Tath’s Week 1 observations from around the state

<p>The first week of High School hoops was filled with great games. I was lucky enough to catch a few of them and keep up with many more. Today I’ll be giving some of my observations on teams and players that caught my attention. </p> <p><strong>Silverhawks Soaring Early</strong></p> <p>Lincoln Southwest went 2-0 this week and picked up some solid wins against Papillion South and Kearney. The usual suspects handled business in [player_tooltip player_id="1013219" first="Rylan" last="Smith"] and [player_tooltip player_id="981706" first="Ben" last="Hunzeker"]. Smith was knockdown from three all week and was a consistent triple-double threat with the way he attacked the glass and kept setting up his teammates for easy buckets. Hunzeker got to the hoop at will at times against Kearney and racked up a ton of steals with his incredibly active hands. The player that grabbed the most attention for me from Southwest was [player_tooltip player_id="1031440" first="Lukas" last="Helms"]. He’s going to be a major X-Factor this year for them and is turning himself into a prospect you need to keep your eye on. On Saturday I watched the 6’5 Junior slice to the hoop consistently and make timely three-pointers. I really like the poise that Helms plays with and if the Silverhawks continue to win, his buzz will continue to grow. </p> <p><strong>You Do Not Want to Play the Bearcats </strong></p> <p>Kearney has my vote as the team that will give everyone in Class A problems, no matter who it is. The reasoning for this is that the Bearcats seem to understand who they are and they execute their gameplan with unmatched intensity. They went 1-1 this week and put up a great fight against LSW. Every time it seemed like the Silverhawks were getting away, someone from Kearney would step up and keep them in it. [player_tooltip player_id="1049314" first="Jack" last="Mundorf"] is a legitimate threat from anywhere beyond the three-point line. [player_tooltip player_id="890614" first="Will" last="Vanderbeek"] is a solid anchor on defense that will not hesitate to toss the opponent’s shot into the fourth row. [player_tooltip player_id="1154470" first="Jack" last="Dahlgren"] was phenomenal against Southwest, he seemed to always be at the right spot at the right time. His athleticism and I.Q make him an excellent defender and he will be key in causing turnovers in Kearney’s high defensive pressure scheme. </p> <p><strong>Two Breakout Stars from Week One</strong></p> <p>The first player that I thought had a breakout week was 6’3 Bryson Bahl of Papillion South. He is just a freshman but made some big-time plays in his first game high school game. He put up 21 points against the Silverhawks and showed a confidence not always seen in Freshman. He also already has hit seven three-pointers across the two games last week so yeah, that’s pretty good. I’m excited to watch his continued growth throughout the season. </p> <p>My other star this week is [player_tooltip player_id="1306613" first="Christian" last="Winn"] of the Lincoln Northeast Rockets. Winn is a player that I’ve been high on ever since I got a chance to watch him over the summer. The way the 6’4 Junior moves on offense is just different from a lot of players, he’s got a herky-jerky but very shifty game. Against Papillion on Saturday he crossed many a defender to get the rim with ease. He also was locked in from three and knocked down four of them that game. If he can take a big step up in production like he’s already been doing, the 2-0 Rockets could get incredibly scary. </p>