The Nebraska High School Basketball All-State Project - Saluting 1987

1986/87 Regular Season:

Lincoln East was Class A's number one team. Class B's favorite was Aurora. C-1's number two Republican Valley was eliminated by Hershey and top ranked Sandy Creek was bumped by Sutton in the District finals.

In C-2, number 4 Dorchester and 5 Wausa bit the dust during districts. Humphrey entered the State Tournament as #1. D-1's top ranked Pleasanton was sent home in district play and Clearwater entered the D-2 dance as #1 and an 88-7 record the previous 4 years.

*Here are the class by class State Tournaments at a glance in 1987:

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

Wilcox (10-7) vs. Brule (14-2)

Prague (12-5) vs. Amherst (11-7)

Dix (8-9) vs. Clearwater (22-1) (Three time defending champion)

Milligan (13-7) vs. McCool Junction (13-6)

**Kelly Prater, playing in his 4th State Championship game, keyed Clearwater to a 1st Round win over outmanned Dix 56-23, while Dale Luzum's 22 points led Milligan to a 58-51 win over a good McCool Junction squad. On the top side of the bracket, Chad Ortgiesen's 16 points and Stuart Guthrie's 14 counters led Wilcox past Brule 53-42. The best game of the 1st round was the 5:00 dandy that saw Amherst defeating Prague in 3 overtimes, 77-74. It took 4 players in double figures for the Broncos to dispatch that Prague squad. Jay Eckhout led Amherst with 25, Joey Hoos added 19, Keith Fisher had 12 and Bartley Eckhout chipped in with 11.

Clearwater sent Milligan to the sidelines in the semis with a 56-40 victory, and a tired Amherst team still handled Wilcox 51-42 to gain a shot at 3 time champion, Clearwater in the finals.

Clearwater had its hands full for three quarters before dispatching unrated Amherst 50-40, to claim its 4th Consecutive State Championship, a feat never accomplished by a boys prep basketball team prior to 1987. The Cardinals sprinted to a 30-15 halftime lead before the rugged rebounding of John and Bartley Eckhout allowed Amherst to score the first 8 points of the 2nd half. Amherst had rallied from an 11 point deficit in the 4th quarter to get that wild 3 overtime 1st round win over Prague, so you knew they were dangerous.

Clearwater returned the favor by scoring the first 11 points of the final quarter to secure the historical win. Thiele led the way with 20 points, but the real hero was Kelly Prater, who was the team's basketball quarterback, orchestrating each possession for the 4 time champions, despite averaging only TWO points a game. He averaged 24 ppg in football!

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

Shickley (16-3) vs. Sandhills (17-3)

Spencer (14-7) vs. Hampton (20-1)

Maxwell (13-6) vs. Sterling (20-1)

Beaver City (17-2) vs. Coleridge (14-6)

**With top rated Pleasanton out of the way, it appeared that Sterling and Hampton were on their way to a D-1 finals matchup. Sterling looked awfully tough to me considering their only loss was to Class C-2 Lincoln Christian. Here's how things shook out.

Those Sterling Jets really flexed their muscles in the opening round by thumping Maxwell 85-54. 6-2 Eric Haynes looked all-world for Sterling by dumping 37 big ones against Maxwell. In the other top side game, Coleridge nipped Beaver City 48-46 to advance. On the bottom side of the bracket, Trevor Anderson's 17 counters and Grand Island sports writer extraordinaire Terry Douglass and his 16 points, led Sandhills to a 61-59 thriller over Shickley. That great Hampton team had their hands full before dispensing with Spencer 50-45. Myron Parsley paced the Hawks with 18 points, Steve Arndt added 15, while Brian Dick scored 12 in the victory.

The semifinals went as expected with Sterling eliminating Coleridge 64-53. Hampton was too much for Sandhills, 73-57. Eric Haynes cooled off for the Jets, but still led all scorers with his 20 points. This time, Steve Arndt was Hampton's scoring ace with 20. Corey Anderson (16) and Terry Douglass (14) led Sandhills.

You couldn't have asked for a better D-1 State Title game than the one Sterling and Hampton staged in 1987. Jets coach Jerry Bleach said his kids wanted to see the movie "Hoosiers", but I guess it ended the way Sterling wanted anyway.

