Danaher doesn’t look part, but knows how to play it
At 6-foot-3 and roughly 230 pounds, Colfax’s Brian Danaher has the look to be an All-Northeast A League offensive and defensive lineman for the Bulldogs’ football team – which he is.
But on the hardwood?
“I don’t think I look much like a basketball player,” Danaher said.
But a basketball player he is, and a pretty good one at that.
Danaher, a senior post, has captained Colfax’s basketball team for two seasons, and this year has averaged 14.0 and eight rebounds a game as the Bulldogs (18-4) prepare for their regional matchup against the loser of tonight’s Lake Roosevelt/Brewster game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Brewster.
His coach, Phil Hergert, thinks some of Danaher’s success may be a result from his success on the gridiron.
“He’s a very physical player,” Hergert said. “He’s not afraid of contact. In fact, I think he prefers it a lot of time. He’s aggressive, but he’s also surprisingly quick, has quick feet and has great touch on his shots. He’s only 6-3, but he plays bigger.
“He plays down on the post and has a variety of shots. He can also shoot face-up shots very well, too.”
Hergert knows his importance to this year’s team goes beyond his ability to score. His ability to also serve as an offensive creator has helped foster a lot of mismatches this season. He’s not exactly hurting in the leadership department, either.
“He’s one of the leaders on the team,” Hergert said. “He works hard on both ends of the floor. He leads by example. The thing he does right now is he demands a lot of people pay attention to him in our offense. That creates for other people.”
Take, for example, Colfax’s victory over Kettle Falls last Saturday in the District 7 1A title game. Three Colfax Bulldogs scored in double figures – Danaher wasn’t one of them. But he was still an integral factor.
“He only scored eight the other night,” Hergert said. “But our other post, (Jacob) Heilsberg, scored 23, and a lot of that had to do with (Kettle Falls) paying attention to Brian.”
Danaher knows his role begins with leadership and extends to defense and rebounding before he can get to scoring.
“I try to get the guys going before the game, kind of yell or scream sometimes, be emotional,” Danaher said. “I’m the big guy. I have to get defensive rebounds and hopefully put in 14 or so points a night. I have to play hard defense and look for other guys offensively, try to draw more of their defense on me and pass it off.”