MENU
SECTIONS
OTHER
CLASSIFIEDS
CONTACT US / FAQ
Advertisement
Kendall Braden, an eighth-grader at Lake Middle School, is already on the radar of several Division I college programs.
4
MORE

Northwood resident Braden a budding basketball star

THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH

Northwood resident Braden a budding basketball star

Natasha Howard, Zia Cooke and … ?

At some future date – when the coronavirus pandemic subsides enough for sports to resume – the answer to the question of who will be the Toledo area’s next girls basketball phenom might well be Kendall Braden.

The 14-year-old Northwood resident, currently an eighth-grader at Lake Middle School, seems to possess that kind of potential.

Advertisement

“Basketball got me when I was about 7 of 8 years old,” Braden said. “I was playing at the [Oregon] YMCA. My dad said ‘If you get 20 points in your last game I’ll give you $20.’

Bryan Hieber
The Blade
Former player, AD Bryan Hieber returning to Patrick Henry as coach

“So, that game, I just shot whenever I saw the basket was open to me. I got the $20, and that feeling just made me so happy, and I just kept on playing. That was when I knew. It was something that felt so good, that I needed more of it, and I continued to work at it.”

For a sampling of the skills she has gained since, search her name and the word basketball on the Internet.

Advertisement

“The first comment I usually get from people after games is, ‘Wow. You’re really fun to watch,’” Braden said. “If you’re coming to watch my games, get ready for a show.”

This 5-foot-7 combo guard possesses the elite ball-handling skills of a top-level point guard, and the shooting touch, range, and finishing ability of a bona fide scorer. It is likely she will be recruited by college programs at the latter spot.

That process will conclude roughly four years from now.

Currently, the middle child of Jay and Kelly Braden is still deciding what area high school she will be attending. Kendall has a few schools in mind, but has not yet decided.

Whichever basketball program she joins will be upgraded significantly, just like Howard did at Waite, Florida State, and in the WNBA, and like Cooke has done at Rogers and South Carolina.

During these stay-at-home days, the otherwise unassuming eighth-grader, who carries a 4.3 grade-point average, has been spending many hours in the 40-foot-by-80-foot barn her father constructed behind the new home the family had built two years ago.

Originally intended to be storage area for tools and building materials of her father, who is a self-employed contractor, Kendall has repurposed the lion’s share of the barn’s concrete floor for her dribbling drills and shooting sessions.

Jay Braden has a little room near the front and rear portions of the barn.

“She started when she was in kindergarten and was probably in third grade when it kind of stuck,” Jay Braden said of his daughter’s basketball journey. “It was her work ethic. She wanted to master whatever someone would show her. It’s a passion. She loves the game of basketball – all aspects of it.”

Between the house and barn, there is also a sizable concrete driveway area in front of the home’s attached garage. This space include’s a top-quality glass backboard and rim, with netting in place behind the support to keep basketballs from rolling away.

When was Kendall’s talent evident to her?

“It was toward the end of fifth grade and going into sixth grade for my [Lake] school team,” she said. “I worked very hard on shooting until my arms about fell off. That hard work paid off. I’d shoot before games and, when I went to the game, I’d do good. I needed more of that.

“When I met my trainer Melvin [Thomas] in sixth grade, I really felt a click. I wasn’t going to workouts or practices just to go. I went to get something out of it. Whenever he gave me something, I’d make sure I’d go home and work on it extra hard.”

She might become a new discovery of high school basketball followers next December, but Braden has been on the radar of college coaches, AAU programs, and some of Toledo’s top men’s and women’s basketball icons.

She has had contact with coaches of top college programs, including Dawn Staley of top-ranked South Carolina, where Cooke started this season; Vic Schaefer of Mississippi State, who has moved on to Texas; Jeff Walz of Louisville; and Kim Barnes Arico of Michigan. Toledo’s Tricia Cullop is also well aware of Braden’s talent.

Braden has had shooting training from Dennis Hopson, the former Bowsher, Ohio State, and NBA player now coaching the men’s team at Lourdes University. She has worked out with former St. John’s Jesuit star Marc Loving, the 2013 Ohio Mr. Basketball, who later played at Ohio State.