It all came down to the final shot in this baby. After 6 lead changes in the 4th quarter, Hampton's Myron Parsley had just put the Hawks up 56-55 lead with 27 seconds left in the game. Sterling coach Jerry Bleach called a timeout and gave his forces three options for the final shot.

The 1st option was a pass inside to Glen Bartels, who already had 13 points and 10 rebounds. 2). An outside shot by guard Dean Hestermann, whose long range bombs kept Sterling in the game early, or 3). A pass to Eric Haynes on the wing and let him drive to the baseline.

With 9 seconds remaining, Haynes got the call, went to the baseline and calmly drained, in what would be the game winner, with Myron Parsley draped all over him. That put the Jets up for good, 57-56.

Hampton coach Jerry Eickhoff wanted the ball in Parsley's hands for their final shot. The Hampton ace did get the chance, but Sterling's Galen Bartels bothered Parsley enough to prevent a winning basket.

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

Leyton (17-2) vs. Nemaha Valley (19-3)

Bancroft-Rosalie (22-2) vs. Cambridge (13-6)

Humphrey (22-2) vs. Ansley (17-4)

Clay Center (19-2) vs. Scribner (19-3)

**I thought Humphrey and Bancroft-Rosalie might meet for the finals here. Sometimes I wasn't right.

Humphrey beat Ansley 59-50 in the 1st Round top bracket opener. Four Humphrey players hit double figures in the win. Scribner beat Clay Center by ten spot, 52-42, behind Daryl Poppe's 17 points.

On the bottom side, Bancroft-Rosalie was better than Cambridge by a 61-54 count, and the two gun attack by Nemaha Valley's Scott Kinnison (19) and Marty Peterson (19), led their team to a 75-45 romp over Leyton.

Humphrey's Ward Griesen (12), Jason Afrank (12), and Kenny Zach (11) all hit double figures to lead the Bulldogs to a 45-38 win over Scribner in the semis. Nemaha Valley nearly beat Bancroft-Rosalie by the same count, 45-39 with Kinnison and Peterson leading the way again with 16 and 14 points respectively.

That smothering Humphrey defense held both Kinnison and Peterson to 8 points apiece, as the Bulldogs grabbed the Class C-2 title with a 47-37 win over Nemaha Valley. Ward Griesen led the 'Dogs with 19.

The C-2 All-Tournament consisted of; Jason Slaughter of Bancroft-Rosalie, a pair of terrific Humphrey juniors, Ward Griesen and Jason Afrank and Scott Kinnison-Nemaha Valley plus Daryl Poppe of Scribner, both seniors. Nemaha Valley's Scott Kinnison led C-2 tourney scorers with 43. Teammate Marty Peterson and Humphrey's Griesen each followed with 41.

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

Wahoo (16-5) vs. Ravenna (18-4)

Fremont Bergan (18-4) vs. Creighton (13-8)

Hershey (16-2) vs. Tecumseh (12-8)

Sutton (16-5) vs. Stanton (16-5)

**Let me tell you, I was never more excited in my life than when Sutton turned a couple of fabulous freshman loose named "Spearman". The two looked nothing alike in my opinion, but played well beyond their years. The Nebraska prep basketball scene would hear that name a gazillion times before those Mustang boys used up their eligibility.

Class C-1 had a strange state tournament from the get-go. Only three rated teams made it to the Big Dance, making this class tough to predict. I liked Bergan and Sutton.

In the opening round, Fremont Bergan got by Creighton 44-37 and Wahoo was too much for Ravenna 47-34. Steve Carmer had 15 for the Warriors. Hershey sent Tecumseh home by beating the southeast Nebraska squad, 49-45. In the final game of the 1st round, Jay Spearman and Shane Perrien scored 21 points apiece in Sutton's 70-53 stomping of Stanton.

In the semis, Fremont Bergan hung on to defeat Wahoo 53-51. The Knights' Jim Meister and Wahoo's Carmer shared game high scoring honors with 15 each. In the other semifinal matchup, Sutton really had their hands full with Hershey, finally defeating the invaders from the west, 59-57. Brad Oschner's 20 counters led Sutton while Jay Spearman added 16.

