Finishing 10-10 isn’t exactly what Colon senior guard Brad Brittingham had in mind for his final year in a Magi jersey, but the four-year varsity player did cement his place as one of the finest players in program history.
With a bitter taste still in his mouth after Monday’s 51-35 Class D district quarterfinal loss to Athens, Brittingham is coming to appreciate what he accomplished.
Brad Brittingham
“It was an all right year … frustrating a little to get everyone to care and be on board and want to win,” he said. “These guys will know how it feels to play in their last game soon. I knew I had to live up to expectations. I’ve been on varsity for four years and I’ve improved a lot every year from averaging one point (as a freshman) to six (as a sophomore) to 13 (as a junior).”
His senior campaign was even better. Brittingham scored 21.4 points per outing, averaged 2.6 steals and 3.2 assists. The 5-foot-11 guard grabbed 8.8 rebounds per game and shot 71 percent (113-for-156) from the free throw line. Brittingham made 138 of 318 field goal attempts for 43-percent shooting from the field.
Statewide statistical rankings are often wildly inaccurate and incomplete, but Brittingham’s 429 points this year rank among the top five in Class D. There are roughly 15 players to score more than that this year in all divisions combined.
“It was a good season, though; we were 10-10 after districts but we lost a lot of games we should have easily won,” he said. “We have four sophomores, so we were inexperienced. It [stinks] knowing I won’t play in a Colon jersey again; that’s all I’ve done for four years in front of our town and fans. I feel like I made the most of it.”
Brittingham admitted back in December not participating in AAU hoops during the summer months probably limited his opportunities to play in college. He had contact from Kalamazoo Valley Community College and NCAA Division III Defiance College (Ohio) this past year. With Defiance’s tuition costs out of reach and Division III schools prohibited from offering athletic scholarships, Brittingham is planning to try out at KVCC.
“I feel like I have to at least try,” he said.