MHN Midseason Top 25 Nebraska H.S. Basketball Prospects
Big Changes in Top 25 Rankings
The Good
South Sioux City’s Austin Groth leads the way into a major realignment of MHN’s Top 25 Nebraska H.S. Basketball Prospects rankings. Averaging 23.5 points per game and getting serious looks from D-1 programs, the 6-0 Cardinal sharpshooter jumped from the ranks of the mentioned to No.4. The other two new entries into the Top Ten are 6-foot-6 UNO recruit Ethan Brozek (No.6) from Norfolk Catholic and Grand Island Central Catholic’s Turner Fahey (N0.9).
The Not So Good
South Sioux City seven-footer Jose Bonilla not only tumbled out of the Top Ten—he is completely out of the Top25. The senior has failed to draw meaningful interest from college recruiters, and complicating matters is a knee injury that has kept him at bay for most of the season. Despite Bonilla’s absence the Class B team is currently ranked No.1 in the state—that means better than any Class A team. But we will see about that this week at the Omaha Bryan Cage Classic when the South Sioux boys take on some Class A thunder. Also falling out of the Ten to No. 11 is Zach Sterup. Oh well, the big guy will soon be suiting up for the Husker football so I’m sure basketball is the least of his worries,
The Rest of the New Top 25 Prospects
Other prospects that have played their way into the Top 25: Connor Niehaus, 6-7, C, SR, (No. 16) Fremont; DK Augustine, 6-4, F, SR, Omaha Bryan Gayland Drake, 6-0, G, SR, Omaha Roncolli (No. 21) Steven Ferrarini, 6-2, G, SR, Omaha Westside and John Harris, 6-2, G, JR, Lincoln High (No.25).
There are a bunch of players that could have just as easily made the Top 25 or who were in the Top 25 but fell out. Those players are listed below under Players to Watch. No doubt that some of the players listed in that group will make the final End-of-Season Top 25 which will be posted shortly after state playoffs.
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| 1. Mike Gesell, 6-0, G, JR, South Sioux City |
| 2. Akoy Agau, 6-7, F, SO, Omaha Central |
| 3. Derrius Vick, 6-1, G, SR, Lincoln SE |
| 4. Austin Groth 6-1 G, JR, South Sioux City |
| 5. Tyler Shields, 6-4, G, SR, Kearney |
| 6. Ethan Brozek, 6-6, F, SR, Norfolk Catholic |
| 7. C.J. Carter, 6-0, G, SR, Omaha Benson |
| 8. Jalen Bradley, 6-0, G, JR, Norfolk |
| 9. Turner Fahey, 6-0, G, SR, Grand Island CC |
| 10. Galen Gullie, 5-9, G, SR, Omaha Bryan |
| 11. Zach Sterup, 6-10, C, SR, Hastings St. Cecilia |
| 12. Kyler Erickson, 5-10, G, SR, Millard South |
| 13. Trey Moore, 5-10, G, JR, North Platte |
| 14. Dean Tiwald, 6-4, G, SR, Elkhorn Mt Michael B. |
| 15. Ben Uhing, 6-6, F, SR, Norfolk Catholic |
| 16. Connor Niehaus, 6-7, C, SR, Fremont |
| 17. Jalen Hueser, 6-3, G, SR, Papillion-LV South |
| 18. Avery Langford, 6-1, G, SR, Omaha Benson |
| 19. DK Augustine, 6-4, F, SR, Omaha Bryan |
| 20. Connor Bernek, 6-3, G, JR, Ravenna |
| 21. Gayland Drake, 6-0, G, SR, Omaha Roncolli |
| 22. Cole Spurgeon, 6-3, G, SR Gretna |
| 23. Duol Mayot, 6-4, F, SR, Omaha South |
| 24. Steven Ferrarini, 6-2, G, SR, Omaha Westside |
| 25. John Harris, 6-2, G, JR, Lincoln High |
