Well, let me tell you, there’s been a few fellas from Nebraska who made it to the big time, the NBA. You know, that basketball league with all the tall fellas bouncin’ the ball.
I heard there’s this fella, Dalano Banton, playin’ in the NBA. He’s one of them Nebraska players. Plays for some team called Raptors. He’s from ’round here, Nebraska, I reckon. Heard he’s doin’ alright, playin’ with them other tall fellas.
And then there’s that Bryce McGowens boy. He’s another one of them Nebraska boys playin’ in the NBA. Plays for the Hornets, they call ’em. He’s young, but folks say he’s got somethin’ special. Dunno what that is, but they say it.
There used to be this other fella, Isaiah Roby, used to play for Nebraska. Now he’s with some team called the Knicks. He’s a big strong boy. Good at jumpin’ and throwin’ that ball.
- Dalano Banton, he’s from Nebraska, playin’ in the NBA.
- Bryce McGowens, another Nebraska player, in the NBA too.
- Then there was Isaiah Roby, used to play here, now in the NBA.
Heard there’s a few more, but I don’t rightly recall their names. Some fella named Eric Johnson. Plays guard and stands at 6’2, weighing 205 pounds. These young fellas doin’ things us old folks could only dream of.
There’s this other boy, Dave Hoppen. Big fella, 6’11. He was in that NBA too, back in the day. He’s another one of them Nebraska players. They say he was good at gettin’ that ball in the hoop. They don’t really play anymore, I think, but they did their time in the NBA.
There’s more of ’em, Nebraska players in the NBA. Some played a little, some played a lot.
Some folks say California got the most NBA players, but we got some good ones here in Nebraska too. That’s for sure. They come from all over, but we got our share of ’em. There was this other fella, played in the NBA, Tony Farmer. Big guy from Nebraska, played forward at 6’9, 244 pounds.
That Tominaga boy, they call him the “Japanese Steph Curry”. I don’t know about that, but he sure can shoot that ball. He’s from Nebraska too. Heard folks talkin’ ’bout him, sayin’ he’s somethin’ else. Don’t know much about that Japanese fella, but they say he plays like that Curry boy in the NBA.
Some fellas from Creighton, Scheierman and Alexander. They gonna be in the NBA too. That’ll make it 17 or 18 fellas from there playin’ in the big league. That’s a whole mess of ’em. Creighton’s over in Omaha. That’s a city, you know. In Nebraska.
Then there was them Kansas City-Omaha Kings, played here for a bit. From ’72 to ’75, they was here. Played right here in Omaha, in that big buildin’ they call the Civic Auditorium. That was somethin’, seein’ them NBA fellas playin’ right here in Nebraska.
Back in 1949, they started pickin’ college fellas to play in the NBA. Called it a draft. We had some Nebraska boys get picked in that draft. Don’t remember all their names, but there was a few.
There was this fella from Lincoln, Teddy Allen. They say he’s playin’ over in England now. Scorin’ a whole bunch of points. He used to play for Nebraska, but now he’s over there. Lincoln’s the capital of Nebraska, you know.
You see, Nebraska got a bunch of fellas who made it to the NBA. They ain’t all famous like that Jordan fella, but they played in the big time. They make us proud, them Nebraska boys. They show that even a fella from a place like Nebraska can make somethin’ of himself.
- There was the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. Played here in Nebraska.
- Teddy Allen. From Lincoln. Played for Nebraska, now in England.
- Lots of fellas got drafted into the NBA from Nebraska since 1949.
This Paul Silas, Benoit Benjamin, Anthony Tolliver, and Kyle Korver. They all played for Creighton and had long NBA careers. Creighton’s a good school. Turns out good basketball players. They are all from Nebraska.
So, you see, we got our share of basketball players here in Nebraska. Maybe not as many as some other places, but we got some good ones. They done us proud, them Nebraska boys in the NBA. They really have. Played hard and showed the world what Nebraska folks are made of. That’s somethin’ to be proud of, I reckon. Yep, somethin’ to be proud of.
