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.