Lincoln Southwest filled with pride following first state title, alum getting NCAA Tournament win

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln Southwest High School is producing winners left and right.

Much of that action happened just this week, with their star alum Braden Frager helping the Huskers win their first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Thursday.

As for the current Southwest boys’ basketball team, the Silverhawks won their very first state title on Saturday.

“We’re a program that, you know, feels like we’ve got a lot of talent, and we like to play fast, and we like to play open and free, you know, and really give our top players the freedom to make plays,” said Coach Alex Baha.

The freedom to go for it seems to be the Southwest motto.

“It was a long time in the making,” said Coach Baha. “It was a commitment we made last year to get back down to state and get the job done, and they could.”

A humble shoutout to the boys that he trains nearly every day.

Baha also highlighted point guard Dakari Wilson and Uzziah Sanders, who was named Gatorade Player of the Year on Friday.

In addition, Braden Frager is the sixth man of the year in the Big Ten and made the national stage with the NCAA tournament win on Thursday.

“It just feels like a really great moment for the basketball program,” said Baha.

Dakari Wilson shared his sentiment.

“It feels good because Nebraska just won their first game in the NCAA tournament, and we just won our first state championship, so it’s basically the same thing, so it feels good to be part of it,” said Wilson.

He offered insight into the team’s winning formula, crediting their connection with one another.

“Our chemistry is good because some practices, we get mad at each other, but at the end of the day, it’s like, we get mad for one second, and then after that we’re good,” said Wilson.

“We’re teammates, so at the end of the day we all love each other and we just try to play for each other and win the game.”

Both Coach Baha and Wilson say that the “team love” doesn’t disappear after graduation, as they receive regular visits from Frager, who goes to their games, practices, and more.

Wilson says Frager’s presence motivates the team.

As a star player himself, Wilson recognizes his influence over the younger players who want to follow in his footsteps.

“Always go hard every day, doesn’t matter if you feel bad, always go hard and always have fun because our team was having fun the whole time, and once we have fun, we start winning games, and we won a state championship!” said Wilson.

As for what’s next, he says he’ll have another year to win another state championship with his team next year as a senior.

After that, he hopes to play for a D1 team, but says he knows it will require more practice and continued hard work.