The Nebraska High School Basketball All-State Project - Saluting 1984

Former Papillion and Creighton player, Ed Johansen (#25) skies to block a Drake player's shot in February of 1986.

In my mind, the 1983/1984 season was an important year for Nebraska High School Basketball. Basketball classifications went from the standard 4 classes up to 6.

Another classification was added to both Class C and D, creating Class C-1 and C-2, as well as D-1, and D-2. Twice the fun, in those lower classes right?

There were those who were of the opinion Classes C and D, especially Class D, would be "watered down" too much. Well, as it ends up, here we are 42 years later with the same number of classes in basketball. I like the 6 classification system. It gives more young guys and girls the opportunity to make it to the state tournament. It is an experience an athlete will never forget.

Another interesting fact about 1983/84 is the NSAA decided to combine the boys and girls State Tournaments. The first week consisted of Classes D-2, D-1, and C-2. The following week, C-1, B and Class A boys and girls were contested. It did not work.

The idea was abandoned after one year based on the fact the attendance figures were down by about, oh, 30,000 from the separate boys' and girls' tournaments in 1983. Oops.

1983/84 Regular Season:

Just a few notes here. The returning champions from 1983 were; Millard South in Class A, and Elkhorn Mount Michael in Class B. Remember, 1984 was the inaugural season for Classes C-1, C-2, D-1, and D-2, so technically there were no returning state champions in these new classes.

A really good Howells team was the Class C champ in 1983, and Lawrence the reigning Class D champion from '83, the last ever to be crowned in that basketball class.

Henderson absolutely cruised through the 1983/84 season with ease, going 25-0 with an average margin of victory at 87-53. The Huskies per game average of 86.9 points per game is still ranked 10th on the NSAA's all-time single season scoring average list.

The Huskies hit the century mark five times during the regular season. Henderson drubbed Benedict 104-35 and two games later, laid a 108-39 loss on Hebron. After blasting both Schuyler and York in the David City Holiday Tournament, Henderson embarrassed Friend 128-43, two games later pasted Osceola 123-43, and pummeled Wolbach, 118-32 in the regular season finale.

In that 3 game stretch where they beat Friend and Osceola, there was a 90-59 win over Stromsburg sandwiched in between the two. So in that 3 game stretch, the Huskies averaged 113.6 ppg. Unreal.

Speaking of being able to score, in a Class A district final game with a state tournament berth on the line, Grand Island beat Scottsbluff 102-82! Scottsbluff's Jay Ehler took scoring honors in that game, hitting 15 of 23 field goals and 6 of 6 free throws for 36 points. The 6-0 senior outgunned Islander All-State quarterback and sharpshooter Jim Toner, who drained 15 of 21 shots from the field and 3 of 3 from the charity stripe for 33 points.

Oh, I lament, where did all the shooters go? It seems like the art of putting the ball through the cylinder disappeared from the hardwoods in this state.

*Here are the Class-by-Class State Tournaments at a glance in 1984:

Class D-2: The 1st Round matchups looked like this:

Benedict (17-5) vs. Filley (19-3)

Dix (9-6) vs. Clearwater (20-0)

Lexington St. Anns (13-6) vs. Palisade (20-0)

Thedford (13-4) vs. Hildreth (19-0)

*One side note here as well. This is a soft, friendly jab, all in fun, to my friend Pete Letheby who covered high school sports for the Grand Island Independent in those days. When forecasting the winner of the Clearwater/Dix 1st round matchup, Pete stated "Clearwater always performs poorly at state, but gets a slight nod in this one" What Pete didn't know at the time is Clearwater would be starting a 4 year State Championship run in 1984.

No big deal, Pete. Been there, done that. Love ya, buddy. You were one of the best Prep sports editors that newspaper ever had.

Clearwater nearly doubled the score on Dix 85-45 in that opening round. Benedict edged Filley, 48-45, Lexington St. Anns continued their Cinderella season by knocking off undefeated Palisade, 63-61, and Hildreth beat its 1st round opponent from the sandhills, Thedford 72-56.

