Louis D. Brandeis High School was established in 2008. In just over a decade they’ve made themselves relevant not only within San Antonio but all across Texas.
The Football team has gone an impressive 100-26 in the past 10 years, including a perfect regular season and a state quarterfinals appearance this past year.
Fast forward two months later and the basketball program is looking to leave a mark of their own. 29 wins to just three losses and a date with Austin Bowie in the area round of the 6A regions 2 & 4 State Basketball tournament.
“We can all score and we play as a team,” junior Gavin Gibson says on the teams’ success. “Our high character, as our coach says, is a big part of it too. There’s never any problems nor drama.”
“Our keys this year have been varsity experience and team chemistry,” senior Tanner Brown added. “We have all been playing with each other for a long time so we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Brandeis has been just as solid on the basketball court over the past 10 seasons as they’ve been on the football field. They’ve won 19 games or more every season this decade and even reached the 5A regions 2 & 4 state semifinals in the 2012-2013 season.
The problem lies in that since then, the Broncos of Brandeis have failed to get out of the area round of the playoffs.
In the 2015-2016 season, the Broncos took a 30-1 record into the playoffs before falling to Judson by nine in the area round. In the past two seasons, the Broncos lost by 18 and seven respectively in the bi-district round.
This year’s Broncos look to be the ones who get this team over the hurdle once again.
“I think with the culture of Brandeis, people should know that we are a deep team and a team that has chemistry like no other,” Gibson said on the culture of Brandeis basketball. “We share the ball and everyone gets buckets!”
“Our play thrives off drive and kicks. Every single one of us can shoot the ball well so teams have to respect that and that’s where we are able to get easy drives.” Brown added.
To get over that hurdle the Broncos will be matched up against the 24-8 Austin Bowie Bulldogs.
“I am looking forward most to the playoff atmosphere and big games like these,” Brown said.
“We are coming off a good win against a good team, Churchill, and our energy that game was phenomenal and we just gotta keep it up,” Gibson added.
Much of Brandeis’s success this season has come from one word. Efficiency. They only attempt 18 threes a game, but they make a staggering 41% of them, good enough for 6th best in the state of Texas. This ability to be that efficient from the three-point line has allowed Brandeis to rank in the top 25 in three points made a game and points per game in the state.
Brandeis parlays that success into a shooting percentage of 59 from two-point shots to make them one of the few teams in the state to shoot above 50% from the field.
To go with their near 70 points a game, they only let up a little more than 54 on average for an impressive per-game point differential of plus 15.5.
The teams’ two leading scorers are the senior duo of Tanner Brown and Kyle Schaefer with both averaging more than 15 points a contest. Brown leads the team in points and rebounds with 15.5 and six respectively. He also shoots an impressive 48% from the three-point line and 57% overall.
“The keys to my success are my teammates and our coaching,” Brown said. “They understand my strengths and can get me the ball in those spots.”
Another star for the Broncos’ is junior, Gavin Gibson. Gibson averages 10 points a game with four rebounds while also leading the Broncos in steals. Gibson is also making 57% of his shots while shooting 41% from behind the arc.
“I want to focus on defense because I believe that defense builds offense. If we can get stops and convert them to points, it’ll be much more fun,” Gibson says on his personal success. “My teammates are great and I love how we can share the ball. I just want to help my team win in any kind of way. I want to finish strong for the seniors!”
While it would be amazing to beat Bowie in move past the area round for the first time since 2016, the Broncos have the same mindset as any other team in the playoffs, winning it all.
“Winning it all will take a lot, but we need to share the ball and trust each other,” Brown says.
“It’s only gonna happen if we have faith in each other and have each other’s back!” Gibson added.
