Chris’s Week 9 Microupdate

<p style="text-align: center;">I witnessed the #1 player in the state show why he is rated first in week 9. I also realized how teams have started to gear up for districts. When the season began, you could tell lots of players were excited to get started. Fast shots and numerous turnovers were common. Now that we are into the most important part of the season, teams have matured to the fullest. It could be anybody’s year to win state!</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Grand Island Islanders </strong>49 <strong>vs Bellevue East Chieftains </strong>47</p> <p style="text-align: center;">This was a close game all the way down to the last second. [player_tooltip player_id="890574" first="Isaac" last="Traudt"]<strong> (pictured above)</strong> led all scorers with 25 points on 6-8 shooting from the field.  The Chieftains were all over him but, he remained calm and swung the ball around the perimeter until a good shot presented itself.  He got to the free-throw line and went 13-14, that’s 93%! With the game tied at 47, Isaac brought the ball up the court, drove past a defender, and finished above the rim with a sweet left-hand layup as time expires to win the game (<strong>Click the link below to see this amazing play</strong>). I’ve been to many basketball games in my life and I’ve never felt the feeling/energy Traudt gives off. It’s super scary for a defender to defend Isaac. I can confidently say he is a mixture of NBA legends Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, and Charles Barkley. On top of that, he can handle the ball similar to Kevin Durant. Issac stands 6’9" tall and is committed to the University of Virginia. Andy Poss chipped in 7 points, Dylan Sextro shot 67% from the field (6 points), And Kytan Fyfe shot 50% from the field for 6 points for the Islanders.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>(Tap the link to see [player_tooltip player_id="890574" first="Isaac" last="Traudt"]’s left-hand buzzer-beater)</strong> <a href="https://youtu.be/Jl_-LQxCnzI">https://youtu.be/Jl_-LQxCnzI</a></p> <p style="text-align: center;">For the Chieftains, Jaeden Jimenez played very well. Jaeden Scored 17 points and hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 47 with ten seconds left (<strong>Click the link above to view this shot</strong>). Jimenez has a nice long-range jump shot and solid guard skills. It was great to see him raise his stock this game against the #1 player in the state. [player_tooltip player_id="1150367" first="Paul" last="Schuyler"] added 10 points and Gai Chan contributed 8 points for the Chieftains in the 49-47 loss.      </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> [caption id="attachment_1390054" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/DSC_7949.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1390054 size-large" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/DSC_7949-1024x683.jpg" alt="Captured By Urban Luxury LLC" width="1024" height="683" /></a> Bellevue East’s Gai Chan goes up for a lay-up against Grand Island’s [player_tooltip player_id="890574" first="Isaac" last="Traudt"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1390060" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/DSC_7920.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1390060 size-large" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/DSC_7920-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1150367" first="Paul" last="Schuyler"] setting up the Chieftain offense.[/caption] <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Burke Bulldogs </strong>64 vs <strong>Millard West Wildcats </strong>74</p> <p style="text-align: center;">Omaha Burke came out ready to play. Ending the first quarter with a 24-12 lead. Millard west would go on to outscore the Bulldogs 17-12 in the 2nd, 25-14 3rd, and 20-14 in the 4th for a 74-64 victory. [player_tooltip player_id="1052921" first="Dakarai" last="Davis"] (Burke) had a game-high 24 points to go along with 4 rebounds. Omaha Burke freshman Amir Martin also scored 19 points (scored 22 points in the previous game against Millard North) in the loss to the Wildcats. He shot 5-6 from the charity stripe (83%).  Keep your eyes on Amir Martin, he’s a future star player. The Wildcats were led by Senior Jessie Cauble who scored a crafty 20 points on 7-8 from the field (4-4 from the field, 3-4 from 3pt., 75%). He also had 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. A cool double-double for Cauble! Millard West's Trace Thaden hit the glass hard snagging 8 rebounds, scoring 10 points, and dished out 4 assists (3 steals). </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>