— PORTER — When Erick Broadnax first began practicing for Porter High School’s basketball team going into his senior season, first-year coach Jason Jack cringed.

“I heard about this big kid who was really good, but I started working with him and he didn’t know anything about the game,” Jack said. “He didn’t have any post moves. The only way he scored was by getting a rebound off a missed shot and putting the ball right back into the basket.”

Jack worked constantly with 6-foot-9 Broadnax to make him more effective. He would eventually average 13.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.3 blocked shots for the Pirates.

“With his progression, you can’t compare the two kids,” Jack said. “It’s a testament to him how willing he was to work.”

But Broadnax realizes the work hasn’t stopped since playing his last game for Porter. He’s taking his skills to next level and that he has to keep improving. He has a scholarship to Connors State to play for coach Bill Muse this coming school year.

While Oral Roberts University showed quite a bit of interest, Broadnax opted to go the junior college route.

“Right now, it’s the best thing for me to develop my body and game,” he said. “After a year or two in junior college, I’ll be ready for the next step. I think everybody knows what I can do, but I just want to add to my game such as having a better low post presence. I need to figure out better ways to score around the basket. I want to work on that.”

Jack continues to work with Broadnax.

“I’ve seen him throw up fakes that takes other players off their feet. He never had to do that in high school,” the Porter coach said. “He’s recognizing that there will be guys just as big, strong and athletic as him. It’s been fun to watch.”

Muse has watched Broadnax and is optimistic about his future. He’s seen him progress, particularly since the player’s high school days ended, and looks forward to even more once he gets in the Cowboys’ program,

“It takes bigger guys longer to develop,” the Connors coach said. “If he continues to make progress from May to August, he’s got a chance to play right away. But if he doesn’t, we may considering redshirting him. Erick has a tremendous upside.

“It comes down to his work ethic. If he turns the corner and develops his work habits during the summer, he’s got the chance to make the move to get quality minutes in this program. The players we have here bring it every day and don’t take a day off.”

Broadnax understands he’ll be playing with and against players his own size at Connors. That’s why one of his goals is to increase his weight to  225 pounds from the 180 he is now.

“I’m underweight for my size,” the two-time All-Phoenix selection said. “Once I get in college, they’ll make me eat and eat if I don’t want to. I’m cool with that. If I get up to 225 pounds, other players won’t be able to push me around as easily.”

The player who measures a seven-foot wing span has already found out that spending time in the weight room has helped him.

“Getting in there changed my mind-set,” he said. “I didn’t lift much before coach Jack came here. I started working out and I felt I was getting stronger. It also gave me an attitude to outwork everybody. When coach Jack got here, he pushed me so much to give me the confidence in myself.”