Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

WEST BRANCH – Holden Arnaman had a pretty good idea of what was coming his way from opposing defenses this season.

The combination of a strong debut season in which he averaged 5.6 points per game and the loss of a trio of senior starters that accounted for more than 50 percent of the scoring for West Branch last season made Arnaman the obvious focus for opponents’ game plans.

So how did the West Branch sophomore point guard prepare for his increased role and the defensive attention that would follow?

He went to work during the offseason.

“I knew that would happen and I worked really hard and worked on my game to prepare for that,” Arnaman said of the increased defensive attention. “I worked on my pull up and being able to drive in the paint and kick because I knew there would be guys keying in on me every game.”

Arnaman was right, opponents have built their defensive plans around attempting to slow the 6-foot-1 sophomore.

Thanks largely to his offseason work those attempts have rarely been successful.

Arnaman is averaging a team-high 14.9 points and 5.5 assists per game this season helping West Branch to a 4-4 start.

“He deserves everything he gets, he’s a gym rat, he’s in here all the time we have to kick him out,” West Branch coach Jason Kern said. “There isn’t another kid that works harder than Holden does.”

Arnaman had an impressive debut season a year ago averaging 5.6 points and 2.7 assists per game for a West Branch team that went 19-3 and advanced to the Class 2A substate final.

He spent the offseason working on fine-tuning his game and working in the weight room to add strength.

The result of that work has been a stellar start to his sophomore season despite the increase in defensive attention that has come consistently from opponents.

“He got in the weight room and he’s gotten stronger,” Kern said. “He’s always had the skill level but you put his body into that and a year under his belt at the varsity level and the sky is the limit for him.”

Arnaman shot 35 percent from the floor a year ago with 79 of his 107 attempts coming from beyond the three-point arc.

His offseason weight room work as well as a focus on his mid-range game has made Arnaman a stronger, more versatile scorer this season.

“I hit the weight room a lot to help with finishing because I wasn’t really a very good finisher last year I was only a three-point shooter,” Arnaman said. “I hit the weight room hard and really worked on my game.”

Through eight games Arnaman is shooting 39 percent from the floor including 42 percent (14-of-33) from three-point range.

He has already attempted more free throws than he did all of last season going to the line 47 times and converting at a 78 percent clip.

“I’ve worked on making a move and going past someone,” Arnaman said. “In the past I took too many dribbles and I was a freshman and wasn’t very big. This year I’m able to get past people and that has really helped.”

While the numbers have improved for Arnaman he is quick to credit his teammates for the surge.

“My teammates give me a lot of confidence,” Arnaman said. “It’s all on them really, they give me confidence and they help me and motivate me. It’s my teammates and coaches that have helped me get to where I am as a leader on this team.”

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