Benjamin Litteken '17 Recruiting Profile

What kind of person am I?

         Individually, I am hard working and honorable person.  I have always enjoyed a challenge, the work that comes with it, and personal satisfaction of achievement.  Equally, I enjoy watching others succeed with my help.  These personality traits combine to make me a natural teammate.  This past season while playing on Varsity I received the All-Conference Sportsmanship Award.  Other teams’ coaches acknowledged and awarded my character, enthusiasm, and passion for the game and my teammates; no matter the situation.  I believe I developed these qualities at home and while playing a variety of sports in my youth.  Before solely committing to basketball after my freshman year of high school I competed in elite levels of football, baseball, gymnastics, and lacrosse. 

         Note: An unusual opportunity that I was allotted was being included on the interview team for our prior and current Varsity head coach.

What kind of student am I?

         Academically, I have and continue to work hard and challenge myself in the classroom.  For example, in the past 3 years I have taken 16 core classes, 6 of which were honors classes and 3 were AP classes, maintaining an unweighted 3.7 GPA on a 4-point scale.  I will continue this track in my senior year when 4 of my 5 core classes will be AP level.  This work in the classroom prepared me for a strong ACT score of 32, super scored to 33, and a writing score of 32.

What kind of basketball player am I?

         As a basketball player, I have seen a lot of growth in skill in the past three years.  As a freshman, I was the sixth man on the Freshman Team and would contribute around two points a game.  Despite this the team still looked to me for leadership and elected me captain because of the work ethic and scrappy play I exhibited every day.  My passion and love for the game left me hungry going into the offseason.  I worked spring, summer, and fall and came out the next year, starting every game, leading the team in scoring as a captain for the Junior Varsity.  Still unsatisfied with my abilities, I went into the offseason even more determined to improve.  As a junior and starter on the Varsity team I was 5^th in scoring averaging 5.2 points per game and led the team in three-point percentage going 45.9% (34/74).  I thrive on unselfish, and cohesive team play.  Offensively, I can handle the ball with pressure and finish with either hand on drives to the basket and floaters.  My greatest strength is shooting, I am able to stretch the floor out to 27 feet, and can shoot off all screens, in transition, and off the dribble.  I am also proficient in reading screens.  Defensively I have played many variations of man to man–full-denial, pack, and half denial.  I know my help spots and take pride in being in them.  I also know all the spots in 2-3, 3-2, and 1-3-1 zones.  I love diving after loose balls, taking charges and boxing out.  In all I am a 5’11”, 165 pound, scrappy, smart player that can play on both ends of the floor and transition.  Going into my senior year I know I can do better, this offseason I have been pushing myself even harder.  My goals as a senior are to lead our team: on the court, in the classroom, and in the box score.