Clearwater had its hands full with Benedict in the semis before downing the Crossroads Conference foe, 62-57, and Lexington St. Anns shocked a 2nd unbeaten team when it defeated 20-0 Hildreth, 72-63.

Boy, did that glass Cinderella slipper ever shatter into a million pieces for St. Anns in the first ever D-2 title contest. Clearwater shot out to a 13-0 lead, led 17-4 after one stanza, 31-10 at halftime, and 52-23 after 3 quarters, on their way to the most lopsided D-2 championship game ever. The Cardinals sent the Lexington parochial school home with a 71-31 loss. Jeff Bolling led the way with 21 points for Clearwater.

Class D-1: The 1st Round matchups looked like this.....

Hay Springs (13-4) vs. Newcastle (18-4)

Palmer (20-0) vs. Johnson-Brock (17-6)

Shickley (17-2) vs. Pleasanton (17-4)

Maxwell (20-0) vs. Lawrence (12-5)

*How many fans were anticipating a Palmer/Maxwell finals matchup? I knew Pleasanton would have something to say about this, but if they did get Maxwell in the semifinals, could they stop Dann Martin.

Palmer had all they could handle in the opening round before dispatching a good Johnson-Brock team, 50-46. Hay Springs beat Newcastle, 48-43, Pleasanton took out Shickley, 67-56, and Maxwell beat Lawrence by a 10-spot, 66-56.

In the semis, Pleasanton did not stop Martin, who nailed 15 of 27 field goals and 6 free tosses for 36 big ones, but it wasn't enough. The Bulldogs beat Maxwell 70-66, paced by Jeff Valentine's 24 points and Paul Young's 21. Palmer's Push and Shove basketball team under the direction of Coach Steve DeNoyer, outmuscled Hay Springs, 69-46.

The Tigers and Pleasanton staged a tough, physical D-1 Final, but the physical inside/outside combination of Alan Gee and sophomore Stan Valasek were too much for Pleasanton, as Palmer claimed the crown, 63-61. The Tigers would end up 23-0 and DeNoyer would end up with a 3-year record of 59-7 after that D-1 title win.

Class C-2: The 1st Round matchups looked like this:

Mead (18-4) vs. O'Neill St. Marys (18-4)

Grant (20-1) vs. Macy (14-7)

Blue Hill (15-2) vs. Arapahoe (15-3)

Henderson (20-0) vs. Humboldt (8-11)

*No secret that Henderson, who had won a state football championship earlier in the year, would be the heavy favorite. But lurking on the other side was a Grant team that had an outstanding player in Ryan Young. In my mind, the lethal combination of John Kroeker and Brad Buller was unstoppable, and throw in a foreign exchange student from El Salvador named Luis Vega, and you have it all.

Henderson destroyed Humboldt 88-34 in the 1st round, while Blue Hill was defeating Arapahoe, 61-47. On the bottom side, Mead sent O'Neill St. Marys home with a 76-54 defeat, while Grant was punishing Macy, 76-54.

Blue Hill actually gave Henderson one of its closest games of the year when they lost to the Huskies, 72-59. Grant set up the predicted final by beating Mead, 60-53.

Henderson completed their dream season for coach Dale Buller (Brad's dad) by defeating Grant, 71-58. Both Kroeker and Buller netted 18 points in the final, while Ryan Young paced the Plainsmen with 19.

Class C-1: The 1st Round matchups looked like this.....

Omaha Flanagan (17-5) vs. Madison (21-2)

Centennial (19-4) vs. Tecumseh (17-5)

Bayard (21-2) vs. Centura (10-9)

Oakland-Craig (16-4) vs. Randolph (15-4)

*Madison certainly looked like the team to beat in C-1 with Kevin Hoffart, Kurt McCallum and crew.

In that opening round the Dragons took care of a fast breaking Omaha Flanagan crew, 66-62, while Tecumseh edged Centennial 50-48. Bayard beat a 10-9 Centura squad, 48-41 on the bottom side, while Oakland-Craig won a nail-biter over Randolph, 60-58.

