GICC Crusader Boys soar to Number One in Class C-2 Ratings

Sometimes the stars in the heavens line up just right. Occasionally the lines on the machine come up matching sevens on all three lines vertically, horizontally and diagonally.

All the puzzle pieces come together, forming a masterpiece flowing with precision and confidence.

It may come as a mystery to those on the outside, but to those on the inside, they could see it coming with these GICC Crusader boys basketball team.

One of those “guys” on the inside, a man with the best seat in the house, could see it coming and I am highly impressed.

From my P.A. Chair as the Voice of Crusader basketball, I have witnessed a transformation in GICC boys basketball. It began a few years back with the late Doc Stevenson convincing those basketball hopefuls that success on the hardwood was formed in the weightroom during the summertime.

That idea was reinforced when football guru Jeff Ashby was hired as football coach at Central Catholic. And imagine this, a funny thing happened on the way to the Gym.

All those weight room workouts also helped develop a pretty successful Crusader football team too. In my book success and toughness on the football field leads to victories on the basketball court.

That, coupled with some precision shooting skills, stifling defense and finely tuned motor skills tutored by an expert coaching staff spells SUCCESS.

All this work culminated with The Crusaders being rated number one in Class C-2 this week in the prestigious Omaha World Herald basketball ratings.

But KNOW this.

The brilliant basketball rudimental framework had already been installed at GICC, thanks to the expert coaching of Tino Martinez, an extraordinary student of the game.

It also doesn't hurt to have former GICC head coach and Hall of Famer Bill Gavers on the staff, along with 27 year assistant Rob Micek, another student of the game. Micek’s number of wins at the junior varsity level is also reaching close to the 250 mark.

And let’s not forget the other valuable members of this fine coaching staff: the great Terry Fredrickson, young defensive strategist Brady Brokaw, the Legend himself Howard Schuman, former Crusader standout Eli Hunter, Vann Stevenson (Doc’s son) and the man who keeps it all rolling, Kevin Nansel.

This current edition of GICC basketball, now 15-3 on the season, boasts a tight knit starting lineup consisting of one sophomore, three juniors and a senior.

The youngest member, 5-8 sophomore Braylon Wolfe, is a sharpshooter with a quick release. The three juniors, 5-11 Jack Alberts, 6-2 Thomas Birch and 6-2 Connor Haney can all shoot the ball and like Wolfe, are suffocating defenders.

The tallest player on the floor is senior 6-3 Thomas Liban, an extremely athletic, ball handling wizard who can also shoot the ball and play some ball hawking defense.

The Class C-2, #1 Crusaders have faced just one Class C2 team (Aquinas) and one Class D-1 squad (powerhouse North Platte St. Pats) through their 18 game schedule thus far. The remainder of the 2024/2025 slate has consisted of twelve C-1 opponents and a quartet of Class B foes.

The three Crusader losses this season have come at the hands of Class C-1, number one Lincoln Lutheran, a loss GICC just avenged last Saturday in the finals of the brutal Centennial Conference Basketball Tournament.

The other two came at the hands of Class B Hastings, and to a rapidly rising Adam Central squad the Saturday prior to the Centennial Conference Tournament.

This team, who has always played sharp and mature to me, appeared to come of age after a heartbreaking overtime loss to an athletic Hastings High team.

What did not appear to be a bad loss to me was especially heartbreaking to the coaching staff, who let it be known (rather loud and clear) to the team that they could play much better basketball than they showed that evening.

Following that loss, GICC pulled off 10 straight wins, including victories over Doniphan-Trumbull and Class B foes York and Seward.

The recent five day run through the Centennial Conference Tournament is the most impressive, with the Crusaders notching victories over Wahoo Neumann, Boys Town and Lincoln Lutheran.

GICC has five games remaining on their schedule including a match up against a very fine 13-5 Sidney team in the Heartland Hoops Classic February 15th.

Is this the year Grand Island Central Catholic goes all the way, repeating the Class C2 state championship they won in 2021? (a 55-34 victory over Yutan, which was the last high school basketball game played in the United States before the nation shut down for COVID)

There are positive signs here which may indicate a legit shot for a deep post-season run.

For the first time in quite a while, the Crusaders have some bench strength with players like senior Kyle Kelly, junior Isaac Urbanski, and rugged Brandon Cloud just a sophomore, coming off the bench to contribute valuable minutes.

Kyle Kelly has been especially valuable, entering the game and playing like an experienced veteran. Talk about The Coveted 6th Man that can do it all, that's Kyle Kelly, who relishes his role on the team.

With Rob Micek’s JV squad rolling along at 13-3 this season, the immediate future looks pretty bright for GICC Hoops.

BUT, the task at hand right here and right now is to win out and bring home another title, but I think this current group of Crusader boys will take ‘em one at a time, not be satisfied with what's been done thus far, and continue to improve.

Meanwhile, this PA announcer is gonna take it all in and enjoy every minute of the remainder of the journey from the best seat in the house.

How much better can it get?