The Nebraska High School Basketball All-State Project - Saluting 1976

This is the 7th in a series of Nebraska High School All-State basketball teams beginning with 1970. We will take this all the way to the eve of the 2026 Girls State Basketball Tournament (Tuesday, March 3rd).

It is my hope that these blogs rekindle some fond memories for the many athletes and fans that support high school sports, and basketball in general. I have already crossed paths with some of the outstanding people I have written about and will treasure these meetings forever. If I had to list the heroes I have followed through the years, it would take an eternity to list them all.

Before we look at those aforementioned all-state teams, here is how each class played out in 1976 State Basketball Tournament, the very first to be played at the brand spanking new Bob Devaney Sports Center:

*Nelson made it a Class D football/basketball sweep in 1975/76 by jumping on Hildreth in the "D" final, then holding on for a 54-48 victory. Coach Wayne Gumaer's Tigers jumped on Hildreth's youth movement, 3 sophomores, and 2 juniors, sprinting to a 34-18 halftime bulge before things suddenly begin to shift early in the 3rd quarter. The Greyhounds, coached by former Lincoln High star, Sam Sharp, took full advantage of Nelson's ice cold shooting to gnaw their way back. So frigid was Nelson, the Tigers went 6 full minutes in that 3rd frame without scoring a point. In fact, Nelson connected on only 5 field goals the entire 2nd half. Four Nelson starters ended up finishing in double figures for the game.

The 'Hounds cut the lead to 43-40 before long range shooting specialist Roger Biltoft started finding the range to stop the bleeding and preserve the 54-48 win. Three of Nelson's starters were all-state football players. Roger Biltoft, Lorrell Peterson, and Rick Mazour were all named to the Class D all-state football squad.

By the way, 1976 was the first high school coaching gig for Sam Sharp and with players such as Danny Garrelts, Alan Bunger and Crale Bauer, good things would keep happening down the hoops road for this team.

The Class D All-Tournament team consisted of: Nelson's Roger Biltoft, Danny Garrelts-Hildreth junior, Larry Robbins-Sumner, Dana Anderson of Polk and Gurley's 6-7 Mike Rowan.

*In the Class C final, Geneva and Walthill put on a shooting/scoring exhibition, combining for 147 points. Geneva jumped out to a 24-17 first quarter lead on Walthill, but the Bluejays cut that lead to 43-40 at the half and took the lead after the end of the 3rd, 61-57. But personally, I think Walthill just ran out of gas in the 4th stanza and let the Wildcats come back and take the 75-72 win and with it, the Class C crown. The lead was tied at 71 as late as 1:24 left in the game. Walthill expended a lot of energy in the opening two tournament games, winning close ones with their 74-70 opener against Pleasanton and the semi final 56-54 squeaker over Howells in the Friday nightcap.

For Geneva, it was the first state title since Bob Gratopp led the 'Cats to the 1965 title. An amazing fact about this championship was the fact Geneva won the thing with 19 wins........and NINE losses. NO Class C team, C-1, or C-2 team has ever won a state championship with that many losses. The one that came the closest.....the 1956 Geneva team that went 14-7. The closest any team has come since then was last year's (2014) Wahoo Neumann squad that finished 22-6.

For Geneva, it was those Adkisson boys, Ken and Steve, that paved the way. In that title game, the 5-10 Steve canned 25 points and the 6-7 Ken Adkisson followed closely with 24. Walthill sure had a good one with Jay Bellar. Bellar tied for game scoring honors with his 25 points. Brother Jeff Bellar played on that team too. The Bluejays had 2 other dandys in Randy Stansberry and Tom Baumert. Geneva also had a good player in Steve Wentz.

The All-Tournament team included the Adkisson boys, Steve being the junior, Walthill's Bellar, Bob Keller, a Bassett junior, and North Platte St. Pats returning all-state Randy Mrozcek.

