'They've embraced me': Bohn brings energy to Norfolk boys basketball

NORFOLK, Neb. -- “I love a challenge of leading a group of young men,” said Head Norfolk Boys Basketball Coach Ben Bohn.

Despite being only 24-years-old, Bohn is in his first year as the head coach for Norfolk.

Bohn is the older brother of the starting quarterback for Wayne State, Nick Bohn who just led the Wildcats to the playoffs for only the second time in school history.

Bohn said he had no hesitations before accepting the job.

"No, we got great kids,” Bohn said. ”They’ve embraced me and they make it a very easy job for me.”

The Panthers are off to a 0-2 start on the young season but competed well in those games.

Bohn said the players leave it all out on the court come game time.

“Our effort is phenomenal,” Bohn said. “The kids work extremely hard not only on game days but at practice. We tell them games are won when nobody is here. They’ve bought into that.”

Through two contests, the Panthers are averaging 50 points per game. That’s a number Bohn wants to see his team improve upon and dictate the game.

“We got to find ways to get good shots,” Bohn said. “We’ve let teams pressure and speed us up a bit [and] got us out of our offense. We haven’t gotten into our half-court sets or just our half-court motion as well as I would like so we need to work on that.”

On Saturday, the Panthers will face Omaha Westside who Bohn said could be a top five team in the state. While Bohn added it’s easily going to be their biggest test of the season, he’s confident they can bring home a victory.

“We come to work everyday," Bohn said. "We got really good kids. We haven’t flinched once yet this year. Guys are willing to compete and battle no matter what.”

As the keys have now been handed to Bohn to build a winning program, he said he wants to do things the right way.

“We talk about effort, attention to detail and energy,” Bohn said. “I think that’s our path to success.”