Prep boys’ basketball: Nesbit leads firey Burbank team into section semifinal game

At all levels of sports, it is important for a team to have veteran leadership if they are going to be successful. For the Burbank boys’ high school basketball team, that guy is senior guard Omari Nesbit.

The four-year varsity starter, and “the best teammate ever” according to his brothers, helped lead the Titans to an 83-75 win Monday in a highly competitive Sac Joaquin Section quarterfinal game.

Nesbit has been in love with basketball since he was 5 years old. He grew up playing point guard, but as he got older and developed confidence in his shot as he transitioned over to shooting guard. That confidence was on full display.

Nesbit scored 22 points and was seemingly unguardable against El Camino.

“I’m always a confident shooter, it doesn’t matter,” said Nesbit. “Every time I’m at home or at practice, I do a lot of one-dribble pull-ups and I just have to bring it out here to the game.”

Even though his offensive performance is what stood out to the packed gym, Nesbit was focused on other facets of his game.

“It’s really defense, that’s all,” said Nesbit. “I came out there and went straight to defense. I didn’t really care about the offense. I just wanted to stop people, that’s it.”

For someone who didn’t focus on offense, he definitely still made quite the impact.

Much like his favorite NBA player, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Nesbit moves around the court with a lot of self-assurance. Similar to the NBA star that bears the same number on his jersey, Nesbit plays with a lack of fear. Every time he takes a shot or presses an opponent, the look on his eyes says that he believes he is going to win. With a mentality like this, there is no telling how good he can become.

“He stepped up,” said head coach Lindsey Ferrell. “The moment, he lives for those moments.”

For coach Ferrell, the exceptional play of Nesbit and the rest of Titans was a moment he will not soon forget. Ferrell is a very well-respected coach in the area. High school basketball fans in the Sacramento area have a lot of respect for him and took the time to acknowledge him after the match. One El Camino fan told him, “If we had to lose to anyone I’m glad it was you.”

However, as successful as he’s been over the years, this win was more meaningful to him to him than most.

“Oh man … Bro,” said Ferrell. “This second round has been eluding me for a long time. I’ve been coaching for 15 years and this is only the second team that has taken me past the second round. We always get here and it’s just bump in the road, bump in the road.”

But the Titans have finally overcome the dreaded second round.

In the next round of the playoffs, they will be facing Central Catholic high school on Wednesday for the opportunity to win the Division III Sac-Joaquin Section championship at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 2:58 AM.