*Class B had one of the most exciting finishes in State Tournament history when Aurora withstood the last second shot by Holdrege player Brian Kohlscheen to edge the Dusters, 53-52. The photo accompanying this blog, taken by UPI photographer Mike Theiler, is still a classic to this day.

Aurora, coached by the legendary Bill Holliday, appeared to be in great shape in the title game, leading Holdrege 51-47 with 1:54 remaining. TEN seconds later, the Huskies trailed 52-51. The 5 point turn around came about when an Aurora player picked up his 5th foul, then protested the call and was slapped with a technical. The Dusters Randy Florell made both free throws, then Brian Kohlscheen canned a 10 footer to give Holdrege the lead. The Dusters appeared to have the game put away with 13 seconds remaining, but Rick Hasse missed both free throws after being intentionally fouled.

Aurora hustled down court and Joe Ernst drew the foul driving to the hoop. Ernst, who proclaimed he was the worst free throw shooter on the team, calmly drained both shots giving the Huskies the 53-52 lead. The heartbreaking shot depicted in the historic photo, was snapped when Brian Kohlscheen missed an 8 footer that would have given Holdrege the championship. The poor kid just fell to the brand new Sports Center floor and remained there for several moments. I can't imagine how bad Brian felt.....the agony of defeat at its worst. The real tell tale statistic in the game was the Duster's poor free throw shooting in the game......14 of 27.

It had to be especially gut wrenching for Holdrege coach Roger Hanson, who led his then Lexington squad to the state finals. In that game, Lincoln Pius X star, Artie Akasmit drained a last second buzzer beater to beat Lexington.

The state championship was the first for Aurora in 66 years. So impressive was that 1976 Aurora team that 3 Huskies made the "B" All-Tournament team. Joe Ernst, Steve Cranfill and Keith Erienbusch were named to the squad along with Kyle Johnson of Holdrege and 6-3 Steve Cook of Sidney's Red Raiders.

*Class A's title game proved defense was alive and well in 1976, as it is today. Brother Michael Wilmont, who lived by the slogan "defense wins games" proved his point as the Creighton Prep team bested Omaha North 48-44. Alright, after all the years of complaining about poor shooting and boring defensive games, I now know who to blame........Brother Wilmont. Just kidding. You certainly couldn't knock the good Brother Wilmont's style because it produced a record of 67-6 mark during the 3 years spanning from 1974 to '76. Want to hear a Who's Who story about Wilmont's belief in the defensive strategy? He gave credit to some former Creighton Prep coaches for the belief in staunch defensive philosophy. Those former coaches........Don Leahy, Tom Brosnihan, then Marquette University assistant Henry Raymonds, and........Hank Iba. Yeah, that Hank Iba. It's OK Brother Wilmont!

Prep trailed 36-30 after 3 quarters in that title game, but 6-5 Bob Dahlquist and all-state 6-5 Ted Parks led the Junior Jays back to the win. Parks was named to the All-Tournament team along with 2 tall Omaha North players. 6-8 senior Dave Powell made the team and a 6-4 junior you just may have heard of.........Mike McGee. Also named to that Tourney team was Omaha Burke's junior Jim Gregory and Hastings outstanding 6-7 senior, Mark McVicker. How's that for a Dream team?

And now................................

1976 All-State Teams:

*Class D All-State Team*

G - Randy Fahey-Sidney St. Pats - 6-3, Sr. (23.0 ppg)

G - Kelly Ficken-Davenport - 6-1, Sr. (28.0 ppg)

F - Randy Presler-Wilsonville - 5-11, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

F - Larry Robbins-Sumner - 6-0, Sr. (25.0 ppg)

C - Roger Biltoft-Nelson - 6-2, Sr. (15.0 ppg)

Second Team:

G - Jeff Veerhesen-Adams - 5-11, Jr. (18.0 ppg)

G - Steve Whipple-Bartley - 6-2, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

F - Derrie Nelson-Fairmont- 6-2, Sr. (15.0 ppg)

F - Rod Teter-Wolbach - 6-2, Sr. (17.0 ppg)

C - Dana Anderson-Polk - 6-5, Sr. (16.0 ppg)

*The most prolific scorer in this group was, without a doubt, Kelly Ficken. I'll bet I saw Ficken play at least 8 or 9 times and every single game I attended, he scored over 30 points. Matter of fact, he did that 18 times during his 59 game career at Davenport. Ficken tallied 1,399 points during that sparkling career and grabbed 578 rebounds. Kelly's lifetime high school ppg average......23.7. Wilsonville senior Randy Presler was regarded as the Best of the West, regardless of class. Pretty lofty for a Class D player.

