(Falls City) -- A star-turning season that included a 46-point performance has helped land Falls City senior Jaxyn Strauss this year’s KMAland Nebraska Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Strauss averaged 17.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for the Tigers, leaving his mark on a program that was guided this past season for the first time by Patrick Miller.
“I really improved a lot,” Strauss said of his jump from his junior season to senior year. “My confidence shot through the roof.”
Strauss used that confidence to put together a KMAland Nebraska-best scoring average that was buoyed by a 46-point performance in January against Humboldt-TRS.
“Going down the court, I just pulled up three different times, and they went in,” Strauss said. “I was just feeling it. I figured I would take the game over and pretty much take all the shots.”
During the course of his performance, Strauss looked up at the scoreboard and saw that he was pacing for a 50-point game.
“I had 13 in the first quarter and 25 at half,” Strauss remembers. “I was trying to go for 50. I didn’t look up until after about 30 points, and I was at 46. It really shocked me.”
Strauss, though, says that his individual scoring performances shouldn’t define a season that saw Falls City improve from 6-16 a year ago to 10-14 this past season.
“I’ll definitely remember my teammates (helping me),” Strauss said. “I couldn’t score without them. They really did a lot for me, and they got me the ball. Sure, there were a few ISO moments, but I’ve got to give (credit) to my teammates.”
Strauss says he has received interest from Peru State, but he isn’t ready to make a college decision at this point. For now, though, he will remember his time at Falls City fondly.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I’ll be going out of high school and can always look back (in a positive way). It really put a name on our high school.”
Strauss joins Ashland-Greenwood alum Cale Jacobsen and Auburn’s two-time winner Cam Binder as KMAland Nebraska Boys Basketball Player of the Year honorees. Check out the full interview with Strauss below.
PREVIOUS KMALAND NEBRASKA BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS
2021-22: Cale Jacobsen, Ashland-Greenwood
2020-21: Cam Binder, Auburn
2019-20: Cam Binder, Auburn