Madison defeated Tecumseh in the semis, 63-53 and a very good Bayard team eliminated Oakland-Craig, 68-65.

Madison proved to be the best in Class C-1 when it beat Bayard, 57-47. The Dragons only close call would be the Flanagan scare in the first round.

Class B: 1st Round pairings were:

Grand Island Central Catholic (17-3) vs. Platteview (17-3)

Albion (13-7) vs. Elkhorn Mt. Michael (19-1)

Lincoln Pius X (17-3) vs. Sidney (16-5)

Hartington Cedar Catholic (18-2) vs. Lexington (13-5)

*Cedar Catholic was out to make amends for a 1983 state tournament semifinal loss to Mt. Michael, but once again, an awfully good Killer Kane Mt. Michael stood in their way. In a strange twist of fate, GICC and Platteview, who played for the C-1 football championship, were matched up in the opening round at State hoops. Platteview won that football game 6-0. Would their luck continue on the hardwood?

Platteview prevailed over GICC 52-40 as the Crusaders Mike Staab was saddled with 3 first half fouls. The Killer embarrassed Albion 60-29 with Mt Michael's smothering 1-3-1 defense. Pius beat Sidney in a better one than anticipated, 48-45, and defending champion Hartington CC beat Lexington, 62-54.

A couple of great semifinal games took place in Class B. Mt. Michael beat Platteview, 61-55, while Cedar edged Lincoln Pius, who just seemed to have a home court advantage, 52-49.

The Trojans of Hartington Cedar Catholic would prevail over Elkhorn MM in that final, 47-42 to gain sweet revenge and in the process, win the Class B title. The Trojans went on a late 17-2 run in the 4th quarter to erase an 8 point Mt. Michael lead to get the win. Cedar's 6-5 Tom Vlach, and the Knights 6-4 junior Doug Wemhoff put on quite a show in that game with their hoops skills. Vlach ended up leading Cedar Catholic with 17 points, but the Hartington Catholic school couldn't have started the game much worse, committing 13 turnovers in their 1st 17 trips down the floor.

Class A: The 1st Round matchups looked like this:

Grand Island (15-5) vs. Omaha Burke (15-7)

Omaha Northwest (18-4) vs. Omaha Bryan (14-8)

Millard South (19-3) vs. Lincoln High (13-8)

Fremont (13-6) vs. Omaha Gross (14-5)

*Coach Larry Ribble's Millard South squad was out to garner back-to-back Class A Basketball championships. The Indians had little trouble in dispatching Lincoln High 76-55 in the opening round. Omaha Gross took care of Fremont in what I remember as being a boring contest, 41-39. Grand Island lost a heartbreaker to an Omaha Burke team, 66-65. The Islander couldn't seem to counter juniors, Milton Shobe and Derrick Helms. Rugged Omaha NW clubbed rival Omaha Bryan, 80-57, sending a message to Burke and Millard South.

In the semis, Ribble's boys made Cougar meat out of Omaha Gross, 58-36, while Northwest continued to impress with a hard fought 72-69 win over Burke.

Millard South controlled the pace in the Class A finals, beating Omaha Northwest, 58-45. The Indians were about to go on quite a run with Coach Ribble at the controls.

*1984 Class D-2 All-State Team*

Jeff Kallhoff-Clearwater - 6-3, Senior (17.4 ppg/10.2 rpg)

Jeff Bolling-Clearwater - 6-2, Senior (20.5 ppg/12.5 rpg)

Steve Folts-Benedict - 5-11, Junior (16.9 ppg/3.0 rpg)

Greg Dorn-Filley - 6-0, Junior (20.6 ppg/7.0 rpg)

Curtis Bauer-Hildreth - 6-3, Junior (18.7 ppg/8.4 rpg)

2nd Team:

Kevin Campbell-Lodgepole - 6-3, Senior (22.4 ppg/10.1 rpg)

Paul Prochaska-Prague - 5-11, Senior (15.0 ppg/3.0 rpg)

Scott Knudson-Palisade - 6-3, Senior (14.7 ppg/11.6 rpg)

