A little late news day in Nebraska sports yesterday, huh? What a cool way for John Cook to go out and for Troy Dannen to bring in his first major hire in Dani Busboom-Kelly. An absolute home run hire for the biggest sport in our state.

As for Busboom, it is the ultimate story. Kind of like state athlete-of-the-year Tom Osborne taking over for Bob Devaney in 1973. The catch? Osborne just went to Hastings College. Busboom, after prepping in Adams at Freeman High School, played in two volleyball national championship games leading Nebraska to a national title in 2006. Legendary stuff.

She was also a gold medalist at the state track meet and for good measure led the Falcons to a pair of state basketball titles while scoring over 1,700 points in her high school career. Give her final high school game a watch here. 

Or, you can just go check out our latest Power 20. Or do both. But, do make sure you get some highlights from the greatest Old Barn in the state, please.

Nebraska Girls Hoops Power 20

1 - Millard West (17-1): After a close first half, topped Millard South 44-24 last Friday and then followed that up with a 40-point win over Elkhorn South. Sneaky good one tomorrow with Bellevue West. Last ranking: 1.

2 - Millard North (14-2): Passed a couple of tests near St. Louis and have a game with Omaha Marian tonight before facing Harrisburg, SD on Friday. Last ranking: 2.

3 – Bellevue East (12-3): Breezed past Omaha Burke and Lincoln East but things get a little more interesting this week with Papio tomorrow and Omaha North on Saturday. We’ll keep them ahead of Westview, despite the head-to-head loss for now. Last ranking: 4.

4 - Lincoln Christian (15-0): The Crusaders will need to blitz their way through the Centennial Conference tournament to stay this high. Last ranking: 5.

5 - Omaha Westview (14-2): Their 8-game win streak came to a screeching halt on Tuesday when they lost to Bellevue West 70-44. But the streak included wins over Millard South, Bellevue East and Marian. Last week: 3.

6 - Lincoln Southwest (13-2): A HAC title run started last night with a 62-27 win over Lincoln East. If they finish the job, the top five might be in play next week. Last ranking: 7.

7 – Millard South (10-6): If you look at that Patriot schedule, there are some real good wins on there. Like really good. Last ranking: 8.

8 - Omaha Westside (9-6): No rest for the weary. Lee’s Summit (MO) West and Omaha Central this weekend. But the Warriors must win their last six. Last ranking: 6.

9 - Lincoln Pius X (16-3): Said here last week that beating Gretna East would get them a good enough win to move past Skutt one more time. The tea leaves point to them settling this one on the second Saturday in March. Last ranking: 10.

10 - Omaha Skutt Catholic (17-1): Won the River Cities last week with a couple of laughers. This four game stretch: Omaha Central, Bennington, Omaha Gross and Norris will be a good gauge before the postseason. Last ranking: 9.

11 – Lincoln North Star (10-4): Started their HAC Tournament last night with a 39-21 win over Lincoln Southeast and will face Kearney next. Maybe we can finally settle this little dilemma. Last ranking: 11.

12 – Kearney (14-1): A 44-21 win over Norfolk sets up the game with North Star. Meat of their schedule remains after the HAC — Bellevue West, Millard West and Omaha Westview. Last ranking: 12.

13 - Gretna East (11-5): The only Class B contender that has given Pius and Skutt a run, the Griffins lost to Pius 46-41 on Tuesday after a long fourth quarter scoring drought put the Bolts in control. Early win over Bellevue West still carries weight. Last ranking: 15.

14 - Bellevue West (9-6): Like neighbor Omaha Westside, they get Lee’s Summit (MO) West as well, who comes to Nebraska with a 10-4 record. Dane Bacon’s bunch will earn this ranking if they keep it. After that? Millard West, North Star, Kearney and Lincoln Southwest the next two weeks. Last ranking: 13.

15 – Milford (15-1): Just two regular season games left. Wilber-Clatonia tomorrow and Sandy Creek on Valentine’s Day. In between? The Southern Nebraska Tournament next week where they will be the overwhelming favorites. Last ranking: 14.

16 - Omaha Central (9-7): Have defeated Bellevue West and Omaha Marian in their current four game winning streak, but the next three are Skutt, Westside and North Star. Even staying competitive will keep them here. Last ranking: NR.

17 – Waverly (12-1): A week after making their debut in the Power 20, the Vikings squeaked by Wahoo and Lincoln Standing Bear. We would have liked a bit more. But a win is a win is a win. Last ranking: 17.

18 – Omaha Marian (8-8): Got back on track with wins over Lewis Central (IA) and Omaha Benson, but Millard North and Lincoln Southwest await. Last ranking: 16.

19 - Papillion-LaVista (8-8): The remaining schedule is favorable after tomorrow’s game with Bellevue East. Rease Murtaugh leads Class A in scoring at 24.2 points per outing. Last ranking: 18.

20 - Minden (16-1): The Whippets remain but are in win out mode, starting with tomorrow’s Southwest Conference semifinal against Ogallala. Last ranking: 20.

Special Mention (listed alphabetically by class): Lincoln High (10-4), Bennington (13-3), Norris (11-4), Crofton (15-2), Elkhorn Valley (17-0), Guardian Angels CC (15-2), Oakland-Craig (16-2), Pender (18-2).

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Bancroft-Rosalie. You won’t even find the Panthers in the Class D-2 rankings this week but it could be time for a look despite their 8-8 record. Playing in the loaded East Husker Conference, B-R has played just one D-2 opponent in 16 outings and soundly defeated perennial power Wynot last week. They followed that up with another win over Class D-1, No. 6 Howells-Dodge before losing to Class C-2 (RV) Humphrey-Lindsay.

Same as last week, no nights off in the East Husker.

COACHES POLL: You can catch the coaches poll each Monday (boys) and Tuesday (girls) over on nebpreps.com as well.

MORE #nebpreps NOTES: Bellevue West’s Carie Mascarello set a state record in bowling a three-game series of 711 to win the Metro title. It’s not only a breakout season for the Omaha Westview girls, but the boys are top-ranked in Class A as well. Jacob Padilla’s top five performers from the week.

Signing Off

and….