High School Basketball Player of the Year: Glenbard West’s Braden Huff

How did a kid from Glen Ellyn evolve from a complete unknown into the Sun-Times Player of the Year?

Why doesn’t the rest of the country appreciate how good Glenbard West’s Braden Huff is?

Those are the two biggest questions surrounding Huff. The first one can be answered. Huff has been working on his unique skills for years, but the downtime and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic took his work and the results to a higher level.

“He’s always been focused,” said Alec Huff, Braden’s dad. “But it was great for him to have basketball as an outlet. He took full advantage of it. He needed to get stronger. He had a couple trainers and did whatever he had to do, Zoom workouts in the driveway. He drove the whole thing and wanted to get better.”

The second key factor was -genetics. Huff grew to 6-11.

“[Huff] is one of the most skilled kids I’ve ever had, and we’ve had some talented guys,” Illinois Wolves club coach Mike Mullins said. “It’s his skill set and vision and passing and shooting ability.”

Mullins was blown away by Huff’s first attempt at the Wolves’ typical practice drills. And at that point, Huff was just 6-9.

“I’d seen him go through middle school, and he was long and lanky but had the good skill set,” Mullins said. “I liked him even at 6-4. He was so competitive.”

This season, Huff and his Glenbard West teammates took the area by storm. They lived up to all the preseason hype and became a sensation. The Hilltoppers are the hottest ticket in the area. They sold out Wintrust Arena for a regular-season game. Their most recent playoff game sold out the Bartlett High School gym in under 30 minutes.

Even the local television stations have taken notice. A local photographer had Topps print up basketball cards of the five starters. Younger kids wait in line for autographs -after games.

“That’s been cool,” Huff said. “Just kind of meeting people and so many people introducing themselves. It’s been crazy. I couldn’t even have imagined it a couple of years ago.”

It has been a whirlwind four months for a group of friends who played together at Hadley Middle School. The game at Wintrust Arena against Sierra Canyon (California) was the area’s biggest high school sports event in recent memory.

Alec never imagined he’d watch his son go up against LeBron James’ son Bronny in an ESPN game — and outplay him.

“That was an unbelievable experience,” Alec said. “For a high school with a bunch of kids that grew up together to get to that point was amazing.”

The Hilltoppers lost that game on a buzzer-beating three-pointer. It’s their only loss of the season, but most observers think it was their best performance.

Huff didn’t want to hear anything about moral victories after the game. The Hilltoppers want to win. The Class 4A state championship is their focus.

“We’ve been thinking about it for a long time now,” Huff said. “It can be hard to not look ahead. We’re excited for the next few playoff games and ready for them. But if we are able to get there, playing in Champaign would be a really cool experience.”

Glenbard West’s Braden Huff (34) shoots a three against Hillcrest.

Huff has signed with Gonzaga, so it’s clear that one elite college program appreciates him. But the rest of the country isn’t on board yet. He’s ranked 95th by 247Sports and isn’t in ESPN’s top 100.

“He’s the most under-recruited kid I’ve ever had,” Mullins said. “He outplayed all those kids ranked ahead of him.”

National rankings are ridiculous, and Huff hasn’t spent a second worrying about them. He has been too busy working. He might be the best shooting big man in the history of Illinois high school basketball. Mullins believes that skill will transfer easily to the next levels.

“Some guys struggle when that three-point line moves back a couple feet,” Mullins said. “That’s an easy release for him.”

Huff averaged just 16.8 points, six rebounds and three assists this season. But he was immense in the crucial moments of the most important games. Glenbard West blew out the vast majority of its opponents, so he’s averaging only 25 minutes per game. Those numbers could be doubled if stats were the focus.

“Braden and his teammates are so professional and so mature,” Hilltoppers coach Jason Opoka said. “They aren’t worried about stats or all of this intense media stuff lately. When they step on the floor, it is strictly business.”

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

2021—Max Christie, Rolling Meadows

2020—DJ Steward, Young

2019—DaJuan Gordon, Curie

2018—Talen Horton-Tucker, Simeon

2017—Alonzo Verge, Thornton

2016—Charlie Moore, Morgan Park

2015—Jalen Brunson, Stevenson

2014—Cliff Alexander, Curie

2013—Jahlil Okafor, Young

2012—Jabari Parker, Simeon

2011—Wayne Blackshear, Morgan Park