Team: North Bend Central
Mascot: Tigers
Colors: Orange and Black
Class: C-1
Conference: East Husker
Head Coach: Jon Baehr (5th season) (83-138 career record)
2016-2017 record: 19-5 (lost to Columbus Scotus in Sub-District Final)
Returning Starters: 3
Overview:
The North Bend Central Boys Basketball Team returns some good talent from last year's 19-5 squad. Head Coach Jon Baehr. "As far as returning starters...Tanner Wietfeld (6'2, JR SG/PG) started for us last year, he is back. John Emanuel (6'2 JR) started for us last year as a Sophomore as well, he is back. James Seymour is a Senior Post for us, and he started last year. And then Austin Endorf (JR SG), who played a lot for us off the bench and started a couple games for us here and there. He's back as a Sophomore. Peter Emanuel, who's a Senior for us, he was a bench player for us last year. He's going to help us out."
Others likely to contribute are Chase Ruzicka, Ben Rolenc (6'4, JR C/PF), and Freshman Jaxon Wietfeld.
It appears the Tigers return some quality players from last year's team. North Bend Central should have a good mixture of upperclassmen and underclassmen who are very talented.
I think that combination will allow the younger players to push the older players in practice and make this team stronger.
I look for all players to grow and improve as the season progresses.
North Bend Central appears to have some good height and speed, and that should allow them to get out in transition and score quite a bit from the inside and out.
Boxing out and rebounding will be critical for the Tigers I feel. Shooting well by finding good, open looks at the basket, and contesting shots will be key for North Bend Central as well I feel.
I really think the Tigers have a shot to get back to state this year after making it two years ago.
You never want to get too ahead of yourself, but I feel there's a lot of potential in this North Bend Central Team.
The Tigers have to push the tempo all season long and play fast, and force teams to adjust to their style of play.
I look for Seymour and Rolenc to play a key role in the post and for Tanner Wietfeld, John Emanuel, Endorf, and Peter Emanuel to do big things.
I think the leadership and experience of this North Bend Central squad will get the Tigers over the hump this season.
Season Outlook:
North Bend Central looks to continue the success they've had in recent years. Baehr looks for big things from his team on both ends of the court. "I think this year we should be able to spread the floor and maybe shoot it at a higher percentage than we've shot it in the past. I think we'll push the ball harder than we've pushed it in the past. I think with the length that we have from our players, and the athletic ability from the guys that will be on the floor, I think and feel pretty confident that we can be a really tough defensive team. We can really guard people I believe."
The Tigers scored over 50 points in every one of their wins last year and held opponents to under 50 points in 15 of their games.
That's a great accomplishment, and I think North Bend Central has a chance to do that again, and perhaps improve those defensive numbers.
The Tigers have challenging games against Twin River, Parkview Christian, Milford, Logan View/Scribner-Snyder, Arlington, Wayne, Fremont Bergan, Columbus Scotus, Oakland-Craig, Wisner-Pilger, and Howells-Dodge.
The schedule is very difficult for North Bend Central this year, but that should help prepare the Tigers for the postseason.
With that said, North Bend Central has to be ready to bring it night in and night out and can't take a night off.
The schedule is tough enough where the Tigers could earn a wildcard to state should they need it, but that might not be necessary.
North Bend Central has Columbus Scotus, Columbus Lakeview, David City Aquinas, and David City in their sub-district.
I like the Tigers to win that sub-district, advance to a District Final, and make state.
I really like the makeup of this North Bend Central team, and feel they will have a season to remember.
North Bend Central opens up the season on November 30th at Twin River. Baehr says the Titans are well coached by Tod Heier. "His teams are always very disciplined. They play within themselves. He does a nice job of training his players to just be very fundamentally sound. And going there is a tough place to play so it'll obviously be a challenge right out of the box for us to come out and try to establish what we want to be about, and what we want to make our season about. And it'll be first chance to do it."
The Tigers knocked off Twin River 68-48 at home last season.
I look for North Bend Central to get off to a good start by beating the Titans again.
The Tigers should also be a favorite to win the East Husker Conference Tournament again.
