By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University sophomore guard Levi Braun will probably always be best known as a shooter, which he's perfectly fine with.
"Shooting will always kind of be my trademark I guess,'' Braun said. "I think I can impact the game in a lot of ways, but shooting's where I can do some real damage.''
Washburn sophomore guard Levi Braun (13) is averaging 10.3 points while hitting 17 of 34 3-pointers for the 3-3 Ichabods. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the 6-foot-4 former Hayden standout, who tied a career-high with 21 points, including six 3-pointers, in Saturday's 96-63 win over Ottawa, has also worked extremely hard to be more than a zone-buster for Brett Ballard's Ichabods.
And it's that work that has translated into a starting spot and increased minutes this season, Braun's fourth at Washburn.
"I've just been working on my body,'' Braun said. "You've got to be able to guard and rebound to get on the floor, so that's been a big emphasis. Part of that's just working, just being a dog when you're in there.
"You can do all the stuff in the offseason but it comes down to when you get in the game you've just got to work. You've got to have confidence that you can guard the guy in front of you, so I'm just trying to have confidence every day that I can play in these games and I can make an impact.''
Ballard said he's extemely proud of the progress Braun has made in all facets of his game.
"He's worked hard at that, worked hard to develop his body and become more explosive, more athletic,'' Ballard said. "He's gotten better on the defensive end. His communication's better. He talks and gets us organized. His leadership's the other place where he's really grown.''
Braun has started all six games this season for the 3-3 Ichabods, with his 25.5 minutes per game 10 minutes more than in either of his first two seasons at WU.
Entering Monday night's MIAA opener at Northeastern State, Braun is averaging a career-high 10.3 points and continues to be a consistent 3-point threat, hitting 17 of 34 treys this season and going over the 100 mark for 3s made in his career against Ottawa.
"A 3-pointer, when those go down it obviously extends the defense and allows you to do some other things offensively and I'm happy for him,'' Ballard said. "He's had some really good days in practice and given us great effort, so it's always good to see kids like that get rewarded. We're going to need that. He's obviously our best shooter and we've got to find ways to get him shots.
"Levi's a worker. He's a good kid, he's a hard worker, he represents our program really well on and off the court and I'm absolutely thrilled for that kid that he's able to see some success.''
Braun, who helped Hayden win a state championship, just wants to do whatever he can to help Washburn continue to make progress after the Ichabods graduated several key players from last year's team that advanced to the NCAA tournament.
"We're building trust every day,'' Braun said. "Coach has told us that this is a really new team. We've got different lineups in there with freshmen and transfers and guys playing more minutes, so it takes a second for some of that chemistry to build and to jell but I think it's going to come.
"I think we've got a lot of guys that can score and make plays, so I think we're just going to keep getting better as the year goes on. I'm excited.''