The Leaper of the Year award had to go to Sumner's Larry Robbins. Only 6 feet tall, the Sumner star could out jump most 6-4 or 6-5 opposing players. Even though most teams played a "cheating" defense on Robbins, he managed to average 24.5 ppg and hit 48% of his shots. And how about a Class D guard being 6-3" tall back in that day? Sidney St. Pats head coach Chuck Perone (later Albion, remember?) called Fahey the best player he ever coached. In just 2 years, Fahey dished out 198 assists, and pulled down 15 rebounds a game. That's a GUARD we are talking about.

And of course Biltoft needs no introduction. He led Nelson in scoring and rebounding his senior year and was named Class D's Most Valuable player at the State tournament.

*Honorable Mention names: Steve Pokorny-Falls City SH, Roger Behrends-Lodgepole, Randy Meyer-Ruskin, Kevin Yount-Cedar Bluffs, Doug Sutherland-Murdock, Bill Krejci-Exeter, Greg Bellamy-Farnum, John Veik-Petersburg and Big Bill Bruhn-Dawson-Verdon.

*Class C All-State Team*

G - Mark Hrabik-Louisville- 6-0, Sr. (21.0 ppg)

G - Jay Bellar-Walthill - 6-1, Sr. (21.0 ppg)

F - Randy Mrozcek-North Platte St. Pats - 6-0, Sr. (17.0 ppg)

F - Ken Adkisson-Geneva - 6-6, Sr. (21.0 ppg)

C - Kent Luebs-Wood River - 6-5, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

Second Team:

G - Kirk Kellough-Friend - 6-2, Sr. (17.0 ppg)

G - Monte Fletcher-Bassett - 5-11, Sr. (18.0 ppg)

F - Jay Bergmeier-Tri-County - 6-3, Sr. (24.0 ppg)

F - Ken Houghtelling-Cambridge - 6-2, Sr. (26.0 ppg)

C - Jay Willhoft-Imperial - 6-2, Sr. (17.0 ppg)

*Maybe the most impressive player in this bunch had to be NPSP's Mroczek. The 6-0 senior just simply thrived during pressure cooker situations. Mroczek demonstrated that when he scored 22 points and grabbed 20 boards in a victory over Grant, a team St, Pats hadn't beaten in 7 years. The long, lean Kenny Adkisson 1,367 points in his 86 game career and was the Most Valuable player in the '76 Class C state tournament. He also pulled down NINE rebounds a game all through his playing days at Geneva...727 boards to be exact.

How about Walthill's Jay Bellar? This dude scored 1,100 points and grabbed over a 1000 rebounds during his illustrious career. Good lord. Bellar was probably NE Nebraska's top player. Louisville star Mark Hrabik nearly single-handedly carried his team in 1976 after being the only player returning from the '75 State Championship team for the Lions. Hrabik averaged 21 ppg for his 12-7 Louisville team that upset a fine Omaha Holy name in districts.

Wood River's Kent Luebs started all three years for his Eagles team and scored at a 21.5 ppg for Wood River, who finished 19-3 in '76, playing many Class B schools. Luebs was a deadly charity strip shooter, connecting on 83.5% of his shots. The 6-5 Luebs also hit 56% of his FG attempts. Friend's Kirk Kellough was a fantastic running back, who was a 1000 yard runner with speed to burn. Obviously a pretty salty basketball too.

