Week 1 Oracle Power Rankings: Girls & Boys Class A Basketball

The Oracle’s power rankings after the first week of the 2019-2020 basketball season.

Boys Class A Rankings:

  1. Millard North (2-0) – Undoubtedly the number one team coming into the 2019-2020 season lead by likely the biggest recruit to ever come out of Nebraska for basketball in Hunter Sallis, averaging 24 ppg, closely followed by junior Saint Thomas with 19 ppg. Accompanied by other D1 prospects Jadin Johnson and Max Murrell, they defeated Lincoln, and Papillion-La Vista South convincingly.
  2. Bellevue West (2-0) – Another deeply talented roster in the Omaha metro area, the Thunderbirds lead by Wisconsin commit Chucky Hepburn have jumped out to a modest, yet respectable start. After dismantling Fremont, they had a closely competitive showing against a strong #7 Westside team.
  3. Omaha Central (3-0) – A team that made an impressive deep playoff run to the state final last year has jumped out to a great start, and D1 prospect guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. putting up 23 ppg. The Eagles came out on top in the OPS Championships past Monday over a quality Omaha North team by 23.
  4. Lincoln Pius X (2-0) – A surprise team that lost a lot of production from last year, are making noise as a newly placed Class A team. The former Class B champions knocked off yearly state contender #10 Creighton Prep, with a clutch shot in the waning seconds of the game lifted the Thunderbolts over the Jays. Kolbe Rada leading the Bolts with 25 ppg, also accompanied by the twin brother duo of Sam and Charlie Hoiberg putting up double digit points.
  5. North Star (2-0) – A growing powerhouse in Lincoln with a deep, talented, and young team lead by Junior guard Kwat Abdelkarim putting up 18, 6, and 4, who’s also accompanied by a Junior guard Josh Brown with 12 ppg. While North Star is only half way up the rankings as of now, they should be content as they await the return of 4 star Nebraska commit Donovan Williams, who tore his ACL back in a summer AAU game against projected number one draft pick RJ Hampton.
  6. Omaha South (2-1) – The defending Class A champs from last year may not have the star power of some teams above, but they are stacked with loads of quality role players. Skyler Wilson, Tyrece Griggs, and Jadriane Saunders all averaging over 14 ppg, this fast paced, deep three shooting, and high flying team, floats under the radar as a sleeper in the Class A race.
  7. Omaha Westside (1-1) – Solid lineup with scoring threats everywhere, the Warriors have played tough competition in a young, hot shooting Lincoln Northeast team, as they got away with a narrow win, and a close loss to #3 Bellevue West. Jadin Boothe is leading the way in scoring with 26 ppg.
  8. Lincoln Southeast (2-0) – The Knights have had a strong showing for the 2019-2020 campaign coming out with a 2-0 record, highlighted by wins against Lincoln East, and Elkhorn South. Scoring leaders include guard tandem Max Renn and McGinness Schneider averaging 16 ppg a piece, and Junior Ajantae Hogan with 15 ppg.
  9. Omaha North (2-1) – Another young deeply talented team the Vikings have impressed this far into the season, with a big win in the OPS Championships against defending champs #6 Omaha South. Wal Chuol leads North with 25.3 ppg.
  10. Creighton Prep (1-1) – A annual contender in the Class A race, the Bluejays suffered a heartbreaking early season loss to #4 Pius X as a buzzer beating floater in the lane circled the rim countless times before popping out. A team fresh off of losing a plethora of production, especially in the likes of current Nebraska Cornhusker Akol Arop, Mai’Jhe Wiley has taken the initiative putting up 15 ppg.

Girls Class A Rankings:

  1. Millard South (3-0) – The Patriots started their season off in dominating fashion with wins over Burke, Omaha Bryan, and the OPS Championship game by 53 over Omaha Northwest. They’re led by their dynamic duo of Maddie Kull, the South Dakota commit, and Jayme Horan, the Creighton commit. They’re averaging 20 ppg a piece and are our unanimous number 1 this week.
  2. Lincoln Pius X (2-0) – The Thunderbolts come in at number 2 in our rankings this week after wins vs Omaha Marian and Lincoln Southwest. South Dakota State commit Alexis Markowski leads the team with 24 ppg and nearly 14 rpg. The Bolts have a lot of height that will cause trouble for smaller teams in Class A and that makes them a force to be reckoned with.
  3. Lincoln High (2-0) – The Links are a sleeper team that has shot up in our rankings thanks to big wins over Papillion La Vista South and defending Class A champion Millard North. Top 60 recruit and Miami commit Nyayongah Gony leads the team in ppg and rpg and the Links look to be real contenders for a deep postseason run.
  4. Lincoln East (2-0) – The Spartans started off the season on fire with blowout wins over Lincoln Southeast and Norfolk. Lincoln East is lead by sharpshooter Charley Bovaird and Taylor Searcey. The Spartans are top 3 in Class A in field goal percentage and steals a game and look to continue their sharpshooting against Kearney and Omaha Northwest.
  5. Fremont (2-0) – The Tigers come off of wins over Bellevue West and an underrated Westside team. Sophomore Taylor McCabe paces the team with 15.5 ppg along with Senior Sydney Golladay who adds another 9 assists a game. The Tigers look to keep the winning streak alive against Omaha Benson and Grand Island this week.
  6. Millard North (1-1) – The defending champion Mustangs lost a hard fought game to #3 Lincoln High 54-52 to start the season but bounced back nicely with a big win against Grand Island. The Mustangs are led by Senior Nicole Avila-Ambrosi, a Cal Baptist commit, who is averaging nearly 25 ppg will keep the Mustangs competitive with the best that Class A has to offer.
  7. Omaha Westside (1-1) – The Warriors are coming off of a close loss to #5 Fremont and have a quality win over an underrated Lincoln Northeast team. The Warriors look to stay competitive in the Class A rankings against #10 Omaha Northwest and #9 Papillion-La Vista South this weekend.
  8. Omaha Burke (1-1) – The Bulldogs are a high scoring threat that just ran into a tough #1 Millard South team. Burke was able to beat Omaha North by 43 and haven’t scored less that 71 in either of their two games. They look to continue their hot shooting vs defending champion Millard North and Lincoln Northeast.
  9. Papillion-La Vista South (1-1) – The Titans come off a blowout win over Grand Island and a big loss to #3 Lincoln High. They are a young team with a lot of talent so look for them to continue to improve throughout the season. Their next tests come this weekend against Gretna and #7 Westside.
  10. Omaha Northwest (2-1) – The Huskies had a great showing in the OPS Tournament making it to the championship game only to be defeated by #1 Millard South. The Huskies were able to beat Benson and Gretna on their way to the championship game. They’re lead in scoring my Senior Ale’jah Douglas who is averaging 24.7 ppg. They look to bounce back with tough matchups against #7 Westside Friday and #4 Lincoln East Saturday.