Borah basketball: Braden Corpus profile

In early June, I interviewed Borah's Braden Corpus. He was one of the school's best athletes and competed in three sports. Here is the article that will appear in this year's Borah basketball yearbook.

Braden Corpus:

Perhaps Borah’s best athlete, he let

his accomplishments do the talking

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

            For Braden Corpus, actions are louder than words. What really stood out during his athletic career at Borah High School is what he accomplished.

            Corpus was an athlete, and a key figure in three sports – football, basketball and track & field. At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, he was a durable player who could do everything, except perhaps celebrate. He had many opportunities, but just chose not to.

            “I was just happy to be representing Borah,” he said. “(Celebrating) has never been my style. I don’t like to show it (emotion) when I play.”

            Corpus had many highlights in his Borah career. He was a two-year starter at quarterback. As a senior, his dad, Darren, became the head coach and the two combined to lead the Lions to a 5-4 record – its first winning season in 17 years. He was the team’s MVP and named first team all-SIC.

            Braden passed for over 1,900 yards and 16 touchdowns and – amazingly – never had an interception. He was also the team’s leading rusher.

             “In my earlier years, I threw a lot of interceptions and I didn’t like that feeling,” he said. “Each year, I threw less interceptions.”

            “It’s a stat I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed before,” said coach Corpus. “I’m sure it’s a school record, but it’s never been kept. It’s a great accomplishment, though. No doubt about it.”

            Braden also had sprinter-like speed. He was among Borah’s fastest players (11.17 in the 100 meters and 23.4 in the 200) and was a threat on every snap. As a senior, he ran for 12 touchdowns, which meant he had a hand in 28 of the Lions’ 38 scores.

            Despite their records, the Lions didn’t make the postseason. But Corpus said he didn’t believe that would be the case on the first day of basketball practice.

            “The whole year we thought we would underachieve if we didn’t win the state championship,” Corpus said.

            Corpus said his role was to play defense and get rebounds. He averaged 6.2 points per game and was the team’s second-leading rebounder (4.6/game). He had a high game of 14 points in the season opener against Kuna and was instrumental in several other game. The most memorable were:

            * - Against Eagle in the first round of the 5A District 3 tournament, he rebounded Isaiah Wright’s shot and scored as the buzzer sounded as the Lions secured a berth at state with a 43-41 overtime victory.

            * - In the first round of the state tournament vs. Coeur d’Alene, he made one of the game’s most-important plays when he used his strong right arm to rifle a pass downcourt to Ben Tucakovic, who had gotten behind the defense, and that layup secured the win.

            Ironically, the play had never worked before that night.

            Corpus was on the bench when the buzzer sounded ending the Lions’ 49-31 win over Post Falls in the championship game. Coach Cary Cada brought him out to a huge ovation with about four minutes left.

            “It was a pretty crazy (scene),” said Corpus. “It didn’t really set in until later. I couldn’t believe it happened. At the time, nothing really hit me. Everyone was all happy and running around the court. I didn’t do as much as others.”

            He soaked it in, but shortly afterward began to focus on what he would do next.

            Football is his favorite sport, and he joined teammate Cody McKague in earning a scholarship to Weber State University. Corpus also had offers from Eastern Washington and the University of Idaho, but liked the Weber campus and its coach, John L. Smith, who was the many who offered the scholarship on Corpus’ visit there.

            “I always thought I would get a college scholarship, but going into my senior year I didn’t have one,” Corpus said. “Weber started getting interested in me halfway through the season. They watched a game, but then I never heard from them again until January.”

            Weber also indicated that it wouldn’t try to move Corpus to another position. Corpus accepted the scholarship immediately, and he was able to rest easier, although it was difficult to notice because of his normal laid-back attitude.

            Shortly after graduation, Corpus left for Weber State and planned to spend much of his summer there, preparing for the upcoming season. Like in high school, he will likely let his accomplishments do the talking.