The older, more experienced Fremont Bergan team got the best of Sutton's youth with a 72-61 win in that C-1 final. Bergan's Jim Meister was a man in the game, scoring 27 points while Paul Heineman added 18. John Spearman was right behind Meister with 25 points, while Shane Perrien followed with 18. Jay Spearman added 15 for the Mustangs.

Class B: 1st Round pairings were:

Lincoln Pius X (17-4) vs. Gering (12-6)

West Point (11-10) vs. Holdrege (16-3) (Defending Champions)

Boys Town (9-12) vs. Aurora (19-3)

Broken Bow (14-5) vs. Seward (16-6)

**I liked Aurora here, although the Huskies had a regular season loss to Seward, who loomed as a semifinal opponent.

In the 1st round, Pius X eliminated Gering 66-63 behind sophomore Kelly Hendrick's 21 points. Defending champion Holdrege had trouble with West Point before squeezing out a 51-50 win. The Dusters need all of Bob Sundberg's 17 points to help subdue the 11-10 Cadets. Jerry McMeen's 17 points led Broken Bow to a 46-44 upset over Seward, who may have been looking ahead to meeting Aurora again. In Class B's final opening round contest, Aurora overcame Andre Dixon's 25 points, to beat Boys Town 68-65.

In those Class B semis, Lincoln Pius turned to Jimmer Noel for his 14 points to turn back Holdrege 51-47. Aurora sent Broken Bow back to Custer County with a 63-53 win. Kirk Penner led the Huskies with 18 points.

Aurora overcame what I always considered a home court advantage for Lincoln teams, by clipping Lincoln Pius X, 67-56 to win the Class B crown. Kirk Penner again led Aurora with his 21 points, but it was Thunderbolt sophomore ace Kelly Hendricks that took scoring honors with 24. Of course, we all know that Lincoln schools have NO home court advantage during the state tournament. If that were the case, a Lincoln school would win it all 90% of the time and that just isn't happening.

*The Class B All-Tournament consisted of; Aurora seniors Tom Haase and Kirk Penner, seniors Michael Warren of Boys Town and Jimmer Noel of Lincoln Pius X. Pius X sophomore Kelly Hendricks was also named to the elite group. Hendricks led all Class B tourney scorers with 55 points. He edged Aurora's Penner, who had 54. Penner's teammate, Mike Boss scored 53.

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

Omaha Burke (12-11) vs. Norfolk (17-3)

Lincoln East (17-3) vs. Millard South (15-7)

Millard North (19-3) vs. Kearney (7-11)

Lincoln Northeast (16-5) vs. Omaha Westside (18-4)

**Omaha Burke was the returning state champion here but had suffered great graduation losses. Still the Bulldogs made it to Lincoln and possessed 7-2 Rich King. I liked Lincoln East, which entered the State Tournament as the top rated team in the class.

Dave Oman and his Norfolk crew eliminated defending champ Omaha Burke 58-57 in the opening round 1:30 game at the Sports Center. All-State Troy Drahota led the Panthers with 14 points. Lincoln East punched their semifinal ticket with a 66-51 drubbing of Millard South. Jed Bargen led East with 17. On the bottom side of the bracket, Millard North was too much for Kearney, besting the 'Cats 67-48. Lincoln Northeast really clobbered Omaha Westside 48-35 in the nightcap. Brad Richardson led the Rockets with 19.

In the semifinals, Norfolk pulled off what seemed, the impossible upset, by beating Lincoln East 67-65. In that game, Norfolk senior Rob Faust drew the ire of nearly everyone in attendance at Devaney, by bringing the ball down court, never looking to pass to a teammate and driving recklessly to the basket. At times, the kid looked so out of control, none of us could believe it. Still, the Panthers won, Faust led Norfolk with 19, and Oman's team was in the Class A finals.

On the way out of the Sports Center, I thought the fans were going to round up Faust and hang him from the rafters by his toes for the "selfish" performance. Little did anyone realize, Dave Oman instructed Mr. Faust to do exactly what he did in that semifinal win over Lincoln East, wagging tongue and all. In the other semifinal game, Lincoln NE rode Dave Svehla's 20 points to edge a fine Millard West team, 53-51.

