Sorta funny but on my way there I found myself thinking of Isaac Woita.

You remember the great Isaac Woita, right? A couple years ago he was one of the ringleaders for the Bishop Neumann basketball crazies student section, that goofy grin and snarky way of his, all that enthusiasm of his shining through. And toward the end of his senior year in high school he made a stunning announcement on Twitter.

He did it with a photo that pictured him behind a classroom teacher’s desk with four hats in front of him, each representing a possible post-high school landing spot. They included, from left to right, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Dairy Queen and Oklahoma State.

With much fanfare, and with our boy Isaac throwin’ the bones, he announced his commitment to join the @TheIronN student section and College of Business Administration at UNL. #GoBigRed.

Beautiful.

Always loved that kid.

I thought of the great Isaac Woita because Friday morning I was on my way to another signing ceremony, that for Millard North superstar Hunter Sallis, the most highly recruiting basketball prospect in our state’s history. I am not in the breaking news business - I’d rather wait until its busted - but being just 20 minutes away, and having never before attended one of these big time signings, I decided I’d buy in.

While I’d never been to one of them thar signings before I had an idea of what to expect, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was very nice of Millard North administration to allow a good stand of students to take time from furthering their education to be there in support of Hunter, who is clearly a favorite among his peers.

There was also a sprinkling of his Millard North teammates and even some of his foes, in particular Chucky Hepburn and Frankie Fidler, another pair of Division I prospects from rival Bellevue West. You remember those guys, right? All of them, on both teams, combined to give Nebraska high school basketball three of the greatest nights in our state’s competitive history, especially in that epic state final. Thank you again boys, that was some great stuffs. (And great 3s, and great passing, and such speed. Like I said, it was pretty great basketball.

And of course there was the media. Keep in mind I fall into that category but I must admit I came a little under prepared compared to my brethren. I wasn’t planning on streaming the thing live, nor did I have other video in mind, nor did I have a laptop, microphone or other recording device.

Did have my phone, though.

When I walked in there were people in the stands but that wasn’t what caught my eye, it was the row of television cameras before a long table with many of Hunter’s family and supporters, including his parents, Trevis and Jessica. You know, Jessica? Jessica Haynes? Former Omaha Central superstar who also went D-1 out of high school (San Diego State) and had a shot making the Olympic team if she chose.

Behind that was three rows of socially distances seats occupied mostly by more media - I was seated between the omnipresent Damon Benning and the World-Herald’s Tom Shatel, just behind good old Stu Pospisil and a cast of thousands. It was a pretty amazing scene.

Hunter was introduced and began to speak. He spoke almost exclusively about the love and support he had at home, and gave a series of shout outs to coaches and trainers who’d helped him reach this summit, being the most famous player in the history of Nebraska high school basketball.

I don’t claim to know Hunter Sallis, but I’ve spoken with him a few times and more importantly I have seen him with other people around him. A great way to measure a person is to see how those around him respond when they think nobody’s looking, or don’t care.

When people are around Hunter Sallis they always seem to be smiling and happy. And not just because he’d just done something amazing on the basketball court, though he does that all the time, and not because Friday morning he announced he’s signing with Gonzaga, the NCAA tournament favorite in 2021. Well, partly because of that, but you know what I meant.

He’s just a good kid.

After Hunter made his remarks there was a 21st century twist to the ceremony, a video of him doing basketball stuff that appeared on the screens at either end of the gym. When that was complete, he pulled a Zags baseball cap snuggly over that wondrous Afro of his, and smiled for the cameras.

Oh, but the kid wasn’t done, not yet. After all that the students were dismissed and there was a press conference starring Hunter Sallis. I didn’t participate but all the media heavyweights were checked in - when the World-Herald rolls out Shatel for a high school event, it is a big deal - but I stood to the side and visited with the great Tim Cannon - that's State Champion Tim Cannon, thank you very much - and discussed a wide variety of matters.

So I wasn’t part of the press conference and I had no interview intentions of my own, though I did snap a selfie with Hunter, Chucky and Frankie, which is a pretty great way to commemorate the day. Had I been in the press conference throng I would have had one question, though.

“Hunter, congratulations on all your basketball greatness, your humble and kind manner, and your chance to attend a great college like Gonzaga and to play basketball for the No. 1 team in the country. Besides that, what’s it like to be the second best player in your family?” My guess is Jessica Haynes would have loved a question like that.

I know Isaac Woita would have loved a question like that.