Brotherly Love — Flandreau’s LeBrun Brothers
A couple of weeks ago we talked about the Freidel brothers and how at times it was frustrating growing up with an older brother, but then at times, they wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The same goes with the LeBrun brothers from Flandreau. Connor is the younger brother of Dylan who just finished up an outstanding career as a Flier and now is headed to Augustana to play college basketball.
Connor has the same memories of growing up with an older brother.
“Growing up with Dylan was always a lot of fun,” Connor said. “But it was also very competitive. Everything we did was a contest, but he always won.”
Basketball was a thing the brothers could do together growing up and it’s nice to always have a brother that wants to play just as much as you. It’s always been the brother’s favorite sport as long as Connor can remember.
Just like the Freidel brothers, the LeBrun brothers were fortunate to be able to play the game together in high school.
“It was a very great experience to play with my brother for four years,” LeBrun said. “Not everyone gets to do that and since I played varsity as an eighth grader I was able to play with him for four years instead of just three.”
Some brothers might be upset that they tend to get looked over as a player if their brother is the star, but that wasn’t a problem in Connor’s case.
“I don’t think I have been overlooked as a player,” LeBrun said. “But I have played in his shadow my whole high school career because he was just that much better than me.”
After the last four years of playing together, Connor will have to go solo this next season after his brother’s graduation.
“To fill my brother’s role I need to step up on both sides of the ball,” LeBrun said. “Filling his shoes will be difficult but I’m gonna try my best.”
Last year the Flyers “flew” under the radar of many teams, but picked up some quality wins. One of those victories was a one-point win against the Class A reigning state champs, Tea Area. Connor says that’s probably his favorite memory so far.
“I think that my favorite memory of playing with him was our last season,” LeBrun said. “We accomplished a lot as a team and my brother and I was a big part of that so it’s always fun surprising a lot of people on how good our team actually was.”
This upcoming season will be Connor’s last as a Flier, but potentially not his last season of basketball as he is getting looked at by Dakota State and Mount Marty to play at the next level.