Rick Kerkman-Clearwater - 6-4, Junior (15.0 ppg/2.0 rpg)

John Caraway-Lexington St. Ann - 6-1, Senior (16.1 ppg/12.0 rpg)

*1984 Class D-1 All-State Team*

Dann Martin-Maxwell - 6-0, Junior (24.7 ppg/11.3 rpg)

Mark Lamb-Clarks - 6-8, Senior (20.0 ppg/11.0 rpg)

Alan Gee-Palmer - 6-4, Senior (20.0 ppg/11.0 rpg)

John Pavelka-Verdigre - 6-2, Senior (20.7 ppg/11.9 rpg)

Steve Poppe-Oshkosh - 6-1, Senior (32.5 ppg/12.5 rpg)

2nd Team:

Cary Haynes-Sterling - 6-0, Senior (20.0 ppg/5.0 rpg)

Ed Faxon-Odell - 6-1, Senior (20.0 ppg/6.0 rpg)

Mike Tomjack-Ewing - 6-2, Senior (24.2 ppg/11.2 rpg)

Jeff Valentine-Pleasanton - 6-3, Senior (15.8 ppg/7.3 rpg)

Rick Ideus-Shickley - 6-0, Senior (19.0 ppg/7.9 rpg)

*Mark Lamb would play some basketball at Hastings College and now was President of Lamb Real Estate in Omaha.

*1984 Class C-2 All-State Team*

Brad Buller-Henderson - 6-0, Senior (22.0 ppg/5.0 rpg)

John Kroeker-Henderson - 6-0, Senior (17.0 ppg/7.0 rpg)

Ryan Young-Grant - 6-0, Junior (25.03 ppg/4.7 rpg)

Arlan Johnson-Mead - 6-2, Senior (11.4 ppg/3.3 rpg)

Brian Poppe-Grant - 5-8, Senior (11.4 ppg/3.3 rpg)

2nd Team:

Pete Glanakos-Blue Hill - 6-5, Senior (12.9 ppg/8.1 rpg)

Duane Dohman-Harvard - 6-2, Senior (17.2 ppg/9.9 rpg)

Arvid Hass-Beemer - 6-1, Junior (21.0 ppg/7.2 rpg)

Bruce Wobkin-Scribner - 5-10, Senior (11.1 ppg/5.7)

Tedd Watson-Arapahoe - 6-3, Senior (15.8 ppg/8.5 rpg)

*1984 Class C-1 All-State Team*

Mike Peterson-Oakland-Craig - 6-4, Senior (29.0 ppg/13.0 rpg)

Kevin Hoffart-Madison - 6-2, Senior (21.0 ppg/7.0 rpg)

Scott Scheierman-Sutton - 6-6, Junior (22.8 ppg/13.0 rpg)

Nippsey Jones-Omaha Flanagan - 5-8, Senior (24.7 ppg/3.7rpg)

Ed Tharnish-Randolph - 6-1, Senior (23.0 ppg/8.0 rpg)

2nd Team:

Mike Yates-Tecumseh - 6-6, Senior (18.0 ppg/11.1 rpg)

Mike Osmera-Wahoo Neumann - 6-3, Senior (19.8 ppg/7.9 rpg)

Les Schroeder-Wisner - 6-0, Senior (18.0 ppg/6.3 rpg)

Ron Michael-Bayard - 6-1, Senior (20.2 ppg/9.6)

Todd Johnson-Howells - 6-7, Junior (16.9 ppg/8.8 rpg)

*1984 Class B All-State Team

Craig Frahm-Gretna - 6-2, Senior (22.1 ppg/8.0 rpg)

Tom Vlach-Hartington Cedar Catholic - 6-4, Senior (22.8 ppg/10.8 rpg)

Doug Wemhoff-Elkhorn Mt. Michael - 6-5, Junior (19.5 ppg/10.5 rpg)

Jon Bergman-Seward - 6-6, Senior (18.5 ppg/9.4 rpg)

Dan Palamo-Gering- 5-11, Senior (22.2 ppg/3.0 rpg)

2nd Team:

