One Vital Player From Each Class A Team – Part 3

Over the next several weeks, prior to the high school season kicking off, we are going to highlight a prospect on each team throughout the state of Nebraska, that is vital to the success of their Varsity program over the next six months. To start things off, we are going to lock in with the biggest Class in the state and that is the A Class. In this specific piece, we highlight the schools of Kearney, Lincoln High, Lincoln East, Lincoln North Star, Lincoln Southwest, Lincoln Northeast, and Millard North.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    Owens returns for her Senior season as Lincoln High's main producer from years past from the guard position. Owens is moveable between the 2 or the 3 spot, usually yielding positive results with whatever she is doing. She can handle it and move to the 1 if need be but she isn't a natural PG. Last season she led her High team in multiple ways. Vocal as a leader, by example with her actions on both sides of the ball, and with her production. This time around it's going to be a lot of the same in those aspects and I'm sure she is ready to get after it.     Millard North always brings an experienced product to the Varsity floor and I'm sure that will be the case once again this Winter. Their main producer from last season, that is going to be a big bucket getter and defensive stopper for the Mustangs for one more year is SG - [player_tooltip player_id='336031' first='Sara' last='Harley']. Harley lets the ball go in the blink of an eye, she possesses coordinated footwork, she understands where the open spots are on the offensive end a majority of the time, and she knows her role on her team. All of those things combined together make for a quality prospect. That's what Harley is and always has been. Now it's time for her to be confident and show everyone who's watching, what's up.     The [player_tooltip player_id='1045012' first='Kaytee' last='Irons'] transfer to Lincoln Southwest is intriguing in so many ways. From a team aspect, it's what can Irons bring to the table? What is going to be her thing on this Varsity floor with this Varsity team? If she plays to her strengths and full capabilities, she should shine and this team is going to win a lot of games because of it. From an individual aspect, it's about how good can Irons become, while helping her team succeed? She showed out as a Freshman but to stay at this level, she is going to have to demonstrate that she has built on that skill-set. All in all, Irons is a major addition for this program and she is about to show that over the next six months.     With the top three procures from Lincoln Northeast gone due to graduation, [player_tooltip player_id='777562' first='Jayla' last='Merrill'] is going to be looked upon to be their big producer in the Scoring and Assisting departments of the game. Merrill plays with solid pace, a nice handle, and decent vision. She is someone that understands how to get her 1v1 matchup in open space and how to create for others while attacking. Defensively, she moves her feet pretty well and does a good job of beating her opponents to their spots. It's going to take more than just Merrill's efforts for this group to have a great season but she is definitely going to be in charge of making a lot of things happen.     When you go to check the score book for Lincoln North Star High School from last season, you notice a trend almost immediately. That trend being that [player_tooltip player_id='756006' first='Ani' last='Leu'] was their most dominant prospect across the board. She helped lead this team to state, she led the group in PPG, RPG, and SPG, all from the PG/SG positions. Leu is a collegiate level talent, that is going to have two more years of Varsity ball left. If she continues to make strides in her progress, I'm sure she is going to end her high school career with a D1 offer or high end D2 offer but that's TBD. All that she cares about right now is the season in front of her and that's something everyone can respect because if this year is like year's past, Leu and company are going to be ready to SHOW OUT.     To keep it plain and simple for you, Leighton Nyberg is a problem for opponents when she is walling up on defense inside the painted area. She also has the ability to step out on offense and bang a three pointer if she has a favorable matchup, who doesn't know that she can shoot it at a decent clip. From a far, Nyberg looks like the heart and soul of her squad. She makes winning plays, has a great attitude, and she thrives under pressure. All things that will play into her favor as being the vital prospect for her Varsity team during her Junior campaign.     [player_tooltip player_id='1005068' first='Kelsey' last='Hatcher'] lit up the stat sheet last Winter with her three point shooting ability. By the end of the season, Hatcher was averaging just under 15 PPG, while the next best number after that was from a prospect that averaged just over 7. A big reason for this success is because of the volume. Hatcher even had an instance where she made 7 three points in one contest, which speaks to her shooting ability. Kearney is going to return a few prospects from last year so they should be in a good place. They are going to look at Hatcher to make some important shoots down the stretch and to have big games but that's nothing new to her, so I'm sure she is ready.

Over the next several weeks, prior to the high school season kicking off, we are going to highlight a prospect on each team throughout the state of Nebraska, that is vital to the success of their Varsity program over the next six months. To start things off, we are going to lock in with the biggest Class in the state and that is the A Class. In this specific piece, we highlight the schools of Kearney, Lincoln High, Lincoln East, Lincoln North Star, Lincoln Southwest, Lincoln Northeast, and Millard North.