State Tournament: Class A All-Tournament Team

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #999999;">Photo Credit: Brad Higgins // @bradhigginsphotography</span></p> <p>Lincoln- The Class A State Tournament came to a conclusion Saturday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln with top-seeded Bellevue West storming back to take down #2 seed Millard North. In a thrilling conclusion to the season, Bellevue West used a 16-0 run in the game’s final 4 minutes to prevail victorious by a score of 64-62. This wasn’t the only exciting game of the tournament though, as games on all 3 days of action came down to the wire. Here are the five players who throughout the tournament solidified their spots on my Class A All-Tournament Team. Stats listed are their tournament averages. </p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="773431" first="Chucky" last="Hepburn"] </strong>(Bellevue West)- 15 PPG, 4 RPG, 8 APG. </p> <p>Though he was only the Thunderbirds’ leading scorer once on the weekend, and the state title game was not his best performance from the field, [player_tooltip player_id="773431" first="Chucky" last="Hepburn"] reaffirmed his position as one of the top players in the state while helping bring another Class A state title back to Bellevue West. The 6’1 junior is committed to playing college basketball at Wisconsin and their head coach Greg Gard likely loved what he saw from Hepburn on the weekend. Highlighted by a 28 point and 12 assists double-double in the semi-finals against Omaha Westside, Chucky showcased his scoring ability, court vision, and overall top-notch basketball IQ. Aside from the assists, Hepburn who thrives in taking the ball to the basket, made the most of his free throw attempts as well, finishing the weekend 79% from the charity stripe. </p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="890468" first="Frankie" last="Fidler"] </strong>(Bellevue West)- 18.6 PPG, 8 RPG, 2.3 SPG. </p> <p>Prior to the tournament, I tabbed the younger Fidler brother as someone to watch for a breakout performance and man did he deliver on my prediction. Fidler made plays on both ends of the floor for the TBirds and was the man to make the free throws in the state championship game which gave Bellevue West the winning margin of 64-62. One of the most intriguing prospects in the 2021 class, Fidler is a long guard/forward, who has a special combination of length and quickness make him a threat on both ends of the court. He had plenty of tough finishes through contact on the weekend, and when he got to the foul line he made the most of it finishing the tournament at an 80% clip from the line. </p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="773443" first="Hunter" last="Sallis"] </strong>(Millard North)- 19.7 PPG, 3.3 RBG, 2.6 APG</p> <p>Going into the week, Sallis was expected to be the main attraction before the NSAA limited public access to the tournament. Even in a somewhat empty Pinnacle Bank Arena all weekend, Sallis still put on a show for all to see. The state’s first 5-star recruit made plenty of highlight-reel plays throughout the tournament, whether it was a show-stopping dunk on Thursday or an alley-oop pass on Friday night, Sallis made his mark on the event. There is not a lot about Hunter that can be said that hasn’t been said already. The kid is just plain smooth and well worth the price of admission. The state of Nebraska is lucky to get to watch him for one more high school season. </p> <p><strong>2021 [player_tooltip player_id="890479" first="Saint" last="Thomas"] </strong>(Millard North)- 16.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 6 APG</p> <p>Thomas finished off his breakout junior season with a stellar state tournament, and even though his Millard North Mustangs came up short, if you didn’t know [player_tooltip player_id="890479" first="Saint" last="Thomas"] before this week chances are that you do now. He finished the weekend shooting 55% from the field, and his highlights included a pull-up mid-range game-winner with 6 seconds left on Thursday night against Papillion La-Vista South. Thomas was not afraid to crash the boards, and also made plenty of plays for his teammates averaging 6 assists per game for the tournament. Thomas is extremely efficient, and this summer should be huge for him leading into his senior campaign. </p> <p><strong>2020 [player_tooltip player_id="890349" first="Jadin" last="Booth"] </strong>(Omaha Westside)- 20 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3 APG</p> <p>Midway through the season, I heard someone compare [player_tooltip player_id="890349" first="Jadin" last="Booth"]’s game to an all you can eat buffet, because "there’s a little bit of everything."  While the season didn’t end the way the Omaha Westside senior guard and Omaha commit wanted it to, Booth gave the state one last reminder of just how skilled he is in all facets of the game. He can score at all three levels and also make plays for his teammates. Omaha got a good one in Booth, and I’m looking forward to following his career as a Maverick. </p>