Closest to Braden’s basketball heart, she has had training from Howard, and has played in numerous open-gym games at Rogers with Cooke, who has also worked out at the Braden barn.

“I look up most to Zia Cooke or Natasha Howard,” Braden said, “because of what they accomplished. Of course, I want to do the same things they do because what they’ve done is unheard of. They put Ohio out there as a good girls basketball system. 

“I got in some private work with Natasha Howard after my injury. She sent me a WNBA shirt, and she signed her autograph and had a little note at the bottom that said, ‘Keep on pushing.’

“Zia called me the morning of my surgery and told me that everything was going to be all right. Little things like that really help me, knowing that these two are talking to me and helping boost me up.”

She most recently played the 2019 spring AAU season with the 03 Elite team based in Saline, Mich. Braden was playing in a Michigan AAU state tournament game at Michigan State’s Breslin Center last May 5 when her budding career was interrupted.

Landing awkwardly after a baseline shot, Braden tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, and had reconstructive surgery on the knee 15 days later. A seven-month rehab program was followed by an eight-week Sportsmetrics regimen to further strengthen the repaired knee.

She was medically cleared and ready to resume her basketball pursuits last month before the pandemic thwarted her competitive return to the game.

“I loved my therapy all the way up to the nine-month mark,” Braden said. “I had people who pushed me harder every time. It did suck because I could not play, but it was a time for me to look back and really embrace my IQ by watching basketball, seeing these openings in the defense. Mentally and physically, I think I got stronger.”

Basketball might be Kendall Braden’s clear passion, but school comes first.

“She’s a very organized kid,” said Jay Braden, who played football and ran track at Lake. “She has a routine. Immediately when she comes home, the first thing she does is her homework. That’s the way we were taught in my family, and that’s the way we do it with all our kids.”

Older sister Jaelyn Braden is a junior at Notre Dame Acedemy, where she plays volleyball for the Eagles. For younger brother Mason,7, his interests are flag football and BMX bike racing.

“These days, with being home-schooled [because of pandemic], it’s the same thing,” Jay Braden said of Kendall’s routine. “The first thing she does in the morning is get on her laptop to do her school work.”

“It’s just what I have to do,” Kendall said. “My mom was the valedictorian at Northwood, and she knows that I have to put in all that [school work time] first instead of basketball.”

Kelly Braden is a certified nurse practitioner in the local Mercy Health system, and a former three-sport (volleyball, basketball, softball) athlete at Northwood.

“Instead of going on my phone after school, I get a pencil and paper and start getting my homework done,” Kendall said. “I’m always thinking about basketball, But, if I have a test coming up, I get to my study guide.”

Jay Braden is aware of the challenging path that likely awaits his daughter, and is committed to guiding her in the right direction.

“The thing with a lot of people is that they showcase their kid at a lot of places, and there’s people tugging at them left and right,” he said. “I’ve done my homework. I’ve been around enough basketball, and have met a lot of people in the basketball world that most people don’t meet.

“What I see with a lot of good players is that the parents are so much on their kids all the time. ‘You need to do this’ or ‘You’re not playing defense.’ I go and watch. I don’t say anything. I think a lot of parents make it bad for their kids. That’s my opinion. I watch. I don’t critique her.”

For elite up-and-coming basketball players, outside distractions are an inherent part of the game.

“I have felt pressure for a while now. But, once you feel it, there’s a couple ways you can go about it,” Kendall said. “A big thing to me is keeping my circle small, and having people around me that I trust. That pressure is something I use to motivate me, and inspire me to keep on working harder. That’s why the pressure is not getting to me.”

First Published April 16, 2020, 10:22 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS  
Join the Conversation
We value your comments and civil discourse. Click here to review our Commenting Guidelines.
Must Read
Partners
Advertisement
Kendall Braden, an eighth-grader at Lake Middle School, is already on the radar of several Division I college programs.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
Lake Middle School eighth-grader Kendall Braden.  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
Kendall Braden  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
Kendall Braden  (THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)  Buy Image
THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
Pittsburgh skyline silhouette
TOP
Email a Story