Frey made huge sacrifice for Panthers

Among the graduating seniors on the Bradenton Christian boys’ basketball team, it’s safe to say no one sacrificed more to the program than Michael Frey.

Barely standing 6-4 on a good day, he played out of position the past two seasons so the Panthers could have good inside presence.

Frey wants to play in college, which means he will have to play out on the wing, most likely at the two-guard. He hasn’t had much of an opportunity to play facing the basket and being able to show college coaches what he can do from there.

Frey is athletic and has a nice mid-range jumper, but admittedly needs to work on his shot from beyond the arc and improve his ball handling to play at the lower Division I level, which he aspires to do.

Regardless, he has no complaints about manning the paint for the Panthers the last two years. He is the epitome of hard work and unselfishness.

After the Panthers season ended in a disappointing 83-59 loss to Orlando Christian Prep in the Class A-Region 2 title game Saturday night, Frey was his usual upbeat self. You can never tell from his demeanor whether BC won or loss, which is an invaluable asset.

“They are a good team and fun to play against. They are fast and tough,” Frey said after the game. “Their 1-3-1 zone killed us in the second quarter. We finally figured it out in the second half, but it really put a big gap between us.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better career. It was a lot of fun playing with kids who I played with this since sixth grade. I was in three Final Fours. I am thinking about playing in college and looking at Belmont University (Nashville, Tenn.). They are Division I, but I am focused mainly on academics at that school.

“I am looking for more of a walk-on thing. I will have to play the two in college and I’ve been working on that the last couple of months, especially on my ball handling. I’ve talked to the coach up there, but he has never seen me play.

“I’ve played pretty much in the paint the last two years and it’s not that hard for me, but for college I am going to be at a guard spot and it’s going to take some extra work.”