The NBA draft is Thursday night. There is not the anticipation as there was last year when Doug McDermott was waiting for his name to be called. Similar to other years, Omaha Metro Summer League games will be in full swing.
The original 16 team summer league field expanded to 18 teams last week before the first games started, so the schedule has been modified a bit. There will be one game on court 4 at 6:45 p.m. before the rest of the league games go at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. as scheduled.
We have you covered on what to watch this week to find your favorite players and games.
Game of the Night
8:45 p.m. Court 1: Bank of Nebraska (1-0) vs. EQ School of Hair (1-0)
Bluejays to watch: Toby Hegner, James Milliken, Mo Watson, Geoffrey Groselle
This nightcap should draw a pretty good crowd if last week was any indication of the excitement both of these teams provide. Hegner and Milliken were great compliments to the new look Bank of Nebraska team and provides them some youth. Milliken stole the show last week, with his high flying rebounds and dunks.
Over on a different court last week, everyone was so enamored with the debut of Marcus Foster, that Mo Watson’s performance didn’t get enough credit. He led the comeback against the Judd Knispel Agency down 10 with a few minutes left and walked away with the win. Watson’s court vision cannot be dismissed and you can tell his game is even that much better since last summer. Both of these teams are potential championship teams this summer and this one should go down to the wire.
Bluejay Heavy Games
7:45 p.m. Court 1: Judd Knispel Agency (0-1) vs. OFWF (0-1)
Bluejays to Watch: Cole Huff, Marcus Foster, Justin Patton, Marlon Stewart, Nick Bahe, Matt Dorwart, Jahenns Manigat
Both of these teams are hungry for a win. Judd Knispel was on fire from behind the arc through the first 35 minutes of the game with Marcus Foster’s unofficial 55 points and Dorwart, Huff, and Manigat nailing everything from the outside. However, those last 5 minutes everyone went cold and left with a loss.
OFWF looks like they are trying to find their team cohesiveness. Incoming freshmen Justin Patton and Marlon Stewart had their ups and downs throughout the game against Bank of Nebraska. Getting down 20 points early was too much for them, but then they looked better through the last 30 minutes of the game.
7:45 p.m. Court 2: Paragas Law (1-0) vs. Rooferees (0-1)
Bluejays to Watch: Martin Krampelj, Tyler Clement, Ronnie Harrell, Zach Hanson, Justin Carter, Austin Chatman
There will be two big games going on during the 7:45 session full of Creighton players. Krampelj got his feet wet while Justin Carter, James Parrott (Bellevue/Midland), and Austin Chatman brought their team in full of offense, but defensive misses toward the end of the game started them off at 0-1.
Meanwhile Paragas Law was off and running early. Many were impressed last week with Harrell’s extra height and more strength compared to last summer. Zach Hanson had some nice dunks and took care of things on the inside. It should be a good matchup between Hanson and KC Rodenburg from the Rooferees.
The Rest
6:45 p.m. Court 4: NE HS Hoops (1-0) vs. Capehart Sales (1-0)
Bluejays to Watch: Khyri Thomas, Drew Cayce
Thomas came up big last week hitting two free throws to send the game to overtime to get the eventual win. However, Capehart (Midlands University) will be tough to stop with their team play.
7:45 p.m. Court 3: UNO Alumni (1-0) vs. Winning Mentality (0-1)
UNO Alumni looks like they are back to form of previous summer league sessions with a decisive victory last week. Winning Mentality pretty much had their game won last week, but missed free throws at the end and allowed a game-winning layup. Can they bounce back and get an upset?
7:45 p.m. Court 4: Apex Foster Care (1-0) vs. ABIDE Network (0-1)
Apex (Peru State) could be a surprise in the league this year and have already won a close game which will help them through this one. The ABIDE Network was one of the new teams added in last week. Antoine Young was there playing with ABIDE last week, but wasn’t on the original roster. It is fun to still see him play.
8:45 p.m. Court 2: Narmi Group @ Baird (0-1) vs. Andy’s Lawncare (1-0)
Bluejays to Watch: Alex O’Neill
The defending champs, Andy’s, is looking to jump out to an early lead in the league standings. The Bellevue University graduate stacked Narmi Group lost by 15 last week, but the game was closer than it looked.
8:45 p.m. Court 3: Shanks Law Firm (0-1) vs. BD (1-0)
BD will be tough all season. Jelani Johnson hit a game winning layup last week, while the veterans of this team will take it to the Morningside/Hastings College alumni team that makes up Shank’s Law Firm. If you don’t want to watch the Game of the Night during this time period, this game might be the non-Creighton game that you will want to watch.
8:45 p.m. Court 4: Crusaders (0-1) vs. Tostensen (0-1)
UNK looks to bounce back from an OT loss against NE HS Hoops last Thursday against this Tostensen team that should be pretty competitive. Tostensen lost to Apex Foster Care, but gave them all they could handle. These teams are evenly matched and will be motivated to get their first win.
