S. has a population of 318 million.  That means Nebraska's population is about 1/2 of 1% of the total U.S. population.

 

There are 50 states.  And basketball of varying degrees of quality is played in high schools in all 50.

 

Maxpreps doesn't have a dog in the fight of whether Nebraska HS basketball is any good or not.  They don't care how we're viewed.  And they have a ranking of HS basketball teams.  They rank both within the state as well as nationally.

 

If Nebraska basketball is so bad, you wouldn't know it by looking at Maxprep's national rankings.

 

Five Nebraska high school basketball teams rank among Maxprep's top 100 teams in the country, including: 

 

Creighton Prep (35); Omaha South (41); Norfolk (64); Bellevue West (83); and Omaha North (86).

 

By population, you might expect we'd have 1 team in the top 200 in the country.  Instead, we have 5 in the top 100.

 

FWIW, Chicago Simeon is 14th; Henderson, Nevada's Findlay Prep is #3; and Montverde Academy from  Montverde, FL is the nation's #1 team, per Maxpreps.

 

Does this info resonate with anyone?

 

You wanna link?  http://www.maxpreps.com/rankings/basketball/1/national.htm

GoBigRed

GoBigRed

Posted
Posted

11 points for Justin Patton tonight in a loss.

 

23 points for Johnny Trueblood (19 in 1st half) in a win and looks like he didn't play in the 4th quarter.

 

Hey, next year started today  :)

Swan88

Swan88

Posted
Posted

11 points for Justin Patton tonight in a loss.

 

23 points for Johnny Trueblood (19 in 1st half) in a win and looks like he didn't play in the 4th quarter.

 

Hey, next year started today  :)

The final score: Bellevue West 70, Omaha North 53.

trickey

trickey

Posted
Posted

the problem for UNL is that most of the in-state talent is in Omaha. Creighton has an advantage in that regard.

 

how long has it been since Lincoln had a D1 player? at least 5 years unless i am forgetting someone.

 

Take it from a born and raised Omaha kid....who went to Creighton Prep!

 

There are tons of us Omaha kids that prefer the Huskers.

 

GBR

huskerbaseball13

huskerbaseball13

Posted
Posted

 

the problem for UNL is that most of the in-state talent is in Omaha. Creighton has an advantage in that regard.

 

how long has it been since Lincoln had a D1 player? at least 5 years unless i am forgetting someone.

 

Take it from a born and raised Omaha kid....who went to Creighton Prep!

 

There are tons of us Omaha kids that prefer the Huskers.

 

GBR

 

 

This.  Omaha is Husker country.  If there is a Omaha kid both schools are going after NU is going to win most of the time.  Just like we do in baseball. 

King James

King James

Posted
Posted

 

 

the problem for UNL is that most of the in-state talent is in Omaha. Creighton has an advantage in that regard.

 

how long has it been since Lincoln had a D1 player? at least 5 years unless i am forgetting someone.

 

Take it from a born and raised Omaha kid....who went to Creighton Prep!

 

There are tons of us Omaha kids that prefer the Huskers.

 

GBR

 

 

This.  Omaha is Husker country.  If there is a Omaha kid both schools are going after NU is going to win most of the time.  Just like we do in baseball. 

 

Nebraska usually wins the baseball battles, but baseball is probably not a true comparable as there are very few full ride scholarships.  Remaining tuition and finding an ability to pay it will always be an issue for families with baseball players unfortunately.  I think that is part of the reason why there are so few african american kids playing baseball any longer as parents steer their kids toward football and basketball instead with the hopes of college scholarships.  (Title IX really, really hurts baseball more than perhaps any other men's sport).

 

It is surprising that Lincoln doesn't produce more division 1 basketball players.  Could that be due to football casting such a large shadow?  I admit that I know little about Lincoln.  How do the youth programs in Lincoln compare to the programs in Omaha?

Huskerpapa

Huskerpapa

Posted
Posted

A good/great athlete in Lincoln will likely play and excel at multiple sports. But if they are to truly excel in a specific sport they need to spend more of their time on that particular sport.  I do not see that happening as exclusively in Lincoln as in Omaha.  Perhaps the most gifted athlete to come out of Lincoln in years was Alex Gordon.  He chose to pursue and  excel in multiple sports and then in the end, chose baseball.  The Ruud brothers played multiple sports and chose football...and so on. 

 

Unless the kid is truly an exception, for them to excel at basketball, they need to dedicate themselves to the game nearly year around. 

 

Maybe that is a weak argument, but it is mine until somebody convinces me that I am all wet :)

hhcmatt

hhcmatt

Posted
Posted

A good/great athlete in Lincoln will likely play and excel at multiple sports. But if they are to truly excel in a specific sport they need to spend more of their time on that particular sport.  I do not see that happening as exclusively in Lincoln as in Omaha.  Perhaps the most gifted athlete to come out of Lincoln in years was Alex Gordon.  He chose to pursue and  excel in multiple sports and then in the end, chose baseball.  The Ruud brothers played multiple sports and chose football...and so on. 

