| 4/28/2006 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Brandon Lauster at the 2006 sectional championship game. |
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| “A couple of years ago nobody would have given him a chance to play college basketball, but Brandon has worked his butt off ... from where he started as a freshman to where he is now, he’s come a long way. That’s one of the really neat things about this and about this game.”
Shawe coach Jerry Bomholt on Brandon Lauster
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Elevation of game gives Shawe’s Lauster spot in college at Mount
Mark Campbell
Sports Editor
Knowing that opposing defenses would eventually come at Shawe with junk defenses to bottle up high-scoring guard Drew Kring, coach Jerry Bomholt challenged Brandon Lauster to become a game-breaker.
Lauster, a 6-foot senior guard, answered that challenge to become the Hilltoppers’ go-to guy in crucial game situations — especially at this year’s sectional and regional.
Now Lauster will get a chance to take that clutch play to the next level. The Shawe honor student has agreed to play basketball at NCAA Division III College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“A couple of years ago nobody would have given him a chance to play college basketball, but Brandon has worked his butt off, and now he’s going to get the chance,” Bomholt said. “Brandon knows he’s still got some things to work on, but from where he started as a freshman to where he is now, he’s come a long way. That’s one of the really neat things about this and about this game.”
Lauster, always a good spot-up shooter from outside, took the Hilltoppers on his back in several games his senior season —especially during Shawe’s run through the South Decatur Sectional and at the Franklin Regional. As more and more opponents came at Shawe with new ways to slow down Kring, Lauster had to take up the slack, and he accomplished that with maximum effect.
“We knew people would eventually play special defenses on Kring, but the first time we really saw that was the box-and-one Rising Sun used when we played up there,” Bomholt said. “We expected it and prepared for it, but you never know how you’ll handle it. But Brandon really stepped up and we beat them on the road. That was really his break-out game.”
And it came at no better time for Lauster — especially in terms of boosting his stock with the coaching staff at Mount St. Joseph. Lauster poured in a game-high 20 points in a 67-48 Shawe win that clinched a share of the Ohio River Valley Conference championship.
“Mount St. Joseph had stayed in close touch with Brandon all along and they’d seen some tapes, but that was the first game they got to see Brandon play,” said Brandon’s dad, Trimble County boys varsity head coach Bob Lauster. “That was a pretty good game to catch him.”
Averaging 12.84 points per game for the season, Lauster averaged 16 points during the state tourney and was the Hilltoppers’ top scorer in three of the four playoff games. More importantly, there were long stretches during the state tourney where Lauster was Shawe’s only offense.
“Brandon Lauster was probably our MVP in the sectional, and he hit some really big baskets in the regional,” Bomholt said. “He made himself into the kind of player who could make big baskets at big times, and that really propelled him to the next level.”
Bob Lauster said those big games and big baskets were being followed closely by Mount St. Joseph. “When he’d have a big game they would call and say, ‘Nice game.’ I don’t know where they were following it, but they were reading about it somewhere, and they were pretty happy.”
Bob Lauster said Brandon’s family is happy with his college choice. Mount St. Joseph is a good school, it’s close enough for the family to attend home games, and since the Lions play in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with road games at places like Hanover College and Franklin College, there will be a lot of opportunities to follow Brandon’s career.
Brandon Lauster said he likes Mount St. Joseph for many of those same reasons, but also because he likes the coaching staff, the school’s academic reputation and its religious affiliation.
“It’s close to home. Academically it’s a good school, and it’s Catholic and religiously that really works for me,” Brandon said. “It’s a really nice campus and the church there is really nice.”
Growing up in Madison and following Hanover College will make playing for Mount St. Joseph — a conference rival of the Panthers — a little weird, but Brandon knows that’s just part of the game, and he feels pretty certain that when he plays at Hanover’s Collier Arena he’ll have a lot of supporters in the stands.
Lauster, who is undeclared but is leaning toward business studies, said elevating his game to the college level will take a lot of work, but he’s already making efforts in that area.
“The college game is really fast, and I’m used to a slower, controlled pace,” Brandon said. “I don’t think I’ll see many zones in college. They like to play an uptempo game, so I’m going to be running a lot this summer to get ready for that.”
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Editor’s Note: A photo of Brandon Lauster’s signing can be seen at our Web site at www.madisoncourier.com.
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