Jim Placke-Superior - 6-1, Junior (25.3 ppg/7.8 rpg)

Charlie Burt-Lincoln Pius X - 6-8, Junior (15.0 ppg/6.1 rpg)

Monte Neitzel-Platteview - 6-3, Junior (13.7 ppg/10.1 rpg)

Jim Mayberger-Elkhorn Mt. Michael - 5-10, Senior (15.0 ppg/2.4 rpg)

Jim Rupprecht-York - 6-4, Senior (15.3 ppg/10.2 rpg)

*Jay Ehler still ranks on the NSAA's single game scoring record list, having hit 50 points in a game during the 1983/84 season.

*Mt. Michael's Jim Mayberger went on to be Jim "Killer" Kane's assistant coach for many years, then Head Coach at Mt. Mike. Jim was with the Omaha Public Schools the past 30 years, teaching math at McMillan Magnet school. Mr. Mayberger recently won one of the prestigious Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Awards and currently teaches Technology and business at Omaha Mercy high school.

*Charlie Burt later earned 4 basketball letters at Nebraska Wesleyan while compiling 814 career points. Burt was part of a legendary team that fashioned a Final Four finish (NAIA) in the 1984/85 season.

*1984 Class A All-State Team:

Joel Sealer-Millard South - 6-2, Senior (14.0 ppg/5.5 ppg)

Jay Ehler-Scottsbluff - 6-0, Senior (24.7 ppg/4.3 rpg)

Ed Johansen-Papillion - 6-8, Senior (17.8 ppg/13.3 rpg)

Derrick Helms-Omaha Burke - 5-7, Junior (18.5 ppg/3.6 rpg)

Robbie Greene-Omaha Northwest - 6-1, Senior (15.2 ppg/8.0 rpg)

2nd Team:

Matt Miller-Omaha Gross - 6-7, Senior (13.5 ppg/9.0 rpg)

Milton Shobe-Omaha Burke - 6-2, Junior (15.3 ppg/8.1 rpg)

Scott DeBoer-Millard South - 6-7, Senior (13.4 ppg/8.0 rpg)

Floyd Brown-Omaha Bryan - 6-2, Senior (15.5 ppg/10.0 rpg)

Jim Toner-Grand Island - 6-1, Senior (17.0 ppg/1.6 rpg)

*Jay Ehler still ranks on the NSAA's single game scoring record list, having hit 50 points in a game during the 1983/84 season. Mr. Ehler was the Superintendent of Schools in Sidney until from 2012 to 2023 when he retired.

*Ed Johansen went on to play 2 years at Creighton and was rumored to be transferring to UCLA but ended up playing for the Anteaters of UC-Irvine where he started 5 games in 1987. The free-spirited Johansen, who sported a Mohawk haircut even back in that day, would finally end up at Division III Biola University in California.

*I think Milton Shobe actually signed to play basketball at Nebraska but ended up getting a BS in Criminal Science from UNO. Mr. Shobe at one time waas the International Students Admission Advisor at Bellevue University.

*1984 Super-State 1st Team

Joel Sealer-Millard South - 6-2, Senior (14.0 ppg/5.5 ppg)

Jay Ehler-Scottsbluff - 6-0, Senior (24.7 ppg/4.3 rpg)

Ed Johansen-Papillion - 6-8, Senior (17.8 ppg/13.3 rpg)

Derrick Helms-Omaha Burke - 5-7, Junior (18.5 ppg/3.6 rpg)

Craig Frahm-Gretna - 6-2, Senior (22.1 ppg/8.0 rpg)

*1984 Super-State 2nd Team:

Milton Shobe-Omaha Burke - 6-2, Junior (15.3 ppg/8.1 rpg)

Scott DeBoer-Millard South - 6-7, Senior (13.4 ppg/8.0 rpg)

Jon Bergman-Seward - 6-6, Senior (18.5 ppg/9.4 rpg)

Steve Poppe-Oshkosh - 6-1, Senior (32.5 ppg/12.5 rpg)

Scott Scheierman-Sutton - 6-6, Junior (22.8 ppg/13.0 rpg)