Championship Saturday Stars: Part 2

<p><em>Saturday brought the 2020-2021 Nebraska High School Basketball season to a close as champions were crowned in all six of the classes in Nebraska. After an excellent week of action on the court in the capital, Saturday’s championship action was a fitting conclusion to an excellent winter on the hardwood here in the Cornhusker State. Here are some players whose performances on Championship Saturday stood out. </em></p> <p><strong>Jaheim Curry - 6’2 Junior (Lincoln Parkview Christian)</strong></p> <p>Curry was one of the standout guards for the entire week across all six classes of action. You definitely don’t see many guards like him in Class D2. Curry is shifty and a very skilled ball-handler who can get to the basket with ease. Although Parkview fell short in the D2 state championship game against Falls City Sacred Heart, Curry stood out to me the most in that game Saturday, where he finished with 17 points on the afternoon. He’s definitely one of the more intriguing small school players in the state to keep an eye on this summer and into next year. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="890461" first="Jadin" last="Johnson"] - 6’4 Senior (Millard North)</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="890461" first="Jadin" last="Johnson"] just might have saved his best high school game for last, and what better stage to do than in the state championship game at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Old Dominion signee shot the lights out from the field finishing with 24 points on a very efficient 10-13 shooting, which included going 3-5 from 3 point range. The Mustang point guard has always been a better ball handler than most, as well as a skilled slashing guard, but this was quite the scoring display to finish his high school career. Capturing a Class A state championship in an instant classic game probably made it that much better. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="773431" first="Chucky" last="Hepburn"] - 6’2 Senior (Bellevue West)</strong></p> <p>I’d be remisce if I didn’t mention the future Wisconsin point guard’s performance in the final game of his illustrious high school career at Belleve West. Hepburn had an for most of the game when Millard North had momentum. Finishing the contest with 25 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 steals, [player_tooltip player_id="773431" first="Chucky" last="Hepburn"] did everything he could in his quest to go out with back to back state championships. One of the toughest competitors I’ve ever seen, and possibly the best on ball defender I have ever seen in Nebraska, it is safe to say the Badgers are getting a good one. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787647" first="Jasen" last="Green"] - 6’7 Junior (Millard North)</strong></p> <p>The Millard North junior came alive in the second half and with a mixture of strong post finishes and a couple thunder dunks, Green finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds to complete a balance scoring effort for the Mustang offense. Green will be one of the top prospects in the state to watch next year for sure, and has already received high major D1 offers. He plans to play with MOKAN Elite this summer, and will certainly be a name to watch throughout AAU season. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049513" first="Gil" last="Jengmer"] - 6’8 Junior - (Grand Island Central Catholic)</strong></p> <p>Have a week [player_tooltip player_id="1049513" first="Gil" last="Jengmer"]. Not only did he lead GICC to a Class C2 state title along with his older brother [player_tooltip player_id="1007525" first="Dei" last="Jengmer"], but his play didn’t just stand out on championship Saturday, it did all week long. Gil has great length and athleticism for his size and showcased that with some emphatic dunks and blocks thrughout the C2 state tournament. The younger Jengmer brother has developed his game really well since I first saw him last summer and I am very interested to see how he plays this summer with Omaha Sports Academy’s top 17U squad. Definitely a name to watch in terms of Nebraska big men in the 2022 class. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>