Christian Braun’s rise to championship with Jayhawks rooted in small-town Kansas
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Long before he ever won a national championship, before the growth spurt to become a 6-foot-7 NBA prospect, before the obscenity-laced celebrations, Christian Braun was just a scrawny hooper from Burlington, Kansas.
If you’re wondering about the source of the fiery passion that Braun used to spark Kansas and help the Jayhawks overcome the largest deficit in NCAA men’s title game history for a 72-69 win over North Carolina at the Superdome on Monday, look no further than his hometown.
The decision by Braun to continue listing Burlington as his hometown instead of Overland Park, where the family moved for his freshman year of high school, has been a curious one to those close to him.
“For the last four years now, I’ve wondered why Christian continues to say he’s from Burlington, but I think it’s clear now that it means something to him,” said Donny Braun, his father. “I think it’s part of him and who he is and who he wants to be.”
While he blossomed physically into a Division I-caliber player in the Kansas City metropolitan area (population: approximately 2.2 million), he developed the grit that has made him a Jayhawk fan favorite in Burlington (population: approximately 2,500).
Even when he reached the biggest stage, playing for a blue-blood program of college basketball, Christian Braun never wanted to lose his identity as a small-town Kansas kid.
“He’s not a city kid,” said Lisa Braun, his mother. “He’s never wanted to look that way.”
“I feel like you can see that on the court,” Christian Braun said. “I feel like I carry that with me every game I play, and I’ll continue to do that.”
He was a four-star recruit playing for a decorated Kansas City-area AAU club, MoKan Elite, and a three-time Kansas high school state champion playing for powerhouse Blue Valley Northwest, then cemented his spot in KU history as a Final Four hero who helped deliver the program’s fourth NCAA championship and first since 2008.
Those closest to Braun believe the edge and swagger he plays with on the court to this day originated in Burlington.
“Honestly, my favorite thing about CB is he remembers who he is and where he comes from,” said Drew Molitoris, who coached Braun as a middle-schooler with MoKan Elite. “He’s the small-town Burlington kid with a chip on his shoulder. Being at Kansas hasn’t changed him. Getting mentioned in NBA mock drafts hasn’t changed him. Playing in the Final Four hasn’t changed him and playing on Monday night won’t change him. CB understands who he is and what he’s about.”
According to his mother, Christian has been scrappy since “Day 1.”
That mentality was only furthered growing up the middle child of three boys: Parker, a year older, is a starter for Santa Clara, while Landon, four years younger, is a junior at BV Northwest. (Both brothers claim Overland Park as their hometown.)
The cutthroat games of 1-on-1 are stuff of lore in the Braun family. They had a basketball goal in the driveway and Donny even drew a three-point line for the boys to utilize.
“I have to take full credit for that chip on his shoulder,” Parker Braun said, joking. “Obviously, he’s done this all by himself and I’m super happy for him and proud of him. He deserves this. All of it.”
It also helped that Christian had a hometown hero to idolize in Tyrel Reed, who was on the floor for a school-record 132 Jayhawks victories in his career spanning from 2007-11.
Christian was only 5 when Reed averaged 26.4 points per game for Burlington High and won the Kansas Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year awards in 2007. The two oldest Braun boys still have memories of attending Burlington Wildcats games and dreaming of someday playing as well as Reed.
“Tyrel was such a great role model for the boys, not just on the court but as a person, and he certainly had an influence on them,” Donny Braun said. “There’s a lot of good, small-town Kansas kids and sometimes they get overlooked, but I think it was a story for all kids in Kansas to show that their dreams can come true.”
It hasn’t been a surprise to Reed that Christian became the next Burlington basketball star from the Braun family: Donny is 6-8 and a former walk-on at Kansas and Lisa is 6-1 and a former standout at Missouri.
Reed’s sister was actually the Braun family babysitter when he was in high school and he often would tag along to play basketball with Parker and Christian.
“His mom and dad are both really tall, so I remember thinking, ‘These kids are going to be massive,’” Reed said, laughing. “I knew they had the genetics to be freaks on the basketball court.”
