‘Once in a generation talent’: Penns Valley senior dunks his way to success in community he loves
Zach Braucht is one of the more electrifying basketball players, maybe athletes, to walk through the halls of Penns Valley.
The 6-foot-4 senior shoots 3-pointers, gets his other teammates involved in the game with his passing, throws down thunderous dunks and has tallied 1,165 points in his career. He also played football earlier in the school year, lining up at wide receiver to tally 23 catches for 398 yards and six touchdowns.
According to Penns Valley athletic director Nate Althouse, the program hasn’t had many athletes like Braucht in school history.
“Fans like to see dunks,” Althouse said. “If you’re going to come to a game and you think to yourself and you know in advance, ‘There’s a good chance that this guy is going to throw down,’ that puts people in the stands. People want to come see that, it’s exciting. He’s a once in a generation talent for sure. It’s cyclical — we get athletes that come through here, but Zach could pick up a sport — he could pick up darts or football. Whatever sport that he decided he wanted to play, he could be the best at it.”
Braucht wants to be at the forefront of bringing Penns Valley boys basketball to relevance. He envisions a crowd that rivals those of a small college, loud fans and people there to support the Rams boys and girls teams. He feels a deep sense of loyalty to the Penns Valley community, where his family has lived for generations.
“I want to see Penns Valley basketball always be competitive,” Braucht said. “I never want to see it go downhill at all and I think the future is bright for it. You want to pack the gym as much as you can. I want people to come out and support the school. It just makes it fun.”
He loves his community and plays basketball at the elementary each Saturday when he’s free. He and his teammates played together on the travel team at the Moshannon Valley YMCA. It expanded his appreciation for the larger area around him and made him realize what he wanted to build in Penns Valley.
It all started years ago.
Growing into the game
Braucht began playing basketball in the second grade with the Penns Valley Youth program. He was a tall, lanky child that didn’t necessarily fit in with the other children because of his height, according to his father, Andrew. The rules had to be adjusted for Braucht to try out for the youth program, which was meant for middle schoolers. He ended up making the sixth grade travel team — having never picked up a basketball to play in a sanctioned game before that point.
He loved the game from day one.
He learned that love from his dad, who coached his youth program and coached him on the travel team, before watching him grow into playing AAU basketball. Andrew Braucht taught his son the fundamentals of the game — ballhandling, shooting and rebounding.
The dunking, however, came naturally as time went on.
As a former Penns Valley player himself, Andrew believed that he could jump start Zach’s playing career.
“He just took off on his own from that point,” Andrew Braucht said. “He took it upon himself to keep working out and to play on his own at that age. I just gave him a few tools to get started with and the rest was up to him. I was involved (in coaching) him until the sixth grade. Then, when he got to junior high, I stopped coaching him.”
Zach Braucht had minimal playing time during his freshman season on varsity. He scored just 64 points the entire season and decided to work heavily during the offseason by playing AAU. His first team was former NBA player Doug West’s team — the D-Fenders based in Altoona — before playing for another former professional basketball player, Richard Jeter, in Centre County. Most recently, he began playing for the Laurel Highlands Storm, based roughly 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
With his expanding trek for travel games and continued growth, he ran into steeper competition. Western Pennsylvania basketball meant more travel to heavily-populated areas and players who were used to basketball being a priority in their respective areas. He loved the challenge.
“It’s just that the athleticism and the pace of the game is just outstanding,” Zach Braucht said. “That’s just AAU in general. But when you get kids playing AAU, everyone is good, most of them are very athletic and that’s the main difference. Everything is so much faster and a lot more intense usually. My game here (at Penns Valley) translates to that level of competition just the same. Especially when I have those guys around me, my AAU teammates — they’re great teammates. We can play with anyone.”
Rising star at Penns Valley
In his 2019-2020 sophomore season, Braucht witnessed his team’s success firsthand — a 16-10 record and a PIAA playoff berth. While his team had a shortened 2020-2021 season due to COVID-19 and a 9-10 record, Braucht continued to improve his play.
Penns Valley boys basketball head coach Rob Irwin has continued to see Braucht develop over the years due to his work ethic, passion for the game and unselfishness on the court. Braucht pushes his teammates in practice to work hard and they respond with upping their intensity.
While all Braucht’s intensity on the court is at a premium, he still has goals to pursue off of the court.
“I want him to find the best situation and the best fit for him academically and athletically,” Irwin said. “So, if that’s Division I, sweet, if that’s Division II, great, Division III — whatever is the best fit for him, I just want him to be happy and put himself in the right situation where he can set himself up for a comfortable life.”
He’s still undecided on where he wants to attend college. It’s not due to his basketball career, but more with what he’d like to accomplish in life.
“It’s all up in the air right now,” Braucht said. “The biggest issue is, I just don’t know what to go to school for. So, that obviously makes it tough. I know I want to play basketball somewhere and I want to play at the highest level that I can. I think I can play at a high level and it’s just trying to get there.”
He still has work to do before he heads to play collegiate basketball.
Sitting at 8-11 on the year, Penns Valley is scrapping for a District 6 2A playoff position. Eight teams will automatically qualify for the tournament with 12 teams total being invited. The championship game will be held on March 3 at Mount Aloysius College. Braucht wants to ensure that he’s finishing his career with the Rams on a high note and looks toward his team to compete for a state playoff berth.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 2:55 PM.
