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A quiet devotion

By Amelia Rayno, Star Tribune, 02/28/11, 9:36PM CST

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Anders Broman's unparalleled dedication has put him on a historic track

Around 5:30 on most mornings, the sleepy silhouettes of two figures can be seen skittering around an otherwise empty gym at the YMCA — shooting baskets, rebounding, repeating.

That routine — with 15-year-old Anders Broman taking the shots while his dad, John, whips the ball back — began before the young Broman’s freshman basketball season at Lakeview Christian Academy in Duluth, where he joined the varsity team as a seventh-grader.

The extra court time is only one of many examples of the kind of dedication that drives Broman, who reached 2,000 points for his career in January and is averaging 38.2 points as a sophomore for Lakeview Christian, which is 22-1 on the season.

“He does this on his own,” said the elder Broman, who offered up a ‘Y’ membership when Anders, after a summer of constant play, decided to get serious about basketball, and grew frustrated as the dim autumn mornings didn’t allow him enough time to shoot in the driveway before school. “I told him, ‘Any morning you get up and want to go, I will take you.’ But I won’t wake him. It’s got to be his heart pushing him.

“It’s been so long now, I just get ready; I expect him to come up.”

He does, six days a week (his dad makes him take one day off), providing evidence that his natural talent is quietly augmented by his devotion. When the fruits of Anders’ efforts pour in — the starting spot as a seventh-grader and becoming the player believed to be the youngest in boys’ state history to reach 2,000 points – he bashfully brushes off the attention.

“I had no clue,” Anders said of the game in which one layup — two of the 51 points he had that night — meant a little more than the rest. “I was just focusing on winning games and trying to be the best player I could be.”

It’s that attitude that’s gained Broman the respect of his coach and teammates, who the guard wants to sign his game ball, which is sitting on a stand on his living room table.

Despite his accomplishments, Broman realizes he has gotten some breaks. Going to a small school has enabled him the opportunity to play from a young age — at a larger school that might not have been possible — and Lakeview, a Class 1A school that is not assigned a conference, gives him a chance to put up big numbers against opponents of varying skill levels. Still, the 6-1 sophomore is on pace to break the state scoring record set by Kevin Noreen of Minnesota Transitions a year ago.

“He’s that guy that’s really easy to cheer for,” coach Bob Newstrom said. “Because he’s really an excellent team member in addition to being a very gifted individual.”

Newstrom said that besides being capable of scoring in a multitude of ways and spotting unique passing angles, Broman has grown to lead as well, in his way.

“He’s not the sort of leader that’s constantly chirping at teammates or thumping his chest,” Newstrom said. “He’s actually a pretty humble young man, but he’s confident. So if he sees something that will help us compete better on the court, he’s not bashful about saying that. He’s really quite good at balancing those two things.”

Perhaps part of that comes with the natural give-and-take learned in having a close sibling relationship. Anders’ younger brother, Bjorn, always has been a part of his basketball life, and now plays with him as an eighth-grader.

“He always does the extra stuff,” Bjorn said. “He’s always trying to help everybody else out. I always dreamed of playing on the same high school team as him, but even when we were little kids, all we did was play basketball against each other.”

When they were tots, their dad brought home two plastic hoops one day and planted them on opposite ends of the living room. That was all it took.

“The boys went at it — daily,” John said. “It was always there’s a flower pot going over and ‘Hurry up, get the vacuum cleaner before mom gets home.’”

Anders has moved the ruckus to the YMCA gym now, then the school gym with his team after classes, and Impact Sports three days a week for weight lifting. But otherwise, not much has changed from those one-on-one sessions filled with raw glee and tottering vases.

“I just love the whole thing — I just loved basketball,” he said. “So I just wanted to practice and practice and keep getting better.”


Anders Broman on offense in a recent game against Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove. Marlin Levison, Star Tribune

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