Omaha Central has turned to Bruce Chubick Jr. as its next boys basketball coach. Chubick comes to Central after 10 years as an assistant coach at Omaha South.

“This was a great opportunity and too great to pass up,” Chubick said of being named the head coach at Central. “If you look at the last 20 years there hasn’t been a better place in the state to coach basketball.”

Chubick knows the history of Central basketball and the role the Eagles have played in the basketball landscape in the Metro area. Eric Behrens left Central after winning seven Class A state titles to be the new athletic director of Westview High School in northwest Omaha, one of the two new high schools Omaha Public Schools is opening in 2022-23.

“I know those are big shoes I’m stepping into,” Chubick said. “Obviously Central, to me and as being a rival, you have to give Central the respect. To me it’s the pinnacle because of what Eric was able to do and the players they have had and the success they have had. It is the crown jewel.”

Leaving Omaha South was a difficult decision. Chubick is leaving his father, Bruce Chubick Sr., the current head coach at Omaha South.

“He encouraged me to apply, he was the first one I talked to,” the younger Chubick said. “He said that if they offered it to me I should take it. Things just kind of came together.”

Chubick grew up around basketball. His father is a hall-of-famer. He won a state championship in high school with his father as coach. He played at Nebraska from 1989-94 during Nebraska’s run of NCAA tournament appearances under coach Danny Nee. He played professionally in Europe. Coaching without his father by his side will be a different but exciting challenge, he said.

“Basketball has been his passion and my passion my whole life,” he said. “I’ve been running around with him for 49 years and probably more than that. We’ve been joined at the hip through basketball.

“I’ve always told him I’m along for the ride. It’s not an ego thing for me. I thoroughly enjoy it,” he said, adding that playing in a good system can pay off for young athletes in innumerable ways. “I love to see kids move on for cheaper or free college. Sometimes it’s about being a good dad or husband and having a good job and being successful in life.”

The first game coaching against his father might be a little different for two of the most competitive people you will ever meet.

“It will be really weird being on the other bench,” Chubick Jr. said. “I leave South with a lot of positive memories. There are really good people in the South community. I’d be a liar if I said it wouldn’t be weird being on the visitor bench at South. Telling the kids was the hardest thing.”