Although Christian’s growth spurt wouldn’t come until he was well into high school — he was a 5-8 freshman — his competitiveness and feel for the game was already turning him into a standout point guard.
The family carefully weighed the pros of staying in Burlington, which was a Class 4A school, with a potential move to Overland Park to play for BV Northwest, a Class 6A powerhouse in the Kansas City metro. Ultimately, they decided better competition on a bigger stage would be better for their boys’ development.
“I’m an old-school kind of guy and I think whether you’re from a small town or a big town, basketball is basketball,” Donny Braun said. “Christian always had that ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes to win’ mentality. He’s always worked very hard, but what separated him was that ‘I’m going to beat you’ mentality.”
As Christian eventually grew to be 6-7, he retained his point guard skills handing the ball and his Burlington edge. The combination allowed him to average 27.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a senior, winning the 2019 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, and winning a third straight state title for the team.
He was a highly recruited player, but played with the desperation of a no-star player. He always took a great deal of pride in being the toughest player on the court.
“What I loved about coaching him was that he was willing to do whatever it takes to win,” said Ed Fritz, who coached Braun at BV Northwest. “No matter how he’s shooting, he always finds a way to help his team win.”
The same was true for when he played for MoKan Elite on the premier Nike EYBL summer circuit.
That’s why Molitoris, his former AAU coach, scoffed when asked if it surprised him to watch Christian deliver timely shots to help KU close out Villanova and contribute 10 points, five rebounds and two assists during KU’s 31-10 avalanche of a run to start the second-half comeback in the championship game against UNC.
“I feel like people would like for this to be some cute story of some kid coming out of nowhere and all of a sudden producing on a big stage,” Molitoris said. “But this is exactly what CB has always done. He’s a highly competitive kid who can go 0 for 10, but if the game is on the line, then he’s going to drill that 11th one. That’s always what he’s been about. The kid is just a winner.”
Outsiders can marvel about how Christian transformed from a hustle and sharpshooting specialist to a legitimate NBA first-round draft prospect by diversifying his game and becoming an absolute terror in transition and attacking the basket. He averaged 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game with a career-best .556 effective field goal percentage, including nearly 39% accuracy on three-pointers.
Those close to him expected it.
“I don’t think it’s crazy at all,” Lisa Braun said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, as long as you work your (butt) off.”
The part of Christian’s game that has evolved has been his trash talk, which brings a chuckle out of family members. They say he takes after his mother, who was known for her competitive edge on the basketball court.
But Christian has taken it to a new level, often going viral for his celebration screams filled with expletives.
“We never encouraged him to ever be disrespectful, but there is a certain amount of confidence that you have to carry with you to perform at that high of a level,” Donny Braun said. “I don’t think he’s disrespectful, I think he’s got all of the confidence in the world in himself and that’s what he needs.”
Has he always been a trash talker? According to his older brother, no — that’s what makes the recent development all the more entertaining to him.
“It’s funny watching him because we were so close growing up, I feel like I can read his mind and sometimes I can read his lips,” Parker Braun said. “I know what he’s thinking. It’s funny to watch him get going like that on the court.”
It remains to be seen if Christian has played his last game in a Kansas uniform, but he may have already settled the debate that KU coach Bill Self posed to Braun in a practice this season with Reed, who now lives in Lawrence and works occasionally with the team as a physical therapist, in attendance.
Who is the best basketball player from Burlington?
At the time, both players immediately responded with themselves.
But after watching Braun become the heart and soul of a national championship team, Reed, who averaged 9.7 points per game his senior season, is willing to cede the title to the boy who used to idolize him.
“I have so much pride in all of those guys, but especially Christian being from Burlington,” Reed said. “If I even had one percent of a reason for him to want to be a great basketball player and want to come to Kansas, then that’s incredible.
“I think we all know now that CB turned into a better player than I ever was.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Christian Braun’s rise to championship with Jayhawks rooted in small-town Kansas."
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