By Bob Hamar
bob.hamar@theindependent.com

"I was mowing my front yard," the Ravenna coach said. "He and his mom walked up and said they were thinking about moving here. I said, 'When can I help him move in?'"

No wonder. Nissen was then a 6-foot-4 sophomore-to-be who was moving to Ravenna from Denison, Iowa.

"He was a pretty large fellow then," Beranek said. "You could tell he was a nice-sized young man and well mannered. He came from a good upbringing. I think sometimes that's more important than the skills he brought."

Nissen certainly felt welcomed by Beranek.

"We showed up and he was just all opened arms for me," Nissen said. "He said I had a home there if I wanted to play."

Nissen did want to play. He was a reserve on the 2006 Class C-2 state runner-up team, then a starter his last two seasons.

Nissen, who grew to 6-6 this season, averaged 15.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game to lead the Bluejays to a 25-2 record and a Class C-2 state consolation game victory.

In three state tournament games, Nissen scored 49 points and pulled down 33 rebounds.

For his efforts, Nissen has been named captain of The Independent's All-Heartland Super Squad.

Nissen fit in well at Ravenna right from the beginning.

"It was so much better," Nissen said. "Everyone just liked everyone. It was a close-knit little group. It was different in Denison because it was so much bigger."

Nissen had been a 6-2 point guard at Denison. His role changed drastically when he came to Ravenna.

"Right away he (Beranek) wanted me to play down low," Nissen said. "It took me a year to get used to it. I finally got used to that. This year it opened up a little for me. I don't always have to post. I got out on the 3-point line a few times."

That he did. Nissen was 29-for-64 (45.3 percent) from 3-point land this season. He also handled the ball outside quite a bit late in close games because he was the Bluejays' best free-throw shooter (90-for-119, 75.6 percent).

"Physically he's always been pretty good," Beranek said. "Mentally is where he's made the biggest strides. With his mental toughness, knowing he was going to get draped on and he didn't let that bother him. He's just as steady as can be."

Beranek saw a difference in Nissen from the beginning of this season. He said Nissen could see the end of his high school career approaching and he wanted to make the most of it.

"The last half of the year he has made a difference in how he approached the game," Beranek said. "He had some demons early maybe thinking about college, maybe thinking he couldn't play. But he's a kid who just looks so good."

Ravenna's offense calls for five players who can run and shoot. Beranek said Nissen may have been even more successful in a different style of offense.

"Possibly on a different team he might be a 20-plus point, 10-plus rebounder hanging around the hoop a little more," he said. "I'm not sure I know how to coach a big guy. We have more of a motion offense. We don't give players numbers. We don't know what a one or a five is."

After going 13-10 in 2007, the Bluejays put it all together in 2008. Ravenna won its first 12 games of the season before falling to Minden.

The Bluejays then won another 12 straight before falling to Grand Island Central Catholic 49-48 in the Class C-2 state semifinals.

"Everybody bought into what we were trying to do," Nissen said. "It seemed like we had a perfect guy at every position. We came into the season having high hopes. We just got it done.

"Last year we were underdogs to quite a few teams. This year we kind of turned the tables and got to be on top for a little bit."

The loss to GICC set up a tough consolation game for the Bluejays, but they came out strong and posted a 65-55 victory over Ponca.

"We were all tearing up before the game," Nissen said. "We were just sad because it was the last time we would be able to play together. Coach B was just really sad with us. He said we just really needed to make a showing to finish out on a good note. We pretty much played for him and for each other."