Junior Christian Braun was born for the Border Showdown, which returns this winter on the basketball court. Although he claims Burlington, Kansas, as his hometown, his mom’s side of the family is so well-known in Missouri that they are in the state’s athletic Hall of Fame. The whole family.

But that didn’t stop Braun from rocking the Crimson and Blue growing up. A late bloomer, Braun turned his family’s competitive nature into a successful high school career and a basketball scholarship to play for his dream school. Now in his third season with the team, Braun still pinches himself when he takes the Allen Fieldhouse floor on gamedays. It’s not a dream, and when he looks into the crowd, he sees himself in those fans in the stands.

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