In the finals, Norfolk's Rob Faust did the exact same thing he had done just the day before. In the process, the senior guard led his team to a 62-61 shocker over Lincoln Northeast. Faust again scored 19, Drahota added 18, and Jason Hoffman chipped in 10 to give the Panthers their 1st State Championship ever. David Price was actually the hero in the game, hitting the winning 22 foot jumper with only 5 seconds left. David Oman, you sly dog.

*1987 Class D-2 All-State Team*

Mike Wiemer-McCool Junction* - 6-4, Senior (25.0 ppg/18.5 rpg)

Tim Thiele-Clearwater - 6-1, Junior (19.0 ppg/9.0 rpg)

Kelly Kerkman-Clearwater- 6-6, Junior (15.4 ppg/12.8 rpg)

Dale Luzum-Milligan - 6-1, Senior (23.0 ppg/14.4 rpg)

Bill Ziegelbein-Polk - 6-3, Senior (14.0 ppg/10.0 rpg)

2nd Team:

Kevin Winegard-Rising City - 6-3, Senior (17.0 ppg/10.1 rpg)

Jay Eckhout-Amherst - 5-11, Senior (16.7 ppg/7.2 rpg)

Scott Guthrie-Wilcox - 6-1, Junior (17.2 ppg/8.3 rpg)

Scott Lenners-Filley - 6-2, Junior (20.0 ppg/12.0 rpg)

Kelly Prater-Clearwater - 5-8, Senior (4.8 ppg/3.4 rpg)

*1987 Class D-1 All-State Team*

Tim Schultz-Beemer* - 6-4, Senior (21.6 ppg/8.5 rpg)

Eric Hayes-Sterling* - 6-2, Senior (14.9 ppg/4 rpg)

Ben Horne-Exeter - 6-2, Junior (18.3 ppg/9.0 rpg)

Myron Parsley-Hampton - 5-10, Junior (16.2 ppg/4.6 rpg)

Corey Anderson-Sandhills - 6-4, Senior (15.0 ppg/8.4 rpg)

2nd Team:

Brian Dick-Hampton - 6-4, Senior (16.1 ppg/7.6 rpg)

Galen Bartels-Sterling - 6-4, Senior (15.7 ppg/6.4 rpg)

Brian Garvey-Beaver City - 6-3, Senior (14.2 ppg/10.3 rpg)

Rob Martensen-Pleasanton - 6-4, Junior (14.0 ppg/13.0 rpg)

Casey Meyer-Maxwell - 6-3, Senior (25.1 ppg/11.2 rpg)

A.J. Clifton-Orchard - 6-2, Senior (24.0 ppg/12.0 rpg)

*1987 Class C-2 All-State Team*

Daryl Poppe-Scribner** - 6-7, Senior (25.8 ppg/9.0 rpg)

Jason Slaughter-Bancroft-Rosalie - 6-5, Junior (25.3 ppg/17.6 rpg)

Terry Nelson-Wausa - 6-7, Senior (18.4 ppg/16.4 rpg)

Mike Borman-Bellevue Christian - 6-3, Senior (21.0 ppg/9.0 rpg)

P.J. Quinn-Oxford - 5-10, Senior (21.3 ppg/5.0 rpg)

2nd Team:

Scott Kinnison-Nemaha Valley - 6-4, Senior (15.5 ppg/8.3 rpg)

Mike Scheidt- Lincoln Christian - 6-3, Senior (20.0 ppg/12.0 rpg)

J.F. Hoffman-Cambridge - 6-0, Junior (19.3 ppg/6.6 rpg)

Ward Greisen-Humphrey - 6-4, Junior (13.0 ppg/10.0 rpg)

Will Berigan-O'Neill St. Marys* - 6-6, Senior (20.0 ppg/11.8 rpg)

*1987 Class C-1 All-State Team*

Jim Meister-Fremont Bergan** - 6-3, Senior (17.2 ppg/10.3 rpg)

Jim Warrelmann-Geneva - 6-2, Junior (25.5 ppg/10.4 rpg)

Mike Herbek-Sandy Creek - 6-5, Senior (25.0 ppg/11.0 rpg)

Brian Wellenstein-Ponca - 6-2, Senior (28.3 ppg/10.0 rpg)

Paul Neesen-West Point Central Catholic - 6-2, Junior (19.0 ppg/na rpg)

