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Cream of Moeller's crop Brackman heads class of 3 ex-Crusaders at Div. I colleges t nonnally would have been a nondescript basketball practice in the Moeller High School gymnasium, but Crusaders coach Carl Kremer was taken aback by what he saw Dec. 24. Kremer wasn't necessarily surprised that Andrew Brackman and Bubba Walther, two of three current Division I college players who graduated from Moeller last year, showed up to watch and even participate in Moeller's practice. Brackman was home on holiday break from North Carolina State, and Walther was home from Akron. What astonished Kremer was how much bigger and better Brackman had gotten since he won the Enquirer's Player of the Year award last season. .------,-,-,-----, "He and Bubbawere playing a little one-on-one," Kremer said, "and (Brackman) has really become just an incredible Dustin athlete. I'm really not surDow prised; he was just a kid that.got started late." North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek hasn't been shy about touting Brackman to newspapers and radio stations, saying he expects to keep the 6-foot-10, 205-pound forward in the starting lineup - especially after Brackman scored 19 points against West Vrrginia Sunday while N.C. State's best player, Julius Hodge, was on the bench because of a sprained ankle. It was the first start of what apparently will be many.for Brackman. "This was my goal that I set out tO do," said Brackman, who also will pitch this spring for the N.C. State baseball team. "I just accomplished it a little sooner than expected. I'm used to scoring. That's what I did in high school, so it kind of comes natural." Brackman averages 8.8 points for the Wolfpack (10-3) this season, the best output of the Crusaders trio, which also includes Xavier's Josh Duncan. Neither Walther nor Duncan is
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The Associated Press/Karl De31aker
Andrew Brackman (left) scored 19 points against West Virginia Sunday in his first collegiate start. Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek says there are more starts ahead for the freshman.
playing up to Brackman's level, but both are productive. Duncan is averaging 6.4 points a game and at times has been Xavier's top 3-point threat. He led the Musketeers in scoring in consecutive games against Mississippi State and Lehigh. There might not be room for him in the starting lineup this season, but the 6-9 Duncan is one of Xavier's most effective reserves because of his versatility. Preparing Duncan for the rigors of the college game was a project for Xavier coaches who are pleased that he eventually understood how intensely he has to play. "It's a combination of all the w:ay back in the summer playing pickup games," Dun-
can said. "As time goes on, you just get used to it, and you realize what you have to do. You have to learn to be physical, because you're going to get bumped around a lot more than you do in high school." Walther, who was told by some recruiters he wasn't big enough for Division I, is averaging 7.5 points for Akron as a backup shooting guard. Walther and Brackman remain close friends and speak by telephone nearly every day. "We always talk about our games and give each other a hard time," Walther said. "He11 tell me about his girlfriend, and I11 tell him about my girlfriend." Walther also tries to watch Xavier and N.C. State games
when they are televised. "I don't get Fox Sports Net, so I have to go over to my teammate's house to watch Josh's games," Walther said. "I've seen Brack play five or six times. Plus, it's kind of neat seeing your best friend on 1V. It kind of makes me mad, though, wondering how we lost last year." Moeller lost to Columbus Brookhaven in an Ohio Division I regional final after winning a state title in 2003. That might have been an unexpected letdown. Since then, expectations for the fonner Moeller players have done nothing but rise. E-mail d4ow~enquirer.com
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