Recruiting Report: Brendan Trump (2017)
After a nine-win season in 2015-16, there probably aren’t a whole lot of expectations for the Bethlehem Academy boys basketball team. But with an entire returning starting five, the Cardinals could be a sneaky solid team this winter. The…
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After a nine-win season in 2015-16, there probably aren’t a whole lot of expectations for the Bethlehem Academy boys basketball team. But with an entire returning starting five, the Cardinals could be a sneaky solid team this winter.
The old soul on that roster is Brendan Trump.
A 6-foot combo guard, Trump returns for his third year as a starter at BA after averaging 13 points, three rebounds and three assists a year ago and while the numbers he puts up will be critical for what should be an improved Cardinals team, his leadership and ability to run the team is also important.
“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back and even though we’re still young we’ve got a lot of experience,” said Trump. “I think it can be a very good year for us. We’ve had a good summer and a good offseason. We’re hoping to make an extended playoff run.”
Trump is a strong lead guard who does a good job balancing getting his own shot and setting up teammates. His strength allows him to handle physicality inside and he’s quick and explosive enough to finish in traffic.
Trump hit 35 percent of his 3-pointers as a junior and that number could be higher if he’s playing off ball more. For large stretches of his career, Trump has been a primary ball handler and tasked with facilitating in the BA offense. He may not need to do as much of that this upcoming year as sophomore guards Jack Clark and Damon Trump could figure to take some of that load. If that happens, Trump could see a solid scoring spike this winter.
On the recruiting front, thus far Trump has had the most contact with Concordia College in Moorhead. His desired major — agriculture — makes it difficult to find a mutually exclusive match as far as in-state recruiting. Trump has a visit set with Concordia later in October and said he’s hoping to garner some more interest this winter from Midwest schools that can line up with his academic desires.
“I’d like to play college basketball but academics come first for me,” said Trump. “I’ll take a few visits and see how the basketball season goes.”