Scottsbluff's Conner McCracken is hoping to be the third straight Bearcat basketball player to play for Western Nebraska Community College and then go to a  Division I school, following in the footsteps of former  Bearcats Trent Harris and Dru Kuxhausen.

                McCracken said it was an easy decision to pick WNCC.

                "it is big for me to stay in town. I think that is one of the biggest reasons why I stayed here," McCracken said. "I get to be close to family and I get to play a few more years in my hometown where I can have all the support that I had stay here and to be able to watch me. With the success they have, it obviously a big factor."

                Having seen what Harris and Kuxhausen did and where they are at the Division I level gives McCracken someone to look up for work ethic. Harris played his junior year at the University of Northern Colorado, while Kuxhausen sign with McNeese State.

                "That is the goal, yes. I know those guys have been a big example to me of what work you have to put in at that level," McCracken said. "They are always in the gym shooting, probably 500 makes a day. They take great pride in what they do and that is what it takes to get to that level. I know what I have to do to get there for sure."

                But McCracken isn't looking at just the Division I level. His first objective is to help WNCC win and to get better as a basketball player. IF that happens he, too, could be heading to the Division I level.

                "I am not focused on what level, what division I want," he said. "I know that just looking at all the players that have come here in the past that it is willing to happen if I put the work in and invest into the program."

                Just getting to play basketball at the next level is something for McCracken, who didn't see a lot of action his sophomore year at Scottsbluff.

                "Basketball has always been the big sport that I play," he said. "Just the work that I put in has took me a long way. It is nice to take my talents to the next level."

                Scottsbluff boys' basketball coach Scott Gullion said if he played at any other school, he would have been playing his sophomore year. But, he accepted his role and that is what makes McCracken special.

                "I think Conner would have played for a lot of teams his sophomore year," Scottsbluff coach Scott Gullion said. "I am sure it wasn't the most fun he had, but he really bought into his role and that will help him moving forward. He wasn't the guy that scored all the points or the minutes early on, but he had to learn that aspect and then the last two years he was the guy who was given the ball in his hands and expected to score. He has meant a tremendous amount to our program. I have coached him for four years and I think I had him in camp a couple years and he was always a kid that was willing to learn, a kid that was coachable, and always really respectful. He has meant a whole lot to our program."

                WNCC coach Cory Fehringer is excited to get a player of McCracken's talents and character.

                "First of all, Western Nebraska is extremely blessed to have Scottsbluff basketball program and how well they do year after year," WNCC coach Cory Fehringer said. "For us to continue to have kids from this program is huge for our community. The fact they know how to win games, play intelligently, play competitive, and Conner has been a big part of that. Basketball is a team game and there is a lot of important roles that go on. Conner will have to show up every day and get better and find the best shoulder that he has for us to be successful."

                McCracken knows that he has to get better. As soon as track season is finished, he plans to get into the gym.

                "Working hard and as soon as track gets over, I will be in the gym everyday lifting," he said. "I have to get better every day at shooting. We talked a little bit about what my role will look like next year and that probably will be shooting. I was a good high school shooter but college is a whole another game so that will be an aspect I will have to improve on."

                At Scottsbluff, McCracken averaged 17 points a game his junior year and was one of the top 3-point shooters.                 McCracken was named the Star-Herald boys' basketball player of the year his junior year.

                This year, McCracken had those same kind of numbers with his lengthy play. The Bearcats, after a slow start, won sub-districts, then topped Seward in the district finals earning a berth in the state tournament. McCracken said that was an huge accomplishment for the team.

                "It was really big especially when we started off really slow," he said. "We had a losing record which hasn't been a thing in our program for a long time. A lot people thought the season was over for us. We won eight games in a row and got back down to Lincoln."