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 got a scare on Friday but still went 2-0 while Sallis got his buckets.
In a 66-64 overtime win at Millard West on Friday, Sallis led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-17 from the field, 1-of-3 from 3 and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, grabbed five rebounds, dished out one assist and grabbed one steal.
Sallis stepped it up even more on Saturday to make sure the Mustangs took care of business in regulation in an 80-69 win at Lincoln Northeast. Millard North put up 68 points in the first three quarters before getting their reserves some playing tim in the fourth quarter.
Sallis cracked 30 for the second time this season and third time in is career with 31 points on 11-of-19 from the field including 3-of-6 from 3 and 6-of-7 from the foul line. He added seven rebounds (four offensive) and two assists. His three made 3-pointers tie his career-high, set two other times previously.
2022 Millard North Forward Jasen Green (Nebraska Target)
After coming on strong in recent weeks, Green took a bit of a step back in last week’s games, scoring 12 points on 12 shots.
In the Millard West win, he had eight points on 3-of-8 shooting and 2-of-4 from the line, five rebounds including four on the offensive end, one steal and one turnover.
Green scored just four points on 1-of-4 shooting and 2-of-4 from the line with two blocks, one assist, one steal and one turnover.
2020 Millard North Forward Max Murrell (Stanford Commit)
Against Millard West, Murrell had nine points on 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line, five blocks, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one turnover.
He followed that up with his best game of the season against Lincoln Northeast. Murrell finished with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting, 10 rebounds, four steals, one block, one assist and three turnovers. Murrell shot 1-of-2 from 3 in both games.
Millard North has a huge three-game week coming up. On Tuesday, the Mustangs will host Papillion-La Vista South what they beat 77-66 in the Metro Holiday Tournament Semifinals. On Friday, Millard North will face Bellevue West at the Thunderdome in a showdown of the only two-loss teams in Class A. Te Mustangs will close out the week against national powerhouse IMG Academy in Grand Island as one of the headliners of the Heartland Hoops Classic.
2020 Lincoln North Star Guard Donovan Williams
Williams had a monster week, setting a new school record and then besting it in the next game.
In North Star’s 73-53 win against Lincoln northeast on Friday, Williams went off for a school record 44 points on 13-of-25 from the field (8-of-16 from 3) and 10-of-11 from the foul line with 12 rebounds and three assists.
He topped that the next day with a ridiculous 50 points in a 91-88 loss at Bellevue West on Saturday. North Star trailed 73-55 heading into the fourth quarter before Williams erupted for 25 of his team’s 33 points, but Bellevue West made just enough plays to pull out the win. Williams shot 19-of-34 from the field, 7-of-16 from 3 and 5-of-12 from the free-throw line with 15 rebounds and two assists.
Williams is now tied for seventh on the Class A single-game scoring chart and he’s shot 25-of-54 (46.3%) from 3 over his last four games.
The Navigators will play at Kearney on Friday and will host Millard West on Saturday.
2021 Bellevue West Guard Chucky Hepburn (Wisconsin Commit)
Bellevue West went 3-0 last week behind three big Hepburn performances.
In a 65-49 win against Omaha North on Tuesday, Hepburn led the Thunderbirds with 20 points on 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-trow line, eight assists, seven rebounds, two steals, one block and two turnovers.
In a 58-47 win against Papillion-La Vista on Friday, Hepburn had 23 points on 8-of-15 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line, 5 rebounds, five assists, three steals, on block and one turnover.
In the thriller against North Star, Hepburn finished with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line including two in the closing seconds to help seal the win. He added six assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block and two turnovers to his stat line.
Hepburn stuff the stat sheet all week but still only shot 2-of-10 from 3 in the three games.
2021 Bellevue West Wing Frankie Fidler
Frankie Fidler had another good week for the T-Birds, staring off with his best performance against the Vikings. He was second on the team with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and hit his only free throw. He also had seven rebounds, two steals, one assist, one block and one turnover.
Against Papillion-La Vista, Fidler had nine points on 4-of-8 from the field and 1-of-3 from the foul line, seven rebounds, five steals, three assists, two blocks and two turnovers.
In the North Star game, Fidler was one of four Thunderbirds in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and he also chipped in five rebounds and three assists.
Fidler went 1-for-1, 0-for-2 and 3-of-3 from deep in the three games. He’s now up to 38.8% from 3 on the season.
The Thunderbirds will follow up the showdown with Millard North with a home game against Lincoln High on Saturday.
2020 Omaha Westside Guard Jadin Booth (Omaha Commit)
Westside went 2-0 but it was an up-and-down week for Booth.
On Tuesday, the Warriors knocked off Omaha South 82-76 in overtime. The Packers rallied late with a 30-point fourth quarter to send it to overtime but the Warriors doubled up South in the extra period, 12-6.
The most impressive part of the win for Westside was that they did it while getting just 10 points from Booth. He shot 1-of-5 from deep and missed both of his 2-point attempts while going 7-for-8 at the foul line. Booth added four rebounds, three assists, a block and two turnovers. Senior PJ Ngambi picked up the sale with 21 points and eight assist while sophomore guards Chandler Meeks and Reggie Thomas combined for 40.
Booth bounced back in a big way with a game-high 25 points in a 67-59 win against Lincoln Southwest on Saturday. He shot 8-of-10 from the field including 4-of-6 from 3 and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line with six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.
On Tuesday, Westside will host a physical Kearney squad coached by former Husker Drake Beranek. On Friday, the Warriors will take on Millard South in another home game.
2020 Omaha Central Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
The Eagles only had one game last week, and I wrote about it. Central avenged its loss in the Class A state championship game with a 64-49 win at Omaha South on Friday. Wrightsell led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from the line, though he missed all four of his 3-pointers. He added nine rebounds, three steals, one block and one turnover to his stat line.
The Eagles have three games this week, although they’re all against sub-.500 teams. On Tuesday, Central plays at Millard West. On Friday, the Eagles host Omaha Northwest. On Saturday, they play at Lincoln Northeast.
