Nebraska High School Basketball : Week 2 Notes

<p>Week 2 of high school basketball brought a lot of good basketball. Some good matchups, standout performances, and some new names to know. </p> <p>I got to watch the Omaha South Packers take on a very talented Pius X team. This game was a battle in the first half. With the Packers being down 34-29 at the half they had to make some adjustments, and they sure did. Coming out in different full court presses in the second half they started getting some steals and a lot of ball pressure. [player_tooltip player_id="1131119" first="Rickey" last="Loftin"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1152113" first="Jacob" last="Martin"], who ended the game with 18, are tenacious on-ball defenders. Both high motor players, diving on the floor for loose balls, forcing pickups, and it seemed when one of them scored, the other was credited with the assist. Don’tryl Nunn-Love was another guy getting after it on the defensive end. In the third quarter he had back to back to steals to regain a Packer lead, in which one led to a huge and loud and-1. Nonetheless Omaha South is going to be a tough team to beat when they play defense like that.</p> <p>This Pius X team was given such a high rated preseason ranking for a reason. This is a team that is so unselfish and shares the ball so well. With the trio of [player_tooltip player_id="981708" first="Sam" last="Hastreiter"], [player_tooltip player_id="1023539" first="Jack" last="Hastreiter"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1235575" first="Brady" last="Christiansen"] all able to stretch the floor, they are at a big advantage with them able to score at all three levels. The Thunderbolt backcourt consists of Jackson Kessler and [player_tooltip player_id="981700" first="Jared" last="Bohrer"]. Bohrer can flat out shoot the ball. He had a bit of a quiet night but he hit two huge three balls early in the second quarter against Omaha South. He is a very confident shooter, handles the ball well at the point, and has great floor vision. Very underrated prospect in the 2022 class. Kessler is a 2023 who continues to improve his game. Physically has gotten bigger and stronger since I watched him in the summer and uses his frame to his advantage to finish at the rim.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1052926" first="Carter" last="Tempelmeyer"] | 6’2 G | Lincoln East 2023</p> <p>Tempelmeyer had a 16 point outing on Thursday for the Lincoln East Spartans. He has proved to be East’s go to guy this year. He’s very good at attacking the rim and finishing through defenders. He has a solid layup package with some very athletic finishes.</p> <p>Braydon McPhail | 5’11 G | Lincoln East 2022</p> <p>Here is another one of East’s scoring contributors. McPhail has a very well put together game. Takes great shots, and gives it up at the right time. His pump fake was getting defenders to bite all four quarters of the Spartans games against the Bearcats. He is a very quick and aggressive defender and does not make it easy for opponents to score. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Key Games to watch this week</p> <p>Class A : 12/14 Omaha Westside @ Lincoln Southeast, 12/18 Lincoln Southwest @ Creighton Prep, 12/18 Gretna @ Pius X</p> <p>Class B : 12/14 Platteview @ Beatrice, 12/17 Elkhorn North @ Waverly, 12/18 (C1) Kearney Catholic @ Skutt</p> <p>Class C1 : 12/14 Central City @ Minden, 12/17 Auburn @ (C2) Freeman, 12/18 Milford @ Ashland-Greenwood, </p> <p>Class C2 : 12/16 Lutheran High Northeast @ Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, 12/17 Grand Island Central Catholic @ (C1) Lincoln Christian, 12/17 BDS @ Cross County</p> <p>Class D1 : 12/14 Elgin Public/Pope John @ (C2) Elkhorn Valley, 12/16 Cambridge @ (C1) Cozad, 12/18 Anselmo-Merma @ Burwell, , </p> <p>Class D2 : 12/14 Hyannis @ Gordon-Rusheville, 12/17 Wausau @ Wynot, 12/18 (D1)Loomis @ Falls City Sacred Heart, </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>