*Honorable Names: Bob Barry-Battle Creek, Dick Jakubowski-Howells, Mike Davenport-Sandy Creek, Bob Nicklassen-St. Edward, Steve Kucera-Pleasanton, Dave Welch-Milford, Tim Hagedorn-Springview, Jumpin Jimmy Langin-Gibbon (Yes!!!), Dan Lliteras-Hemingford, Doug Lanik-Wahoo Neumann, and Bob Keller-Bassett.

*Class B All-State Team

G - Jeff Quinn-Ord - 6-2 Sr. (22.0 ppg)

G - Chuck Schnoor-Minden - 5-10, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

F - Mark Erickson-Crete - 6-3, Sr. (20.0 ppg)

F - Jeff Nannen-Syracuse - 6-6, Sr. (25.0 ppg)

C - Jeff Scholl-Central City - 6-5, Sr. (24.0 ppg)

Second Team

G - Jerry Divis-Wahoo - 5-8, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

G - Mark Swanson-York - 5-9, Sr. (21.0 ppg)

F - Steve Cook-Sidney - 6-3, Sr. (16.0 ppg)

F - Doug Holtmeier-Lexington - 6-3, Jr. (20.0 ppg)

C - Jim Honz-Omaha Ryan - 6-9, Jr. (19.0 ppg)

*Man Oh Man was this Class B first team all-state bunch, a star studded squad. Jeff Quinn was all-state football to go with this selection and made both the Shrine Bowl AND the Coaches All-Star Basketball game. Quinn would later go on to play Quarterback for the Huskers. Nannen came within a whisker of making 1st Team Super-State. He should have after averaging 25 ppg and 16 boards. Can you say major college prospect? Then there is Central City's Scholl. Jeff averaged 23.6 ppg and 15.5 rebounds a contest. Man, Scholl was good and I only had to travel 20 miles to see him perform. How valuable was Jeff Scholl to his Central City team? The 6-6 star accounted for 39% of the Bison's scoring and 43% of their rebounding.

Minden's Schnoor averaged 22.3 points a game against a horribly rugged schedule. And honestly, the player I think any coach would have loved to have had would have been Crete's Mark Erickson. The night I watched him, I thought the 6-3 senior may have been the kid with the most basketball smarts I had seen at the time. Solid leader, very good shooting, dribbling, passing, fine rebounding and a fierce defender. Erickson just knew the game....like a coach on the floor, man.

And look at that 2nd team. How good would Ryan's Honz and Lexington's Holtmeier be in '77? Many of you know the answer to that question. If not, stay tuned.

*Honorable Mention names that may be familiar with: Jerry Roh, David City Aquinas, TIM HIGGENS-OMAHA CATHEDRAL, Tim Shanahan-Wahoo, Rick Haase, Kyle Johnson-Holdrege, Joe Ernst-Aurora, Warren Ortmeier-West Point CC, Brian Hudnall-Grand Island Northwest, Dick Uhing, Tim Schieffer-Hartington CC, Bob Sinn-Fairbury, Jeff Edwards-Superior, Merlin Lee-Albion, Steve Gleisberg-Seward, Larry Kohler-Schuyler.

Honest to goodness, ANY of these players could have been all-state Class B in 1976. What a year!

*Class A All-State Team

G - Mike McGee-Omaha North - 6-4, Jr. (25.0 ppg)

G - Jim Gregory-Omaha Burke - 6-2, Jr. (22.0 ppg)

F - Mark McVicker- Hastings - 6-7, Sr. (21.0)

F - Ted Parks-Creighton Prep - 6-5, Sr. (19.0)

C - Dave Griffin-Lincoln Southeast- 6-7, Sr. (20.0 ppg)

Second Team

G - Bob Dickey-Omaha Burke - 5-11, Jr. (11.0 ppg)

G - Doug Berka-Lincoln Northeast - 5-10, Jr. (14.0 ppg)

F - Dan Claussen-Omaha Benson - 6-7, Jr. (20.0 ppg)

F - John Parker-Lincoln High - 6-7, Sr. (18.0)

C - Dave Powell-Omaha North - 6-7, Jr. (20.0 ppg)

*NO DOUBT who the Class A Player-of-the-Year was in Class A. Omaha North magician Mike McGee was something out of a fairy tale and only a junior. The funny thing was McGee didn't even start for North until the 5th game of the year due to a hand injury. How good was Mike McGee in '76? Viking Head Coach Bob Murray submitted him for Super-State and Class A recognition at THREE positions, stating "take your pick".

