In his 30 years as the head coach of the Chambers girls basketball team, John Miller could have probably driven to Lincoln blindfolded. He led the Coyotes to the tournament 17 times, advanced to the semifinals in 15 of those seasons and won five state championships while playing in the finals four other times.
And, while the roads might be a little different, Miller is now doing his annual Lincoln trip with the boys team from Southern Valley. The Eagles are ranked third in Class C-2 this week after a big 69-52 win over previously unbeaten Ainsworth (ranked 8th in Class C-1).
But, it hasn’t come easy. The Eagles were 5-3 after losing to Seward in the finals of the Minden Holiday Tournament. Since then, they’ve won 12 straight.
“We knew December would be a grind,” Miller said. “It exposed us a little bit and I think that helped us. We were able to talk about some things we needed to get better at and have used that to really have targeted practices to get better.
“We are at that point in the season where you can see the end. You want to be playing your best basketball and I think we are. Our attention to detail has been great.”
Miller’s seniors are no strangers to the thrills of playing in Lincoln. Most played on the 2013 Class C-2 title team that beat Sutton in the finals. They lost to eventual champion Fremont Archbishiop Bergan in the first round at state last year.
Two seniors — Hunter Quinn and Jeremiah Perkins — average double figures for the Eagles, but Miller likes the entirety of his 8-man rotation. Quinn is the leader, an all-state candidate, that averages 18.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Perkins averages 10.6 points and 3.3 rebounds.
“We don’t really have a true post player,” Miller said. “But Hunter will play in there some, all of our kids can handle the ball well and shoot it so we spread the floor quite a bit. Jeremiah has really been a slasher for us and drives to the hoops well.”
Seniors Alan Verela, Seth Miller and junior Dalton Best round out the coach’s starting five with Best playing inside as well. “Dalton really does the dirty work inside for us and is a good rebounder,” Miller said.
Seth Miller leads the team in assists (5.2/game) and is second in steals. Chance Best, Colton Samuelson and Jacob Kremer all play key roles off the bench for the Eagles.
“We really like the 8-man rotation we have right now,” Miller said. “Those eight kids really know their role and have embraced it this year.”
It was never more evident than on Saturday when the Eagles took down high-flying Ainsworth — one of the top scoring teams in the state. The Bulldogs came in averaging 71 points per contest with the guard duo of Brady Delimont and Hunter Martin combining for nearly 40 points per game. Martin had scored 49 points in a 93-90 win over Gothenburg in the Southwest Conference finals on January 31st.
He didn’t have a field goal in the second half against SV and was held to 11 points for the game.
“I thought our kids played about as well as they have on the defensive end all season,” Miller said. “We knew they would get shots off, but a lot of times with Ainsworth they get open looks and they’ll make those all day. We were able to contest shots against them and it paid off.”
With three games left before the post season begins, Miller’s team still has work to do and a district that features sixth-ranked North Platte St. Pat’s, ninth-ranked Bridgeport and 10th-ranked Hemingford. The goal, however, is still the same.
“The attitude down here has certainly changed,” Miller said. “It used to be a dream to go to Lincoln, now I get the sense with the kids that they want it to be the norm.”
One thing is for sure: Miller knows the way.
Let’s Rewind
Dragons, Orangemen jump into top-ten
Crofton still chasing perfection
Sutton girls upend Superior in SNC
Heartland boys hold off Milford
18 Striv schools in the Boys and girls rankings
*Photo Courtesy of Southern Valley
