The basketball talent in Nebraska is on the rise, and all season long, Hail Varsity will be tracking the in-state players with Division I offers, including those Nebraska is recruiting.
2021 Millard North Guard Hunter Sallis (Nebraska Target)
Millard North managed to go 2-1 in a tough week including 2-0 against Nebraska teams.
On Tuesday, the Mustangs survived a close game against Papillion-La Vista South, 61-56 as the Titans’ senior point guard Jared Mattley Went off for 32 points while shooting 8-of-13 from 3.
Hunter Sallis led Millard North with 19 points on 6-of-13 from the field, 2-of-6 from 3 and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, seven rebounds (three offensive), five assists, two blocks, one steal and two turnovers.
I wrote about Millard North’s 70-60 win at Bellevue West on Friday where Sallis took over in the fourth quarter. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 9-of-9 from the foul line, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block (during which he hit his head on the backboard), though he did turn the ball over seven times.
Sallis showed out as well in Millard North’s 74-69 loss to IMG Academy in the Heartland Hoops Classic on Saturday. He finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-17 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line, seven rebounds, three assists and four turnovers with Fred Hoiberg and Matt Abdelmassih in the crowd watching.
2022 Millard North Forward Jasen Green (Nebraska Target)
Green was quiet against Papio South on Tuesday with three points on 1-of-3 shooting (1-of-2 from 3), four rebounds, one assist, one block and two turnovers.
He was solid against Bellevue West, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-7 from the field, 1-of-2 from 3 and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line, three blocks, two rebounds and two turnovers.
Green saved his best for the IMG game, putting up 16 points on 6-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3 with nine rebounds (four offensive), three blocks, two assists, one steal and two turnovers against a massive IMG team.
2020 Millard North Forward Max Murrell (Stanford Commit)
Max Murrell contributed nine points on 4-of-8 from the field and 1-of-1 from the line, eight blocks, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and two turnovers.
He didn’t do a ton offensively against Bellevue West, finishing with six points while hitting both his 2-pointers and both his free throws but missing both his 3-point attempts. He added seven board, four blocks, one assist and one steal but turned the ball over five times.
Murrell had a great first quarter against IMG but was quest after that, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting including 2-of-4 from 3, two rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one turnover.
Millard North closes out the regular season with a gauntlet of games, facing Lincoln North Star on Tuesday and Omaha Central on Friday, both at home.
2021 Bellevue West Point Guard Chucky Hepburn (Wisconsin Commit)
Bellevue West split its two games last week, dropping that game against Millard North on Friday and bouncing back for a big win against an overmatched Lincoln high team on Saturday.
Hepburn struggled a bit against Millard North’s length and also got banged up in the game, finishing with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-17 from the field, 0-of-4 from 3 and 5-of-6 from the line, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and seven turnovers. Wisconsin’s coaching staff was in the gym to watch Hepburn since they were getting ready to play at Nebraska on Saturday.
Bellevue West rolled to a 73-41 lead over the Links through three quarters before cruising to an 84-60 win, getting a lot of underclassmen playing time. Hepburn didn’t need to do much, finishing with six points on 2-of-6 from the field, 1-of-2 from 3 and 1-of-4 from the line, three rebounds, five assists and three steals.
2021 Bellevue West Wing Frankie Fidler
Frankie Fidler also struggled in the game against Millard North, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting including 1-of-6 from 3 and 3-of-4 from the line, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.
He had a small bounce-back against Lincoln High with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting (1-of-1 from 3), five rebounds (three offensive), two assists, two steals and a turnover.
Bellevue West will close out the regular season at Lincoln Southeast on Tuesday and against Millard West on Friday.
2020 Lincoln North Star Guard Donovan Williams
Williams recorded his fifth straight 30-plus-point outing in a 72-67 overtime win at Kearney on Friday, although he didn’t have the same efficiency he displayed in the previous four. Williams finished with 33 points on 11-of-30 from the field, 3-of-13 from 3 and 8-of-14 from the free-throw line with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. The rest of the team combined for just 28 field goal attempts and 16 free-throw attempts.
In a 67-58 win against Millard West on Saturday, Williams had his lowest-scoring game of the season with 17 points on 6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-8 from 3 and 2-of-2 from the line, four rebounds and two assists. Junior wing Kwat Abdelkarim led North Star with 20 points in that game.
The Navigators will go to Millard North on Tuesday before closing out the regular season at home against Fremont on Friday.
2020 Omaha Central Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
Wrightsell scored 80 points in three wins for the Eagles last week.
On Tuesday, Omaha Central survived a near-upset by Millard West in a 73-70 win despite giving up 28 points in the fourth quarter. Wrightsell lived at the free-throw line, finishing with 27 points on 6-of-16 from the field and 15-of-7 from the line, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a turnover.
On Friday, the Eagles hung triple-digits on Omaha Northwest, beating the Huskies 108-73. Wrightsell scored 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 10-of-13 from the line with 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal and two turnovers.
Central closed out the week with a 73-50 win at Lincoln Northeast. Wrightsell had 21 points on 8-of-17 from the field, 1-of-5 from 3 and 4-of-5 from the foul line, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. He missed his first four 3s before finally hitting one. It was his first 3 pointer since Jan. 28; he shot 3-of-8 in that game and then went 0-for-17 in the following five games.
Wrightsell picked up a new offer from Purdue-Fort Wayne on Sunday.
Central has a busy week to close out the regular season with games against Omaha Benson on Tuesday, at Millard North on Friday and at Omaha Westside on Saturday.
2020 Omaha Westside Guard Jadin Booth (Omaha Commit)
The Warriors went 2-0 last week behind two big games from Booth.
On Tuesday, Westside beat Kearney at home, 89-69, thanks to a big second half including a 29-point fourth quarter. Booth finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 from the field, 2-of-5 from 3 and 6-of-6 from the line with five assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Westside found itself in a battle with Millard South at home but the Warriors managed to squeak out a 65-63 win. Booth again led all scorers with 29 points, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 8-of-15 from the field, 3-of-9 from 3 and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Westside closes out the regular season this week with a trip to Lincoln Southeast on Friday and a home game against Omaha Central on Saturday.
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