2nd Team:

Steve Carmer-Wahoo - 6-2, Junior (13.0 ppg/6.0 rpg)

Mike Snitily-Wahoo Neumann - 6-2, Senior (17.0 ppg/6.0 rpg)

Jay Spearman-Sutton - 6-3, Freshman (15.7 ppg/10.4 rpg)

Jeff Jaggers-Rushville - 6-3, Senior (23.0 ppg/14.0)

Troy Zierke-Pierce - 6-3, Senior (18.0 ppg/10.0 rpg)

*1987 Class B All-State Team

Kirk Penner-Aurora - 6-5, Senior (19.4 ppg/11.0 rpg)

Tom Haase-Aurora - 6-0, Senior (15.3 ppg/2.9 rpg)

Richard Bracha-Valentine - 5-9, Senior (24.0 ppg/7.0 rpg)

Brian Green-Blair - 6-5, Senior (15.5 ppg/4.1 rpg)

Andre Dixon-Boys Town- 6-4, Senior (18.5 ppg/13.0 rpg)

2nd Team:

Mike Palomo - 5-10, Senior (25.0 ppg/4.0 rpg)

Deron Lindquist-Seward - 6-5, Senior (16.8 ppg/7.0 rpg)

Rob Privett-Lincoln Pius X - 6-5, Senior (12.6 ppg/11.4 rpg)

Matt Neil-Lexington - 6-1, Senior (18.2 ppg/na rpg)

Corey Cook-Holdrege - 6-4, Senior (14.0 ppg/9.0 rpg)

*1987 Class A All-State Team*

Jed Bargen-Lincoln East - 6-5, Senior (21.0 ppg/11.0 rpg)

Willie Brand-Omaha South - 6-0, Senior (32.0 ppg/6.0 rpg)

Brad Richardson-Lincoln Northeast - 6-6, Senior (14.0 ppg/8.1 rpg)

Rich McGill-Omaha Westside - 6-4, Senior (18.1 ppg/10.0 rpg)

Rob Faust-Norfolk - 5-8, Senior (13.1 ppg/2.4 rpg)

2nd Team:

Sam Somerhalder*-Lincoln East - 6-6, Senior (14.0 ppg/7.0 rpg)

Rich King-Omaha Burke - 7-2, Senior (21.0 ppg/9.6 rpg)

Eric Priebe-Lincoln High - 6-3, Junior (19.1 ppg/9.7 rpg)

Troy Drahota-Norfolk - 6-3, Senior (15.5 ppg/7.8 rpg)

Dave Svehla-Lincoln Northeast - 6-3, Senior (13.0 ppg/9.0 rpg)

*1987 Super-State 1st Team

Tony Manuel-Omaha Northwest* - 6-7, Senior (19.3 ppg/10.3 rpg)

Dan Olson-Omaha Burke - 6-6, Senior (16.4 ppg/8.0 rpg)

Darryl Roddy-Omaha North - 6-2, Senior (22.3 ppg/6.0 rpg)

Rod Gourdine-Lincoln High - 6-2, Senior (19.0 ppg/5.0 rpg)

Reggie McGaugh-Creighton Prep - 6-2, Senior (15.0 ppg/7.6 rpg)

*1987 Super-State 2nd Team:

Mike Beasley-Omaha Central - 6-5, Senior (14.0 ppg/9.0 rpg)

Robert Williams-Omaha South - 6-0, Senior (20.0 ppg/6.0 rpg)

Gerry Gdowski-Fremont - 6-2, Senior (16.3pg/2.7 rpg)

Damone Williams-Omaha Northwest - Senior

Greg Mays-Hastings - Senior

*Greg Mays was the former head girls basketball coach and still teaches English at Hastings High last I heard.

*1987 Super-State 3rd Team:

Brian Sandfort-Holdrege - 6-1, Senior (20.0 ppg/2.2 rpg)

Jamie Yakel-Bayard - 6-1, Senior (16.0 ppg/8.7 rpg)

Luis Vega-Henderson - 6-0, Senior (16.0 ppg/4.0 rpg)

Brad Richardson-Lincoln Northeast - 6-5, Junior (13.0 ppg/10.0 rpg)

Lamont McIntosh-Creighton Prep - Senior