Cleaning Up Turnovers Key for Brainerd Boys’ Basketball

Brainerd boys’ basketball began the season with a 74-64 win over the reigning Section 8AAAA champion Rogers Royals. Since then, the Warriors have alternated wins and losses, resulting in their current 3-2 record, but the boys are planning to find consistency as they enter the heart of their schedule.

Brainerd has showcased its offensive proficiency early into the 2024-25 season, averaging a touch over 68 points per contest with three such games eclipsing the 70-point mark.

“I think we’re shooting pretty well from the field, and I like our shot selection and that’s the main thing,” said senior guard Korde Roseman. “Nobody’s really been selfish this year. The past two games we’ve had, it’s been a lot of good looks.”

“We’ve been doing a really, really great job of sharing the ball,” said senior forward Garrett Gilbert. “Everybody knows that in order for this team to be successful, we can’t have just one person taking every single shot.”

On the defensive side, the Warriors have stymied the opposition, holding teams to roughly 61 points per game.

“We’ve been doing a fairly good job of forcing them to the middle of the floor and getting in a gap help and making sure that no one has a straight-line drive to the hoop or a wide-open shot,” Gilbert explained. “And as far as what we can work on, I think, like I said earlier, finishing possessions, making sure we’re limiting the offenses to only one shot so that we have a higher chance of winning the game.”

But where the Warriors believe improvement is necessary would be in the little things, such as communicating and their passing attack.

“By getting chest-to-chest, making sure we’re making smart passes, not just throwing it anywhere,” said Roseman.

“Communicating – so far this year, I think it’s one thing that we can improve on is always talking, whether it’s on defense or on offense and making sure to lift each other open, especially when things are getting too difficult,” added Gilbert.

While Brainerd boys’ basketball has shown plenty of promise early into the 2024-25 campaign, they have fallen short against powerhouses Alexandria and Sauk Rapids-Rice, who are ranked third in Class AAA and AAAA, respectively. According to the Warriors, the key to reaching that next gear is cleaning up the turnovers.

“Just taking care of the ball, because if you’re throwing a lot of turnovers, you’re not going to get as many shots and if you don’t get as many shots, you’re not going to score as many points,” Roseman said. “So definitely taking care of the ball is a main thing I think we need to focus on. Everything else, I think we’re doing pretty well.”

This Friday, Brainerd will try to win their second game in a row for the first time this season as they face St. Michael-Albertville at home.