PHC Player of the Year Candidate: Braxton Bertolette (2017)
With the countdown to the start of the 2016-17 season ticking down quickly, we are hitting the ground running with our season preview content. Among the content we’ll providing periodically until the start of the season is a look at…
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Continue ReadingWith the countdown to the start of the 2016-17 season ticking down quickly, we are hitting the ground running with our season preview content.
Among the content we’ll providing periodically until the start of the season is a look at 20 candidates for the Prep Hoops Colorado Player of the Year Award. Our inaugural award last season went to Overland’s De’Ron Davis.
So who is today’s candidate?
Braxton Bertolette
Colorado’s best shooter has also put himself in position to finish his senior season as the state’s best player.
It’s what happens when you refuse to leave the gym.
It’s easy to look at Bertolette’s natural shooting stroke and credit a natural gift, and, to be sure, an ability to splash treys is buried in the guard’s DNA. But Bertolette, who has grown to 6-3 and 165 pounds, has also come by his success as one of Colorado’s best scorers through a maniacal work ethic that has helped him expand all areas of his game.
Our guess is that Bertolette will have an opportunity to put much of that all-around game — stellar ball-handing, improved efficiency on the attack, strong vision — as he begins his senior season at Fossil Ridge.
It’s not that Bertolette snuck up on foes last season. After all, he had averaged nearly 13 points per game as a sophomore. But after putting up 25.3 per game as a junior last season, there won’t be a single scouting report that doesn’t scream: “DON’T LET THAT GUY SHOOT!”
It’s easier said than done, of course, and Bertolette continues to find new ways to get his shot off. We saw it during a strong summer with the Colorado Hawks against some of the country’s top competition. It’s why he has offers from North Dakota and Rider, with plenty of other interest percolating ahead of his final high school season.
The question is what steps he’ll take during his senior season that can further set him apart. With the work Bertolette puts in, there’s little doubt more big strides are coming.