Brentwood freshman displays shooting touch despite size disadvantage

He stands 5-foot-3 and weighs 105 pounds.

Nonetheless, freshman guard C.J. Ziegler is a key member of the Brentwood boys varsity basketball team this season.

Ziegler made an almost-immediate impression on the Spartans' first-year coach, Dan Thayer, who inherited the program last spring from longtime Brentwood coach Dave Mislan, who now is coaching at South Fayette.

“I think C.J. is an outstanding kid. After observing him for a short period of time, it became obvious that he was an excellent ball-handler,” Thayer said. “C.J. is also becoming a good shooter.”

Ziegler, who said “C.J.” stands for Christopher Junior, is one of the smallest players in the WPIAL.

But he has seen substantial varsity playing time for the Spartans, and has joined the starting lineup at times.

“My season is going great. I expected to play a little (varsity basketball) this season,” Ziegler said. “I am thankful to my coaches for giving me this amazing opportunity, and for my team's support.

“Our expectation for this year is to improve as much as we can (as a team) and get better as a whole.”

Ziegler was in the starting lineup in Brentwood's first section game at home, a recent 49-48 thriller against Freedom won by the Spartans on a last-second tip-in by junior forward Tanner Wells.

Ziegler scored a game- and career-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and was 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.

“My strength is definitely my shot,” said Ziegler, who began playing basketball in third grade, plays the sport year-round, and noted, “I have had so many influences in my life that it is hard to narrow it down to just one.”

Also against Freedom, Ziegler coolly sank two free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining to set up Wells' last-second heroics.

On the year, Ziegler leads the Spartans with a 73 percent free-throw shooting percentage.

“C.J. is our best free-throw shooter,” Thayer said. “He is one of our better overall shooters.”

Ziegler has a full schedule on Brentwood game nights; he also plays for the Spartans' junior varsity team.

And to think, a year ago he was playing eighth-grade basketball.

“The biggest difference is definitely the speed of play,” he said.

In the offseason, Ziegler competes for SBC, an AAU team coached by Mislan and Matt Gould that travels across the country. Ziegler and the SBC team have competed in cities such as Fort Wayne, Ind., Washington D.C., Baltimore, Md., Buffalo, N.Y., and Columbus, Ohio, over the past year.

But, despite the athletic prowess already displayed by the freshman backcourt player, there understandably is room for growth for Ziegler, who said his favorite NBA player is T.J. McConnell, a Philadelphia 76ers guard who starred in high school at Chartiers Valley and in college at Duquesne and Arizona.

“C.J. needs to improve his pace of play, his shot technique, and making decisions on the move,” Thayer said. “These things are very typical of a freshman basketball player.”

The Spartans' coach looks forward to monitoring Ziegler's progress and advancement at the varsity level.

“C.J. has been a real pleasure to work with,” Thayer said. “He is a great listener, and is willing to do whatever he can to improve his game.

“I look forward to watching C.J. improve over the next few years.”

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.