| Players to Watch: Grant Harms 6-9, C, SR, Crete; Darian Barrientos-Jackson, 6-2, G, JR, Omaha Central; Jose Bonilla, 7-0, C, SR, South Sioux City; Nick Billingsley, 6-4, F, SO, Omaha North; Grant Kay, 6-1, G, SR, Ralston; Deondre White, 6-1, G, JR, Lincoln High; Jacob Olmstead, 6-2, G, JR, Overton; Tyson Broekemeier, 6-1, G, Aurora; Connor Lusso 6-5, F, SO, Millard West; Regan Fowler, 6-2, F, Millard South; Brett Dougherty, 6-6, C/F, SO, Papillion-LV; Kendall Ferguson, 6-5, F, SR, Kimball ; Jordan Schroer, 6-2, G, JR, Lincoln Northeast; Chase Sorrick, G, SR, Fremont; Brady Barret 6-0, G, JR, Adams Central; Travis Schueler 6-1, G, SR, Grand Island; Kendall Ferguson, 6-5, F, SR, Kimball. Dylan Heath, 6-6, F, SR, Lincoln Southwest. Mentioned:D.J. Bamesberger, 6-4, F, SR, Hampton; Nate Skold, 6-8, C, Omaha Westside; Dominique McKenzie, 6-3, F, SR, Omaha Central; Eddie Vinson, 6-3, F, SR, Omaha Central; ; Trevor Bryant, 6-4, G, JR, Tekamah-Herman; Jordan Newman, 6-5, C, SR,Lincoln East; Alec Smith, 6-7, C, SR, Millard West; Quentin Urban, 5-11, G, SR, Millard South; Adonis Hill, 5-11, G, SR, Omaha Burke; Brandon Krause, 6-0, G, SR, Lincoln North Star; Cody Charlton, 6-3, F, Lincoln Southeast; Garth Walbridge, G, SR, Arapahoe; Luke Miller, 6-0, G, SR Cody-Kilgore; Dylan Travis , 6-2 G, Omaha Gross; Tiras Bolton, 5-11, G, SR Omaha Westside; Fremont; Jordan Flynn 6-0, G, Blair; Raquim Brown 6-8, C, JR, Omaha Benson; Trey Closter, 6-4, F, SR, South Sioux City; Zach Clemens, 6-4, F, JR Scottsbluff. |
January 27, 2011 @ 5:14 pm
wow you still dont have diondre white from lincoln high hes a top 5 player in nebraska and is receiving d1 interest his stock is rising
January 27, 2011 @ 6:32 pm
Anonymous:
White is a good ball player but there are a lot of good players out there. Like I said “a lot of the ‘Players to Watch’and even some of the ‘Mentioned’ could be in the Top 25.”
He is only a junior and still has half a season to play this year. Let’s see how he finishes. Of course the day he gets an offfer–everything changes.
February 2, 2011 @ 7:33 pm
How is Kyler Erickson of Millard South not in top 10? In fact how did he go from 11 to 12? He’s the Top scorer in Class A, top 10 in almost every stat including assists and steals too. Is it because he’s short? I’ve seen almost every top guard play this year a few times and Erickson is the most impressive I’ve seen. Certainly the best inside/outside game and makes very few mistakes, best finisher in the state I think. Have you seen him play much? He’s been all tourney both tourneys so far and won vs Central and Bryan as top scorer. Just curious to your thoughts?
February 2, 2011 @ 8:13 pm
Anonymous: Nice Post! The MHN prospect polls attempt to reflect the top college prospects not the best high school players. It’s a fluid process that no system can gauge with 100% accuracy. That’s why there are multiple polls throughout the season. A prospect’s movement up or down in a poll is all relative to what other players are doing and the college interest generated. In basketball, The End-of-Season poll is more indicative of where each prospect stands relative to one another. Maybe Erickson will end up in the Top Ten.
The best way to do that is to receive an offer. College offers trump everything!