Brookfield Academy-SJNMA Standouts
BROOKFIELD — In a Midwest Classic Conference showdown, Saint John’s Northwestern Military Academy (1-0) took down Brookfield Academy (0-2) on Wednesday… Aidan Clarey – 2020 – SG – Brookfield Academy It took a while for Clarey to get involved…
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Continue ReadingBROOKFIELD — In a Midwest Classic Conference showdown, Saint John’s Northwestern Military Academy (1-0) took down Brookfield Academy (0-2) on Wednesday…
Aidan Clarey – 2020 – SG – Brookfield Academy
It took a while for Clarey to get involved in the game, but once he did, it allowed Brookfield Academy to get within striking distance late. The Rockhurst commit scored eight of his 12 points after halftime, including a beautiful step-back triple while putting his defender on the floor. SJNMA did a good job of pushing Clarey off the 3-point line for the most part and not giving him any easy catch-and-shoot opportunities, but Clarey started to break through over the final 12 minutes or so. A very skilled, high IQ scoring guard, Clarey didn’t force too much despite the Blue Knights trailing for the entire game. He worked quite hard off the ball, which won’t show up in the box score, but opened some things up for his teammates.
Gerald Gittens – 2020 – PG – SJNMA
This one of Gittens’ best performances in his career. You could hardly tell it was a season opener. The senior point guard walked in the gym ready, going for 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and three steals against the top ranked team in Division 4. Brookfield Academy had no answer for Gittens, who got into the paint at will all night. Once he gets near the rim, Gittens has some of the best touch and body control in the state. He can finish with either hand and play through contact. A downhill point guard, Gittens also loves to drive and dish. Gittens plays very low to the ground and has the ball on a string. While he is a relentless attacker, his patience and feel for the game has greatly improved over the last two seasons.
Max Kunnert – 2021 – SG – Brookfield Academy
If you don’t know this kid’s name now, it won’t be much longer. Kunnert can get overshadowed at times due to the depth that Brookfield Academy has, but the junior guard can absolutely put the ball in the net. Kunnert hit six triples on Wednesday, keeping the Blue Knights close throughout. Finishing with a team-high 24 points, Kunnert was deadly in the catch-and-shoot game. Always locked and loaded, if his teammates hit him in the shooting pocket, it’s almost automatic. Kunnert (6-3) has good size and can do some other things as well. He moves without the ball, can attack off the bounce and hit mid-range shots, and does a great job of finding cutters when he’s in possession of the ball at the top of the key.
Brandin Podziemski – 2021 – SG – SJNMA
We’ll start with the defensive end for Podziemski. Drawing Clarey, Podziemski was terrific on that end of the floor. By our count, Podziemski only let up two of Clarey’s points the entire game, which in a five-point game ended up paying huge dividends. Podziemski got off to a hot start, getting SJNMA out to a nice lead. Being defended by Logan Landers (6-7) most of the night, Podziemski didn’t always have the option to shoot over the top, but he’s deadly accurate with a simple jab-step to create space before he rises and fires. Podziemski didn’t finish at the rim as well as he was capable of, but was able to get to his 5-foot floaters at will. Podziemski did a little bit of everything on Wednesday, tallying 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. He also had the game-clinching free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining.
Logan Landers – 2021 – PF – Brookfield Academy
There’s a lot to like about this emerging big man. Landers definitely should start attracting Division 1 attention in the near future. Landers picked up three fouls in the first half, but managed to stay on the floor throughout, and finished with 18 points in Wednesday’s loss. Just about every time he scored, it was a highlight for Landers. The 6-foot-7 junior has great footwork on the block, possesses a face-up game from mid and 3-point range, can run the floor, and plays with power on the interior. Landers was also asked to defend Podziemski and probably did as well of a job as anyone is going to do this season.