KEARNEY, Neb. --

The next head coach of the Amherst boys basketball team played professionally in Europe.

Connor Beranek took his game overseas after a storied collegiate career at UNK, where he was named the MIAA Player of the Year. Helping the Lopers to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade, his game was widely regarded as one of the best in the area.

After playing, he stayed with the game and became the head coach at Wood River.

"I just like giving back to the kids and hopefully have a great experience like I was blessed to have when I was in high school," said Beranek.

His time at Wood River only lasted one season.

Beranek says he and his wife had their first child, plus she got a job in Kearney, making the decision for him to stay closer to his family and avoid the drive.

He spent the last two seasons as an assistant for the Kearney Bearcats with his brother, Drake. Now, he's getting back to being the top whistle.

"I had my taste as a head coach," said Beranek. "Love the opportunity to coach. It's one of my favorite things to do, it's why I'm in the profession."

Beranek's father, Paul, coached hoops for a quarter century at Ravenna. He's still remembered for taking his Bluejays, who were playing in C2 during the time, to Omaha for a showdown with Class A Bellevue West. Ravenna nearly pulled off the upset.

With Connor taking over at Amherst, a C2 program, and brother Drake coaching at Class A Kearney, is there any chance of a future showdown? Well, there almost was less than a week on the job.

"I don't know about that one yet," Beranek said with a smile. "The crazy thing is we actually got signed up for a tournament at the Sportsplex this Thursday. The match up was originally to play Wood River the first round and the next game was to play the Kearney High (JV). That ended up getting changed around.

"I thought maybe Drake would put Ravenna on my schedule as well and (it would) have hit the trifecta."