Slippery Rock’s Book, Butler’s Littlejohn Boys Hoops Co-Players of the Year
At the time, a December non-conference bout between host Butler and Slippery Rock served as a way to usher the two casts into the holidays.
It’ll be etched into history now as a showdown between Golden Tornado senior Braylon Littlejohn and Rockets junior Josh Book, the standouts that share this season’s Butler Eagle Boys Basketball Player of the Year honor.
Karns City’s Taite Beighley, Mars’ Ryan Ceh, and North Catholic’s Max Hurray — all seniors — were also in consideration.
Book, a 6-foot-4 forward, poured in a game-high 31 points that night, three days before Christmas, but Littlejohn’s side won, 76-48.
“He played a great game,” Littlejohn recalled of Book’s showing. “We game planned for him. We knew he was one of their good players so obviously we keyed on him more. He was just tall and a good player, so it was just hard to stop him.”
The same could be said for Littlejohn, a guard whose propensity to attack the basket and make smart plays came up big. Book finished that clash with four fouls, a product of Littlejohn and the Butler supporting cast challenging him down low.
“Against our zone, he was able to work the middle of the zone a little bit,” Slippery Rock coach A.J. Motta said of Littlejohn. “He did a really nice job of kind of breaking us down in the middle, which opened up shooting opportunities for his teammates. He rebounded the ball really well and just was really tough to play against.”
Book, defending the low middle, took notice of Littlejohn’s knack for impressive lay-ins.
“His ability to finish was unmatched,” Book said. “That was a really nice part of his game. When I was guarding him down low, he would be able to finish right around us. ... He was just quick. There was not much that we could do.”
Even as Littlejohn totaled 26 points, the most of any Golden Tornado, Book’s effort on both ends of the floor wasn’t lost on Butler coach Matt Clement.
“He just did things the right way,” Clement said. “He’s a post presence — which you don’t see in high school a lot anymore — was a really relentless rebounder, and he was able to go on the outside and shoot at the same time. ... What a great award for him to be a part of.”
With 21 points and 11 rebounds per game, Book was one of just three Butler County area players to average a double-double this go-round. He ranked fifth in District 10 in scoring average and had two other games of at least 30 points.
“I was in a prime rebounding spot,” Book explained. “My job was to defend the hoop and get rebounds.”
He was also counted on to take charge for the Rockets throughout the calendar.
“I knew that he had to score a bunch for us to be very effective,” Motta said. “With some of the stats ... the number of 30-point games, that kind of stuff was a surprise in some ways. But we knew that he had the potential to have big games and to score kind of at all three levels.”
Whereas Book began to establish a reputation this season, Littlejohn has cemented himself as one of the best to step on the hardwood in his school’s history.
In three years, Littlejohn scored a total of 1,208 career points, landing him sixth on the Golden Tornado’s all-time scoring chart. He led the team in all statistical categories this season, Clement said.
“He was so good at finishing and scoring that people would act like he couldn’t shoot,” Clement said. “He shot 40% from three this year. I’ll bet you he’s a career 75% foul shooter, too.”
Littlejohn was good for 21 points, 5.5 boards, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 steals per game during the campaign. He’ll tell you that his accuracy is thanks to being selective.
“I really just look to drive and, if not, then I kick it to someone,” he said. “I don’t really shoot unless I’m wide open. ... I can shoot as well as I finish, I just don’t shoot as much as I finish.”
When asked about how Littlejohn should be remembered in gold and blue, Clement had high praise.
“He’s pound for pound the best finisher at the rim that I’ve had,” the coach said. “I think (it will be) the legacy of just being a guy that — I’m proud of him for this — it wasn’t about him. He put up all these numbers, won a lot of games, had a lot of success, is an all-time great player here without it being about him.
“Having that legacy is the best legacy you could have.”
