Basketball: New Look Team, Same Goal

Kyle Rossi, Jay Journal Staff

After a disappointing playoff exit against Fremont last year, the Creighton Prep Basketball team is looking to rebound this season with a heavily turned-over roster.

Many fresh faces will look to play pivotal roles this year, filling the void left by last year’s seniors

“We lost nine seniors last year, including Metro Player of the Year Nate Schimonitz and a four-year starter in Drew Homa,” said head coach Josh Luedtke.

Since the roster turnover from last season to this season has been so high, the dearth of experience is likely to be the biggest obstacle for the team to overcome.

“Almost the entire team was on Junior Varsity last year, so we are pretty inexperienced and need to adjust to the intensity and speed of Varsity,” said senior Matt Wellendorf.

While most of the team may be new to Varsity, they are not new to each other, which will likely benefit the team as they transition into being on the Varsity team.

“A lot of the team played together on Junior Varsity last year, so we’ve been playing as a unit for over a year now, which has really built up chemistry,” said Wellendorf.

Regardless of the situation, the final goal remains the same: to take state. Prep is being considered an underdog for the title this year, but that will not deter the team.

“A lot of people around the Metro are sleeping on us, so we’re trying to wake them up and show them what we’re made of,” said Wellendorf.

The season tips off today at 7:15 in Lincoln against Lincoln Northeast.