Synopsis
In 1993, Counting Crows referred to Omaha as "somewhere in Middle America." More people know Omaha as the home of Warren Buffet, the Union Pacific railroad and the College World Series. Athletically, Nebraska is known for its dominance in college and high school football and volleyball, while basketball has perennially been on the back burner. But for one season, in its largest city, basketball was king of the state.
In a time of social and political turmoil in our country, three high school boys basketball teams from Omaha, Nebraska were ranked in the Top 25 in the country, featuring some of the best talent that one city has ever produced anywhere in the country. Amongst these three teams were nine Division I basketball players, and all fifteen starters from these three teams played collegiate athletics at various levels for at least two seasons.
"Kings Of Their Court: Three Teams, One City and the Greatest Basketball Season in Nebraska High School History" begins with the chaotic ending to the 2020 state tournament, as the whole world was shutting down due to the COVID-19 virus. Over the span of the next year, these players, coaches and parents navigated their basketball futures while also, like the rest of the United States, worked through COVID quarantines, the George Floyd murders and riots, the political turmoil of the 2020 presidential campaign and much more.
One year later, the destinies of these three teams would intertwine themselves for the final time at the 2021 Nebraska state basketball tournament, where the crescendo to this story occurred 365 days after it began with some of the best high school basketball any state has ever seen.
"Kings Of Their Court: Three Teams, One City and the Greatest Basketball Season in Nebraska High School History" is the story of highly driven individuals searching to achieve lifelong dreams and aspirations, both on and off the basketball floor, during a season that almost didn’t happen.