The 21st overall selection in this year’s NBA Draft in Christian Braun represents the state of Kansas through and through. A native of nearby Burlington, Braun played his college career at Kansas University.
Just this past April, blue and red confetti fluttered down from the rafters inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans after the Kansas Jayhawks knocked off the North Carolina Tar Heels, 72-69, to secure the 2022 Men’s Basketball National Championship..
Braun played a big role in KU’s championship run, averaging 14.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this past season. It was Braun’s best season so far in a Jayhawk uniform, after failing to reach double figures in either of his first two years on campus.
“They’re (the Denver Nuggets) getting a versatile player, he can do so many things to help you win and I think that’s what they like. I think they’re getting a winner, getting a guy who’s athletic,” said Braun’s high school coach Ed Fritz. “They’re getting a guy that’s going to help take them to the next level.”
Braun was born and raised in Burlington before attending Blue Valley Northwest High School in the Overland Park area after moving there with his father for his job. His parents are Lisa and Donny Braun and he has two brothers. One of his brothers, Parker, played college basketball at Missouri before transferring to Santa Clara.
Fritz was Braun’s coach while at Blue Valley Northwest and won five total 6A state championship titles at the helm of the program. Those state title years were 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019 before Fritz moved on to coach at North Kansas City High School last year.
“Right before his senior year he committed to Kansas which was really great but there were always times throughout his career where I talked to the coach next to me and we would say ‘wow that’s really good, he’s going to be a really special player,’” said Fritz.
The longtime men’s basketball coach has quite the storied history after being named to the Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017. He registered 677 wins with Blue Valley Northwest and also coached collegiately before that at Baker University and University of Nebraska-Kearney.
While playing at Blue Valley Northwest, Braun was crowned the 2018-19 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state after finishing his high school career with 1,074 total points.
The guard also helped his team to three straight Kansas 6A State Championships from his sophomore through senior years and was named the MVP of the 2019 state tournament his senior year.
“Christian’s the type of kid that’s always going to improve and he works really hard at basketball. He was a huge asset to Blue Valley Northwest,” said Fritz. “He was a huge piece his senior year when he averaged right at 30 points per game and 10 rebounds per game from the point guard position.”
Braun’s senior season was certainly his best in his high school career as he averaged 27.8 points and 9.3 rebounds while helping his team finish their season at an insane mark of 27-2. During his junior year in high school Braun sank 14.2 points per game and snatched 5.3 rebounds per game.
“He just has a lot of intangibles in his passing, shooting and defense. For his size he’s one of the best rebounders in the country,” said Fritz. “I think once he saw what he could become he really went for it and he wasn’t scared to see how good he could be… I’ve had a lot of great players but Christian probably had the best senior year of any athlete I’ve ever coached.”
Following Braun’s tenure at Blue Valley Northwest he was recruited by Kansas head coach Bill Self and the rest of the Jayhawk staff to come play alongside some of the best college basketball players in the country. Braun played three seasons in Lawrence and made a near immediate impact when he touched the court as a freshman in 2019.
“KU got in late on him but once KU got in and once they made an offer and Coach Self came over to his house he committed on the spot,” said Fritz. “I think just to be in that atmosphere… just the atmosphere and being so close to home I think that was really appealing.”
