The moment Moscow High School boys’ basketball player Brayden Decker released a 35-foot, 3-pointer at the final buzzer of his team’s nonleague game against Lake City, Bears coach Josh Uhrig thought the shot looked like it might go in.
“I had the perfect angle when he released it,” Uhrig said. “I said, ‘It looks good.’ And my assistant said the same thing. He thought it looked good the moment it left his hands.”
It was, and it gave the Bears a 55-52 win and with that, Decker earned Prep Athlete of the Week honors as voted upon by online readers.
Decker finished with 20 points.
“That’s a play we work on, usually about once a week, so everybody knew where they needed to be,” Uhrig said, adding his team never had used the play in a game.
“Brayden had a hot hand all game, made a good read against the defender and let it fly — and he was just having a very efficient scoring night that night.”
Uhrig said one of the keys to the play was timing.
“They’ve gotta make their cuts at the right time,” he said.
Uhrig also credited his players for their poise, Decker in particular.
“Brayden’s a rhythm player,” Uhrig said. “He sees shots going in and his flow gets going.”
Even so, after Decker’s shot, “I just kept saying ‘Are you kidding me?’” Uhrig recalled. “(We were) giving the other coaches handshakes and letting the kids celebrate before calling them in.
“It’s hard when it happens to you. I’ve been on the other end, and that’s stuff the kids will remember, being in those types of situations.”
Check out the latest nominees for Prep Athlete of the Week.
