Brendan Hausen, Amarillo High basketball, Sr.
On the court: Last week was a microcosm of what Hausen and his fellow Amarillo High seniors have been up to for the last four seasons. The Sandies entered the week tied with crosstown rival Palo Duro for the District 3-5A lead, as both teams were 3-0 in district play. Amarillo High, ranked No. 5 in the state, ended the evening decisively in command of the district thanks in large part to Hausen, who broke out of a scoring slump with eight 3-pointers and 30 points, making the exact difference in a 71-41 victory. Three nights later, the Sandies closed out the first half of district play against another Amarillo ISD rival, Tascosa, with Hausen, the school’s all-time leading scorer, needing only five points to reach the 2,000-point barrier. He got it quickly, with a 3-pointer in the first quarter, to help spark Amarillo High to a 66-39 rout and an unbeaten record to close out the first half of district play. Hausen, who has signed to play college ball at Villanova, leads the Sandies with 17.2 points a game.
Coach Jason Pillion: “I knew there was no doubt he would be ready to play because great players show up most in those big moments. It was a such a big moment for first place and we had that rivalry game against Tascosa. I think the record was just kind of a result of all the things that took place. By his standards he had missed some shots. He was still shooting it well, but just in games he hadn’t been himself from the 3-point line. He kind of found it again when it mattered and it says a lot about his character. At some point he’s going to get going. He’s too good of a player to stay there too long. It totally changes us because it limits what the other team can do to us. It frees other guys up to make more plays. I think our guys kind of feed off him.”
Hausen: “I was in a little shooting slump to start district. We were winning games but we were struggling and kept doing the little things. We knew one night we were going to get going. It just happened to be my night against Palo Duro, but collectively the bigs (seniors Cade Hornecker and Damonze Woods) have gotten going and they’ve been putting games away before they even start. They get rebounds and get me the ball for an easy shot and I can hit that. It really changes things seeing the ball go through the net. It’s exciting to compete against kids you grew up with and you’ve been battling with forever. It doesn’t matter who we’re going against. The main thing is to go out there, have fun and get the win.”
About Hausen
Favorite band or musician: Drake
Favorite social media platform: Instagram
Favorite athlete: Kobe Bryant
Bet you didn’t know: Loves to surf
Parents: Benji and Stefanie Hausen
