Sports

SLN BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mukwonago big man made positive impact on, off court

IUPUI recruit became Indians’ all-time leading scorer

Brandon Hau averaged 19 points and 9 rebounds for the Indians this season. (Lisa Smith/SLN)

 

By Chris Bennett

Sports Correspondent

Brandon Hau helped some teammates on the Mukwonago High School boys basketball team celebrate their birthdays this past season. It is Hau and some others who helped make sure a birthday cake was waiting to commemorate the occasion.

Hau helped make sure Paul Koscinski enjoyed an evening worth remembering Feb. 16 in a Classic 8 game at home against Catholic Memorial.

Koscinski is a young man with Kabuki Syndrome, which is a pediatric disorder. Koscinski served as the Indians’ guest announcer Feb. 16 against the Crusaders after Amy Johannes, Koscinski’s instructional assistant, bid on the opportunity at a fundraiser.

Video of Koscinski excitedly announcing Hau’s name is available at Fox6Now.com, the web site of Milwaukee’s FOX 6 television station. The Indians beat the Crusaders 89-71.

And one summer, Hau helped Indians’ boys basketball coach Jim Haasser sell mattresses.

“The fondest memory I have of Brandon is, ironically, not from the hardwood,” Haasser said. “It was summertime several years ago, and I needed help getting the word out about our mattress sale fundraiser.

“He and I spent the better part of an hour putting fliers under windshield wipers in area parking lots.”

Hau spent the better part of his varsity career with the Indians wreaking havoc on foes in the Classic 8, considered the state’s finest prep sports conference.

The 6-foot, 8-inch senior put together a final season for the ages, and forever cemented his place in Mukwonago and Classic 8 basketball lore.

Hau averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Hau also averaged 2.1 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.7 steals per game.

For his efforts, Hau is the 2017 Southern Lakes Newspapers All-Area Boys Basketball player of the year.

Hau demonstrated the ability to give and create on the offensive end, and showed he could disrupt and alter an opponent’s game plan on defense.

“Brandon is a unique match-up for anyone,” Haasser said. “He’s a capable shooter, so you have to respect that part of his game.

“He can put the ball on the floor and get to his spots, and when he’s near the basket, he’s almost unstoppable. He’s deceptively strong in the lower body so I know that helps him.”

Hau became the program’s all-time leading scorer, and the Indians ended their regular season on a high note Feb. 23 with an 80-67 Classic 8 victory over the Lasers at Kettle Moraine.

Hau finished the game with 17 points and broke the school’s scoring record with a 3-point field goal in the first half. Tom Kukla, a 1965 MHS graduate, held the record previously, according to published reports.

“It honestly doesn’t feel real,” Hau said of the record. “I don’t know how to explain it. There’s a lot that goes with it – I couldn’t have done it without the people in my life.”

The Indians’ season ended March 4 with a 65-42 loss to Madison Memorial in a WIAA Division 1 regional final game at Memorial. The Indians beat Kenosha Indian Trail 57-37 March 3 in a regional semifinal game at Mukwonago. The Indians finished 16-8 overall, and went 9-5 and finished third in the Classic 8.

Hau earned the honor as the Indians’ Most Valuable Player. He also earned First Team All-Classic 8 honors, and Honorable Mention All-State honors from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association.

Hau will play NCAA Division 1 basketball next season at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in Indianapolis. Hau said IUPUI was the first school to make him an offer, and said he’s developed a relationship Jaguars’ assistant coach Scott Gillespie, a 2007 Ripon High School graduate.

“Ever since (Gillespie) started talking to me, we’ve become really close,” Hau said. “The first time we went down there I got in the car with my mom and dad and told them it felt like home.”

Perhaps Hau can help the Jaguars to one shining moment after so many moments of glory at Mukwonago.

“I think I’ll miss his ability to make the big play when we needed it,” Haasser said. “As an adult in the education business, I try to remind my students and players – myself, too – to never take anything for granted, but I fear I haven’t followed my own advice when it comes to this. He’s made so many plays for us over the last few years.”

 

 

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