McGee scored 30 points or more on seven different occasions in 1976. After Omaha North beat McCook in the opening round of the State tournament, Bison head coach Jerry Schmutte joked " a guy like McGee shouldn't be allowed to play high school basketball." Everybody who saw number 32 play in 1976 left the gym with their jaws dropped. Little did they know they hadn't seen anything yet. Most of us still dream of Mike McGee!

Let me tell you, Hastings Mark McVicker was no slouch either. Then Tiger coach Larry Ribble labeled the 6-7 senior as the best he had ever coached at that point. McVicker had tremendous range for his size, drilling 57% of his shots from the field and an amazing 82% of his free throws. To illustrate how good defensively McVicker was, in the district final against Grand Island, he held the Islanders great Jeff Finn to just 6 points and blocked 6 of Finn's shots. Remember, Finn averaged 18 ppg.

Lincoln Southeast's Dave Griffen led Wally McNaught's Knights to winning 28 of 38 of its games during his 2 year starting stint there. Griff set Southeast single season records for scoring, shooting percentage and rebounding. Of course Prep's Ted Parks was at his best during the Jays state tournament run in '76, scoring 59 points and grabbing 24 rebounds during the Big Dance. Omaha Burke's Jim Gregory made the back court an all junior affair by joining the legendary McGee on the 1st Team. Gregory averaged 25 ppg for Jack Johnette's forces and was a slick ball handler and team leader.

*Honorable Mention players: Jeff Finn and Paul Trieschman-Grand Island, Todd Trofolz-Columbus, Chris Salerno-Creighton Prep, Don Trotter-Omaha Bryan, Todd Raridon-McCook, Gary Cissell-Papillion, Brian Augustyn-Bellevue, Russ Shepard-Lincoln High, Mark Legband-Fremont, Gary Karthauser-Lincoln NE, Brent Armstrong-Creighton Prep, and Gary Nolting-Millard.

......Grand Island standout Paul Treischman went on to play for Creighton and played in a memorable match-up with Indiana State's Larry Bird, holding his own for the entire game against one of the best players of all time. Jeff Finn was the last player cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp in his later days following his splendid college football career at Nebraska.

*1976 Super-State Basketball Team

G - Mike McGee-Omaha North - 6-4, Jr. (25.0 ppg)

G - Jim Gregory-Omaha Burke - 6-2, Jr. (22.0 ppg)

F - Mark McVicker- Hastings - 6-7, Sr. (21.0)

F - Ted Parks-Creighton Prep - 6-5, Sr. (19.0)

C - Dave Griffin-Lincoln Southeast- 6-7, Sr. (20.0 ppg)

Second Team

G - Jeff Quinn-Ord- 6-2, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

G - Jay Bellar-Walthill - 6-1, Sr. (20.0 ppg)

F - Dan Claussen-Omaha Benson - 6-7, Jr. (20.0 ppg)

F - Jeff Nannen-Syracuse - 6-6, Sr. (25.0 ppg)

C - Jeff Scholl-Central City - 6-6, Sr. (24.0 ppg)

Third Team

G - Doug Berka-Lincoln Northeast - 5-10, Jr. (14.0 ppg)

G - Chuck Schnoor-Minden - 5-10, Sr. (22.0 ppg)

F - John Parker-Lincoln High - 6-7, Sr. (18.0)

F - Randy Mrozcek-North Platte St. Pats - 6-0, Sr. (17.0 ppg)

C - Jim Honz-Omaha Ryan - 6-9, Jr. (19.0 ppg)