National scoring leader Bjorn Broman is a scoring machine like big brother Anders

Bjorn Broman is used to feeling suffocated on the court.

Facing triangle-and-two and box-and-one defenses on a nightly basis is nothing new for the junior basketball player at Lakeview Christian Academy (Duluth, Minn.).

Those special defensive schemes may slightly slow Broman down, but he still finds ways to score. And in bunches.

He takes whatever the defense gives him, and that's translated into him leading the nation in scoring, according to the MaxPreps Stat Leaderboards.



Lakeview Christian Academy just wrapped up its regular season with Broman averaging 41 points per game, scoring 46 or more points in eight of his team's 26 games. He even tallied in excess of 60 points on two occasions, hitting a high watermark of 65 points (19-for-28 from the field). He has more than 1,000 points this season alone, which is only the eighth time that's ever happened in Minnesota boys basketball history.

Broman is a scoring machine.

"I would rather get like 20 or 25 a game and 10 assists," Broman said. "I'll take 40 a game, but as a point guard I'd rather score 25 and get some nice passes, that's what I personally would want."

Broman's older brother, Anders, knew a thing or two about scoring as well while playing at Lakeview Christian Academy. As a junior in 2011-2012, Anders led the country at 42.3 points per game; the next year he was tops in scoring with 41.5 points. Anders finished his career with 5,119 points and is the all-time leading scorer in state history. He even got a day named after him in Duluth.

"To have your little brother leading the country in scoring is pretty awesome," Anders said. "When I was playing he was my biggest fan, so now I'm his biggest fan because he's doing amazing. I'm super proud of him."

Click here to see Anders Broman's career profile



Defenses would throw everything except the kitchen sink at Anders last season, freeing up Bjorn for open looks. That changed this year. Bjorn, who is 6 feet tall, took note last year how his brother handled defenses and that really prepared him for what to expect heading into this season.

With his brother graduating and now playing at South Dakota State University, Bjorn knew he needed to pick up his offensive game. He's scoring out of necessity, coach Bob Newstrom said.

"We don't have as many offensive options this year and his first impulse is to distribute the ball to score," Newstrom said. "This year, he's just had to carry the load and score as much as possible."

Bjorn, 17, is in his fourth season starting for Lakeview Christian Academy – a school that only has about 75 students and competes in Minnesota's smallest basketball class, 1A. As a seventh-grader he was on the varsity team and averaged 10 points a game off the bench.

Most states don't allow middle-school-aged players on varsity sports teams, but in Minnesota, athletes can compete for varsity positions starting in seventh grade. Playing for Lakeview Christian Academy as a 13-year-old was important for Bjorn's maturation process on the court.

"It was huge for me at that age just to be on the bench, to be with all the guys," he said. "It's single-A basketball, but still going from middle school basketball to the travel team, to be on the bench and see how much bigger the players are and seeing a guy five years older than you playing, it helped me a ton."



Bjorn has nearly increased his scoring every season. As an eighth-grader, he averaged 9.8 points a game and bumped that up to 13.7 as a freshman. During his sophomore season, he was up to 20.6 points a night.

Even though he was starting to become a big-time scorer last season, Bjorn still had a pass-first mentality, mostly dishing off to Anders. During his eighth-grade through sophomore seasons, he averaged 8.4 assists per game. He currently has a remarkable 1,036 assists in his career.

It's not just about offense. He's also a lockdown defender. Over the last three seasons, Bjorn – who is pulling down 8.23 rebounds per game -- is averaging 4.3 steals per game. According to Newstrom, he is on pace is break the career assists and steals record in Minnesota by the time he graduates after next season.

"He has everything you want in a teammate," said Anders, who played on the same team with his brother for four years. "He'll pass the ball, get rebounds, defend. He's a great defender, most people don't know that about him. … He's someone you hate to play against, but love to play with."

It's Bjorn's prowess shooting the ball that has earned him a reputation.

Since he is Lakeview Christian Academy's point guard, he usually brings the ball up the court and gets the offense set. In past seasons, Bjorn was able to pass the ball to his teammates and get return passes for in-rhythm shots or for one-dribble jumpers. This year, if he gives up the ball, it's tougher to get it back with two players draped on him.



"This year, the unfortunate reality is that he's had to create his own shot," Newstrom said. "I think it's kind of uncomfortable for him to be put in that position, we wish we had a little more balance."

Bjorn is polished at rubbing off screens really well and getting separation. He also moves freely off a pick-and-roll and has many viable scoring options.

"He doesn't need much space to get his shot off, that's his quick release," said Newstrom, who has coached Bjorn for five seasons. "He's got a good repertoire of hesitation dribbles and rocker steps and he's crafty about getting his shot away. He's had to be this year."

Bjorn averages 13 made field goals a game this season and has shot 48 percent (342-for-703) from the field. He's a very complete offensive player with great range, whether it is slashing to the basket, hitting pull-up 15-footers or draining 3-pointers. He's most comfortable from behind the arc, nailing 121 3-pointers this season at a 37-percent clip.

"Once I hit a couple shots I get in a zone and just want to keep going," Bjorn said.

For the naysayers who think Bjorn is only a prolific scorer because his team doesn't play the stiffest competition, he has shown he can also compete with the big boys. Last summer, Bjorn helped the Howard Pulley Panthers out of Minneapolis win the AAU 17-U national championship. He averaged about 15 points a game in AAU ball and played alongside the likes of Duke recruit Tyus Jones and Stanford recruit Reid Travis the last half of the season.



Bjorn will once again suit up for the Panthers this summer, and he's hoping to attract the attention of college recruiters. He has currently received interest from about a dozen mid-major Division I schools. He'll need to show college coaches he can completely step out of the shadows of his older brother.

"I think in the past people overlooked him because they only thought I could score, but now he's really stepping out and showing everyone that he's a player, too," Anders said.