Behind junior wing Haas, Trojans see bright future
Young people are resilient.
If you ask Post Falls High’s Brandon Haas, this year’s Trojans boys basketball team is very resilient.
After some heartbreaking and controversial losses in the postseason a year ago, Haas said he and his teammates are focused solely on the future – a future that is looking pretty bright in the early going this season.
Haas, a 6-foot-4 wing, stepped up with a career-high 21 points in a season-opening 63-61 victory at Lewis and Clark in Spokane.
But the win didn’t come without a hitch or two.
“We were a little shaky to start out with,” Haas, a junior, said of the win. “But we got it figured out and after that our offense was pretty much able to score at will.
“We’re playing like a team and it’s kind of nice.”
The Trojans made their debut without stars Scott Stockwell and K.C. Billetz, who were lost to graduation.
Along those lines, Haas said the formula for success this season may be one of addition by subtraction.
“No disrespect to (Stockwell and Billetz), but it helps us open up and be more of a team,” Haas said. “There’s more holes that we can go to and we can open things up for everybody else.
“But they were great players.”
As with any high school team, when seniors move on, others must fill the leadership vacuum.
Haas clarified that he is by no means the only leader on the team, but that he is perfectly comfortable taking his share of those responsibilities.
“It’s about stepping up and making sure our team is motivated,” he said. “Just being there to get guys up and get them going.
“And also to take the ball, too.”
Haas, who was brought up to varsity for state as a freshman and started last year, has some specific goals in mind.
“I’d like to shoot for IEL Player of the Year,” he said. “But it’s more of a team goal – we want to get down and win state.”
He admitted that every team starts a season with high hopes, but he doesn’t waver a bit when pressed.
“I think it’s very realistic,” Haas said. “I think if we can just come around and really use our post and our guards that we’re going to have a very good shot at it.
“We’re big across the front and we’re able to shoot outside with anybody – we just need to buckle down and play hard.”
Listening to Haas, who also pointed out that he and his teammates have been in the weight room at least three times a week in the off-season and are “very coachable,” it sounds like PF’s conditioning – and chemistry – are also at an all-time high.
“We’re a family,” Haas said. “We’ve all been playing together for the last three or four years, so we know each others strengths really well. And we make sure we play to them.”