Jacob Vanderford – Sports
Boys Basketball ~
The Lincoln High Varsity Boys Basketball Team has looked to make a statement this year, and they have done so. Last season, the Links sported a 6-18 overall record, as well as only winning 3 of 10 district battles. This year, they have set the bar of expectation high, and not just in basketball.
Many of the varsity players this year are two-sport athletes, many playing football, and the football team definitely took the city and the state by storm, making a run towards the playoffs and having a record of 8-2 on the season.
Winning became almost second nature for the football team, and the athletic department here at Lincoln High is hoping to transfer that over to the rest of the athletics. Basketball has certainly been winning, but still not up to the level that they’d like to be.
Senior guard Sammy Richardson leads the team in points per game (14.3), assists per game (2.6), blocks per game (0.8), and steals per game (1.7). He believes this team has played in- credibly well at times, but is not consistent to be a fixture in the state qualifying teams of Nebraska.
Head Coach Dan Noble sees the difference in his team’s play each night.
They are constantly improving, but the seniority and leader- ship within the team helps the team grow. However, when next season comes around, he will need his younger players with ex- perience to step up and help take their team to the next level.
battles and have seen what it takes to be successful on a Class A Varsity floor. Jaden and Morgan have also grown as leaders in our program and helped ease younger players into playing var- sity basketball. Keyshawn Jenkins, Buomkuoth Jock, and Cedric Case are 2 year players on the Varsity Team.
“Keyshawn has grown into a consistent scoring threat from both the inside / outside while Buomkuoth has provided quality minutes inside guarding some of the best post players in the state. Cedric has continued to develop and provided leadership and perimeter scoring.
“All 5 of these players will need to continue to work at their individual games and skills during the offseason. They will need to get back into the weight room to work on their strength and athleticism as well as spend countless hours in the gym shooting and dribbling.”
The underclassmen have provided a large boost for the Links this year, and they know that when the seniors leave next year, they’ll have to bring the leadership that the team needs to succeed. Jaden Horton and Keyshawn Jenkins, both leaders on the team and both will be seniors next year, are hoping to provide that boost to get the Links over the hump. Horton, who averaged 10.5 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game, is hoping that the Links can climb in the ranks and become a powerhouse in Lincoln for years to come.
Keyshawn Jenkins, a junior small forward who averaged 8.5 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game, is hoping for the Links to become more of an attacking defense. After all, defense does win games.
Also, he’s hoping that the offense can evolve in some way to become a team that can threaten to score every time they push it up and down the court.
“In order to have great defense everyone on the floor has to be locked in because it takes all five players to play defense, you’ve got to be passionate about it. Offense takes the same thing plus great execution.”
The Links also are hoping to become a team with size, length, and speed. It’s a rare combination to have on a basketball team, but Coach Dan Noble thinks that these things are important and hopes to create an environment where the skills of his players can thrive for years to come.
The Links won their district playoff game against Papillion-LaVista South 57-47, their first playoff win since the 2009 season. The Links ended the season with a 13-12 record, with many signs of encouragement moving into upcoming seasons in the future.
Girls Basketball ~
Swish! The orange sphere travels through the air as one of the Lincoln High VarsityGirls Basketball players brings in the pass from her teammate and hoists it up into the air, desperately hoping for her shot to fall to lift her team into the lead. The ball spins through the air like a wheel churning down the highway, and as it hits the cylinder, cardinal red rim, there is a gasp of suspicion as the ball rattles in, then out, then back in again! She scores! Everyone in the crowd goes wild as the Links grab hold of a firm lead in the final seconds of the game.
The Links Girls basketball team has put up a string of wins as of late, but the season for them overall has been a little rocky. They have played through a lot of adversity over the past year, but they have come out with a season record of 14-8, with an 11-8 district record.
6’2” Senior Nyagoa Gony leads the way for the Links, and has played with the team since she was a freshman. She has definitely seen the improvement in the team throughout each year that she’s played, and hopes to get one last shot to play in the tournament at the end of the season.
The Senior players include Nyagoa Gony, Mariah Cates, Sasha Bussard, and Maya Thomas. Senior Night was on February 10th, and you could see the tears of joy running down each player’s and their parent’s faces, showing the pride they had for their team, and that they gave it everything they had and laid it all out on the court for the past four years. The seniors definitely meant a lot to this team, and everyone in the locker room knows that next year the underclassmen must step up to fill their shoes.
The Links secured a spot in the state tournament, snatching two district tournament wins from Kearney 51-38 and Lincoln Pius X 38-29, clinching their first birth in the Nebraska state girls basketball tournament in 14 years. Everyone knew that it was possible, it was just a matter of when and how it would happen.
The Girls basketball season ended with a 69-48 loss against Millard South at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The students and staff really showed up for the team, with full support, but the Links just came up short. Still, it was a terrific accomplishment just getting there.
The Boys and Girls basketball team had a season that made Lincoln High proud, and we all simply can’t wait for what’s to come in the future.
