Lukassen to continue basketball career at MCC

Neveah Lukassen had a goal to play college basketball and as it turned out, her new coach had a front row seat to most of her senior year.
The do-it-all Hampton senior signed a letter of intent with Manhattan Christian College March 22 in front of friends and family.
The smile never left her face once during the entire process, noting how special of a moment it was for her.
“I knew I wanted to play at the college level, I just never thought it would happen,” she said. “I took in every moment during my last high school season.”
Hampton coach Margo LaBrie was on hand for Lukassen’s big moment and added what she did for the Hawks over a four-year span, but especially as a senior leader, couldn’t be overstated. 
“She was an amazing team leader for our girls,” LaBrie said. “She never got angry and if there were mistakes, she put the team on her back. Through kindness and love and actions on the court.”
Manhattan Christian College will have a new coach next season, Dalton Miller, who was the coach of the Hampton boys team for the previous two seasons.
Once he accepted the new coaching position, he immediately began recruiting Lukassen for his new team.
“Once Dalton announced he was going to Manhattan, he told me the day after he wanted to take me down there with him,” Lukassen said. “He had known he was going for awhile so he was always asking me questions about my future plans.”
In all honesty, Lukassen couldn’t believe the persistence Miller had in recruiting her to Manhattan. But, it was one of the reasons that made her say yes, too.
“It was so shocking to me,” she said. “I never thought this would happen or someone would believe in me that much.”
“It was really smooth and easy,” Miller said with a smile. “Once she had that first conversation with me, she went to campus for a visit and realized it was a special place.”
LaBrie and Miller had conversations with one another about Lukassen’s talent, too. For LaBrie, it is just the beginning for what Lukassen can accomplish as a basketball player.
“I told coach Miller she is just starting to tap into her potential as a basketball player,” LaBrie mentioned. “Especially with her outside shooting. She’s going to do some great things.”
One of the areas Lukassen believes her game has improved upon the most during her time wearing the purple and gold wasn’t necessarily anything to do with the fundamentals, but the leadership side. 
Being one of just eight active players on Hampton’s roster last season, she didn’t have much of a choice. Yet, she still wanted the role.
“My senior year was one I’ll never forget,” she said. “It was amazing with those girls and basketball is so much more than a sport. It is the bonds you build.”
Manhattan Christian College triggered Lukassen’s interest right away with the faith aspect. Once she made a visit to campus without any expectations, she was blown away.
It was somewhere she felt like she belonged. 
For Lukassen, basketball has always been her favorite sport while also being a huge factor on Hampton’s volleyball team.
“I always enjoyed the sport that was in season,” Lukassen said. “Looking back, basketball was something I was very passionate about.”
Lukassen finished her senior season by averaging 14 points per game while adding almost nine rebounds. Defensively, the senior tallied four steals and blocks per game.
Those attributes weren’t lost on Miller, who saw a lot of those opportunities in real time.
“She adds length to the court and can really shoot the ball,” Miller said. “Surrounding her with other players that can attack the rim is great. I’m excited to see her develop in our program.”
“Nev showed a lot of growth from last year to this year,” LaBrie said. “I was shocked with some of the improvements she made.”
Over the summer, Lukassen asked her head coach if she had what it took to play college basketball. LaBrie didn’t sugar coat anything, not like Lukassen would have wanted that anyway. 
“I told her she had to put the time in and she did that,” LaBrie said. “I didn’t think much of it after that conversation until after Christmas we started reaching out to a few schools and everything started to fall into place.”
While she never got the opportunity to play in the state tournament or anything like that, Lukassen wouldn’t trade her experiences in the Hampton jersey.
She enjoyed the challenge of playing teams with bigger rosters and trying to best them anyway. 
“It’s definitely different. We’re so close here,” Lukassen said. “There aren’t many communities like us. We face some of those bigger schools and instead of just being okay with losing, we learn how to grow and that’s a big thing that has happened for me here at Hampton.”
It hasn’t all been easy, though. Like the time when Lukassen scored 15 points and six rebounds with a broken finger.
“It’s tough,” she said. “You have to battle through sickness and injury. I played this year with influenza and played with a broken finger. You have to do it if you want it in return.”
LaBrie, who won her 200th career game as a coach last season in a game Lukassen tallied a double-double, is happy to see one of her players get the chance to move to the next level.
“This is an incredible opportunity for her,” LaBrie said. “It has been a long time since Hampton has had someone go on and play college basketball, even though we’ve had those who could.”
Lukassen also praised LaBrie for not only helping her reach the goal of playing college basketball, but everything she’s done to help her become a better person and athlete. 
“She’s been amazing. She’s always been there for me every step of the way, whether it was a high five or an encouraging text after the game,” Lukassen said. “She gave you things to improve on and never gave up on us.”
Lukassen is the daughter of Heaven Hall and Randy Maahs and Ryan Lukassen.