2017-2018 North Bend Central Tigers Boys Basketball Schedule:
11/30/17 @ Twin River
12/05/17 Schuyler
12/07/17 @ West Point-Beemer
12/12/17 Stanton
12/16/17 Parkview Christian
12/21/17 Raymond Central
12/22/17 @ Milford
12/29-12/30 (To Be Determined) North Bend Central Holiday Tournament North Bend Central
01/05/18 Logan View-Scribner-Snyder
01/09/18 @ Arlington
01/11/18 @ Wayne
01/13/18 Archbishop Bergan
01/16/18 @ Columbus Scotus
01/19/18 @ Oakland-Craig
01/23/18 Madison
01/25/18 @ Wisner-Pilger
01/27-02/03 (To Be Determined) East Husker Conference Tournament TBD
02/06/18 Tekamah-Herman
02/08/18 @ Howells-Dodge
02/16/18 Fort Calhoun
Team: North Bend Central
Mascot: Tigers
Colors: Orange and Black
Class: C-1
Conference: East Husker
Head Coach: Aaron Sterup (16th season) (254-84 career record)
2016-2017 record: 17-6 (lost to Columbus Scotus in Sub-District Final)
Returning Starters: 4
Overview:
The North Bend Central Girls Basketball Team returns 4 starters from last year's 17-6 team. Head Coach Aaron Sterup. "We have 4 seniors who started last year at some point or another. Kristin Lux (SR, SF), Brooke Fredrickson (SR, C), Hailey Bang, and Kaitlynn Bjorklund. They'll be right in the mix there I'm sure whether they start or not who knows."
Others likely to contribute for the Tigers this season are Sophomores Lauren Emanuel and Megan Ortmeier.
North Bend Central is looking to break through and make state this year. Sterup thinks the success the Volleyball Team had can carry over to basketball. "Oh we feel pretty good about it. It's always tough. Those Volleyball and Basketball seasons run so close together that you worry about girls who've played that long getting worn down and things like that. So we're trying to work with that a little bit. But on the other hand usually basketball success and volleyball success go hand in hand. You have a lot of the same people. If they're good athletes they're good athletes in whatever they do."
I think scoring is going to be a big thing for North Bend Central this year.
The Tigers have to be confident shooting the ball and have to look and work for good, open shots.
I look for Fredrickson and Lux to have really nice seasons.
Fredrickson is a great post player and Lux is a great 3 player.
Handling the ball could be a little interesting with the loss of Alex Humlicek, but I think North Bend Central will be just fine.
Sterup says his team will go about 8 or 9 deep so the Tigers have some good depth, and that should help them this season I would think.
It will be interesting to see what effect a long Volleyball season has on the Tigers this year.
It hurt North Bend Central at the start of last year perhaps, but the Tigers caught fire towards the end of the season.
I think North Bend Central has a lot of potential to be really good this year given how much experience they bring back.
The road to Lincoln is a very tough one though.
The Tigers are going to need to be on top of their game night in and night out to give themselves a good chance to make state I would say.
Season Outlook:
North Bend Central had the same record and lost to the same team at the same exact level of postseason play last year and the year before.
The Tigers are going to need to play at an extremely high level to get through their Sub-District and Districts, in my opinion.
Tough games on the slate for North Bend Central this year include West Point-Beemer, Stanton, Wayne, Fremont Bergan, Columbus Scotus, Oakland-Craig, Wisner-Pilger, Howells-Dodge, and Fort Calhoun.
The Tigers won the East Husker Conference Tournament last year, and I think if North Bend Central can get hot at the end of the season again and sustain a high level of play into the postseason, then they can definitely do some postseason damage.
The Tigers have to believe in one another, be mentally and physically tough, go hard at all times, play up to their potential, set goals and dreams for themselves both individually and as a team, and play with passion, tenacity, and fire.
North Bend Central has their season opener on November 30th at Twin River. Sterup says it's always a good battle when the two teams get together. "They're always well prepared. It's a tough first game for us. We've kind of gone back and forth the last four years. They've beaten us a couple times and we've beaten them a couple times. So it's a tough one to start out, especially when it's a conference game and it's so important."
The Titans took last year's contest 43-38 in North Bend.
It will be interesting to see how having a long Volleyball season affects the Tigers in the opener.
Again, I think it will be important for North Bend Central to excel on offense with shooting the ball.
The Tigers are a strong defensive team, now it's a matter of getting the offense on the same page.
With that said, I think this season has a chance to be special for North Bend Central.
I feel the Tigers have an opportunity to have a very nice season, and perhaps get somewhere between 18-20 wins at the very least.
This is the last hoorah for a number of these girls so North Bend Central has to make it count this year.
2017-2018 North Bend Central Girls Basketball Schedule:
11/30/17 @ Twin River
12/05/17 Schuyler
12/07/17 @ West Point-Beemer
12/12/17 Stanton
12/15/17 Pender
12/21/17 Raymond Central
12/22/17 @ Milford C1
12/29-12/30 (To Be Determined) North Bend Central Holiday Tournament North Bend Central
01/05/18 Logan View-Scribner-Snyder
01/09/18 @ Arlington
01/11/18 @ Wayne
01/13/18 Archbishop Bergan
01/16/18 @ Columbus Scotus
01/19/18 @ Oakland-Craig
01/23/18 Madison
01/25/18 @ Wisner-Pilger
01/26-02/03 (To Be Determined) East Husker Conference Tournament TBD
02/06/18 Tekamah-Herman
02/08/18 @ Howells-Dodge
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