 

Unless the kid is truly an exception, for them to excel at basketball, they need to dedicate themselves to the game nearly year around. 

 

Maybe that is a weak argument, but it is mine until somebody convinces me that I am all wet :)

 

It's some of the argument the Morrow family used when moving to Chicago.

King James

King James

Posted
Posted

That is what I figured.  The rise of club sports has put an end in large metro areas to the multi sport star that dominated while I was in high school.  Top tier athletes in Omaha are highly encouraged to specialize in one sport at earlier and earlier ages.  The club seasons tend to take them away from being to play other sports even if they wanted to. 

 

Nowadays, this is what you get:

boys and Girls Basketball - year round

Baseball/softball - spring, summer & fall

girls volleyball - year round (has kept many of the girls that played both volleyball and basketball from being able to play both)

 

I think it is sad that top tier athletes in larger metros don't get to play everything they want, but the truth is that if they don't play the club teams their skill levels often fall behind their peers.  The growth of top tier youth programs in larger areas is going to make it more and more difficult for kids from more rural areas to compete in the sports listed above as the years go on.

AuroranHusker

AuroranHusker

Posted
Posted

^^^ And that is why I do not like this trend.  Coaches should be able to ascertain how good an athlete is while watching any number of complementary sports.  The different sports actually allow a young person to enjoy each & every one of 'em 'cuz they're not burned out by the age of 16!

huskerchode

huskerchode

Posted
Posted

I've often thought the reason club sports have become such a major thing is because of the handing out of participation trophies and the mentality that everyone is a winner in elementary school. Wasn't the case when I was a kid. Not everyone got to play in elementary school, and we certainly didn't get participation trophies. Scores were kept, end of season tournaments were played, there was a winning team, and a losing team.

huskerchode

huskerchode

Posted
Posted

Nowadays the mentality is to get everyone some playing time, and effort is awarded. Sometimes scores aren't even kept. Kids that are competitive get frustrated in that environment as well as kids that are at a higher skill level. So they turn to select teams to play with other kids like them.

Silverbacked1

Silverbacked1

Posted
Posted

I will also add the parent who is living through their kids. I know a lot of people who think if I can get my kid on that team they are set for high school and college.

I know that when I was first married and didn't have kids I played red softball and basketball. Now instead of the adults playing, they put all their eggs in one basket with their kids.

Just my $.02 worth.

I will also say that my boys all played on travel soccer teams and one played on a semi-travel baseball team. So I am not bagging on somebody that I wasn't kind of doing myself.:)

colhusker

colhusker

Posted
Posted

A good/great athlete in Lincoln will likely play and excel at multiple sports. But if they are to truly excel in a specific sport they need to spend more of their time on that particular sport.  I do not see that happening as exclusively in Lincoln as in Omaha.  Perhaps the most gifted athlete to come out of Lincoln in years was Alex Gordon.  He chose to pursue and  excel in multiple sports and then in the end, chose baseball.  The Ruud brothers played multiple sports and chose football...and so on. 

 

Unless the kid is truly an exception, for them to excel at basketball, they need to dedicate themselves to the game nearly year around. 

 

Maybe that is a weak argument, but it is mine until somebody convinces me that I am all wet :)

Heard this as the mini van affect.  Mom and Dad pack up the kid and take them to the sport of the season.  That said, Lincoln and Omaha are both to large NOT to produce at least one stud in basketball every other year at the minimum.  Hell Columbia Missouri is a third the size of Lincoln and has sent several kids to Div 1 programs the last few years.  One even landed with the bluebirds this year.

AuroranHusker

AuroranHusker

Posted
Posted

 

A good/great athlete in Lincoln will likely play and excel at multiple sports. But if they are to truly excel in a specific sport they need to spend more of their time on that particular sport.  I do not see that happening as exclusively in Lincoln as in Omaha.  Perhaps the most gifted athlete to come out of Lincoln in years was Alex Gordon.  He chose to pursue and  excel in multiple sports and then in the end, chose baseball.  The Ruud brothers played multiple sports and chose football...and so on. 

 

Unless the kid is truly an exception, for them to excel at basketball, they need to dedicate themselves to the game nearly year around. 

 

Maybe that is a weak argument, but it is mine until somebody convinces me that I am all wet :)

Heard this as the mini van affect.  Mom and Dad pack up the kid and take them to the sport of the season.  That said, Lincoln and Omaha are both to large NOT to produce at least one stud in basketball every other year at the minimum.  Hell Columbia Missouri is a third the size of Lincoln and has sent several kids to Div 1 programs the last few years.  One even landed with the bluebirds this year.

 

 

Much rather if athletes played multiple sports than get burned out on one by the age of 16, which happens a lot in the specialization era.  That said, it would be a nice if all those great players from the 80's & 90's in Nebraska would have kids that are uniquely talented to play at and for Nebraska (I mean, more, 'cuz we already got SS & Ed Morrow Jr.) :D

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