Orduna Stepping Down As Lincoln Christian Girls Basketball Coach

LINCOLN–(KFOR Apr. 7)–Nick Orduna will be spending time in the stands, instead of the sidelines, after announcing this week that he’s stepping down as the head girls basketball coach at Lincoln Christian.

Orduna told KFOR Sports on Tuesday 2020 was going to be a deciding point as to whether he would continue or step down.  He chose to step away, after 20 seasons, 14 state tournament appearances, two runner-up finishes, two first place trophies and two state championships.

For the most part, Orduna will continue to be a technology teacher at Christian, but more importantly he’ll be spending more time with family.

“My son (Isaiah) will be graduating (from Lincoln Christian),” Orduna said.  “My wife and I celebrated our 30th anniversary recently and we welcomed the birth of our first grandchild.”

Orduna took over the girls basketball program in 1995 and left the position in 2002, after the Crusaders won the Class C1 championship to focus on commitments toward his church.  He returned in 2008 for what may have been the program’s best run.  His 2015 and 2018 teams finished third at state, while 2016, 2019 and 2020 teams were runner-up and his 2017 squad won the C1 state title in convincing fashion.

Orduna leaves with 306 wins.  He also was named the Ralph Beechner Coach of The Year three times by the KFOR/KLMS Sportscasters Club.

A 1988 graduate of Lincoln Christian, Orduna was a sharp-shooting guard on the Crusaders Class C2 state championship team, the first state title in school history.  He later played college basketball at Nebraska Wesleyan.