Following a long off-season, on December 5 the boys and girls basketball teams will tip-off at Papillion-LaVista South to start the season.
Boys
Boys basketball is coming off a 19-6 season, and a state semi-finals appearance after they lost by three points to Scottsbluff. With a statement win against Bennington by 20 in the district finals they got the chance to play at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time in boys basketball history.
“The experience was fantastic,” varsity basketball head coach Andy King said. “We felt like we were good enough to be there, we returned a lot so we feel like we are in the same boat this year.”
This year King searched for a tougher regular season schedule in hopes that the team will be the most prepared for playoffs. Class A teams like Papillion-LaVista, Omaha North, and reigning champions Papillon-LaVista South, were added to their schedule.
“It’s going to be a tough season,” King said. “We added some really good Class A teams, so when February comes we’ll be playing our best basketball.”
The team lost three valuable seniors, including their starting power forward, Will Farrington, which means the younger players on the roster will get more opportunities throughout the year. But, with three seniors in the starting lineup, this team has more experience than last year’s team and will come back stronger and more prepared.
“The biggest thing we’ve tried to get better at is strength, but then becoming more efficient within our offense,” King said.
Losing only two games when scoring more than 60 points, the team thrived when the offense did well, and the teams’ top three scorers will return this year, Sutton Piatkowski, Kellen Murphy, and Nike Orgibold.
“I think the depth on our roster and the experience we have is most important,” senior Nike Orgibold said.
Without any official preseason rankings released, Elkhorn North boys basketball is seeming to be the No.1 ranked team in Class B and a favorite to win the championship.
Girls
The girls basketball team came off their first season with a new head coach, and lost in the district finals against Lincoln Pius X, finishing with an 11-11 record. Following a legendary four years of Elkhorn North Basketball, the amount of pressure for a young and new team is immense, but also beneficial.
“I think the team learned new roles,” varsity head coach Michael Kroupa said. “The year before had a very strong and experienced class and our team needed to learn how to play a different role than they had in the past.”
Kroupa and the team had a great win at Norris and played the 2024-25 champions close at Skutt Catholic, 57-67, proving they are capable of hanging with the best teams. With a lot of returning players and Kroupa coaching for his second season with the Wolves, the team has the opportunity to make a run.
“As a new coach I learned a lot about our team and hopefully that will put us in a better position to be successful this year,” Kroupa said.
The difficulty and pressure to come into a school that has experienced nothing but success since the school has opened is a very large amount. Not only that, but in the year prior the seniors dominated the playing time, which left the younger players with much less experience. So with a new head coach leading a very young team, it was expected to be difficult.
“It’s hard to come into a head coaching position to a team that’s won the state championship the past 4 years in a row,” junior point guard Kaylee Lake said. “I think Coach Kroupa has done a good job of fitting into the role as head coach.”
The team last year went 7-0 when scoring 60 points or more proving when their offense does well, they win games. This is great because two of the top three highest scorers, Kaylee Lake and Addy Bratt, return.
“An expectation I have is to end with a better winning record than we did last year and hopefully make a run for state,” Lake said.
With the seasons around the corner, there is nothing but high hopes and high morale as both teams look to make the necessary changes in order to see better results. With many talented players on both rosters, the pressure to preform better has only rose.,
“I am excited for this group. We are extremely young, but very hungry,” Kroupa said.
