Jake Branham puts his shoes one one foot at a time, just like everyone else —
“I couldn’t tell you, left shoe goes on first, then right goes on second,” said Branham.
— But with a little more superstition.
“Left has got to go on first, and right has got to go on second,” Branham said.
Whatever he’s doing seems to be working, as the Irish return to the quarterfinals again this season.
“I mean it’s just great. It’s a blessing. I thank God every day for it, and it’s just great to be able to move on,” said Branham.
In last year’s sectional game, Jake suffered a high-ankle sprain, which left him sidelined for the quarterfinal game against Mountain Grove.
But this year’s sectional round had a happier ending for Branham, as he finished with a game-high 26 points.
“Well he can score in multiple ways, and he draws attention and that opens up our other guys that can score,” said Springfield Catholic head coach Dustin Larsen.
As a senior, Branham is the second all time scoring leader for the Irish with nearly 1,700 career points.
“People make fun of me because I’ll be at the gym at school Saturday night at 9 at night, 10 o’clock at night. My favorite workouts are at midnight. I mean, just constantly in the gym,” Branham said.
His favorite time is time spent playing basketball, which makes his senior year at Catholic a little bittersweet.
“Honestly, it’s just a blessing for me to get to play with those guys every day. Obviously, next year is going to be different, but those guys are my brothers and have been for four years,” said Branham.
Branham has offers to play in college, but hasn’t decided where he’ll play next year.
“I think he’s getting close to a decision. I think he’s wanting to focus here down the stretch and finish up his senior year as best as we can do as a group, and then buckle down and make a decision after that,” Larsen said.
