Here's all you need to know about how tough the Class A division of the MUDECAS boys basketball tournament will be.

Freeman is seeded fourth. That's 8-1 Freeman, ranked among the top ten teams in D1. Yeah, THAT Freeman.

Leading the way for the Flyers will be junior guard Ryan Busboom, the team's leading scorer and an all-state candidate. You can listen to an interview with Busboom by clicking on the link offered.

Freeman coach Jim Laughlin knows his team is in for a battle in the MUDECAS, which starts tomorrow (Tuesday).

"We open with a real good Lourdes team and if you get past them then you have Southern, that's ranked in C2, and Sacred Heart and Bruning-Davenport on the other side. It's goiong to be great competition all the way around."

Southern is the top seed in the Class A division, Sacred Heart second, Bruning-Davenport third and Freeman fourth.

In the Class B division, Johnson-Brock is seeded first, Pawnee City second, Sterling third and Palmyra fourth.

Tournament games will be played at both the Beatrice Auditorium and Southeast Community College-Beatrice.

Busboom and his teammates have surely built on last year's success, when a team starting two freshmen and a sophomore reached the state tournament. That Busboom is playing at all is nearly a miracle.

In the summer of 2006 Busboom was injured in a four-wheeler accident, one which left him with a broken femur. It was expected he would be out of sports for 12 to 18 months, but he did return for basketball season and led his team to the state tournament.

"Ryan's one tough kid, as you can tell from his recovery from that terrible injury," says Laughlin. "This year's come back healthier, with better balance on his shot, and he's a better shooter than ever. He can also jump much better than last year and is improved all the way around."