Carmel's Motzel stands tall on, off the court

Dad Larry is barely 6-feet.

Mom Karen is 5-feet-8.

And yet, somehow, Brandon Motzel shot up to be 6-feet-6. A legit 6-feet-6.

And he's still growing.

“My dad says that I won the lottery with my height,” says Motzel, a junior forward at Carmel.

A few years ago, the Motzel family could have used some real lottery winnings.

At the height of the economic crisis here in the United States, both Larry, a salesman, and Karen, a retail employee, lost their jobs.

They each spent nearly two years looking for work.

Now, they're fine, both employed and doing well again. But those uncertain days won't be easily forgotten by anyone in the family.

“It was a hard time,” Motzel said. “But it kind of helped me put a lot of things into perspective. I learned what I need, and it's not much. And I learned what I can live without.

“My little sister (Madeline, who is in fifth grade) and I figured out that we don't need a bunch of material things.”

Motzel no longer takes the necessities, like college, for granted either.

A standout in both basketball and baseball since his days in youth sports, Motzel has always had big dreams of one day being a college athlete.

Now, that's not just his dream, it's his mission.

“My parents have never said anything and they would never put any pressure on me, but I really want to go to college for free so they don't have to spend any money on that,” Motzel said. “I really want to get a scholarship.”

Motzel is on his way.

In his first year on varsity, he's been Carmel's biggest threat inside. And he keeps getting bigger.

Last weekend, Motzel had his best two games of the season. Not coincidentally, so did Carmel.

Motzel rolled up a career-high 30 points and 7 rebounds in a win over Notre Dame, one of the best teams in the Chicago area. Then, the very next night, Motzel scored 19 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in Carmel's victory over Libertyville.

The Corsairs, 8-14 overall, desperately needed that kind of shot in the arm. They had entered the Notre Dame game having lost four of their previous five games.

“It really looks as if it is starting to turn around,” first-year Carmel coach Tim Bowen said. “The players knew we could play like that and now, they've seen it.

“Brandon has responded and I think he's starting to see the effort that is need to play at this higher level.”

Motzel also is starting to understand the mentality that is needed to play at a higher level.

Described by Bowen as “a very good young man with a kind heart,” Motzel has often been too kind when playing sports. He grew up being overly aware of his size.

“Brandon was always six inches taller than all of his classmates growing up,” said Brandon's father Larry, who coached Brandon through fifth grade in both basketball and baseball. “He was raised to be nice, he was always told to be careful. It was ‘Don't hurt anyone out there, Brandon.'

“Now, it's almost like he's too nice.”

Just before Carmel's game against Notre Dame, Larry found a way to get through to Brandon's no-so-nice side.

“My dad told me that I needed to start looking at my games differently,” Brandon said.

“He knows how much I want to play basketball in college. He said that I should look at the five guys from the other team as the only things standing in the way of me and a scholarship. He said that I shouldn't let them take away any opportunities for my future.

“I think that kind of pumped me up. It gave me a fire and a killer instinct that I really didn't have before. I've felt myself playing harder and with more energy. I think that kind of took away the nice in me.”

Well, not all the nice.

Motzel is still super nice off the court.

He volunteers in Carmel's resource center after school, helping fellow students with their schoolwork.

And he also personally tutors one of his teammates in math.

Motzel, who boasts a 4.2 grade point average, excels in math and science and is hoping to major in pre-med someday.

Where is the next question.

He's just now starting to hear from college basketball coaches. But his dream is to package his skills as a pitcher with his basketball prowess and his grades and be the kind of well-rounded recruit that an elite school like Notre Dame couldn't say no to.

Motzel is a huge Notre Dame fan.

His grandfather graduated from there and he has Notre Dame paraphernalia all over his room.

He and his dad have gone to many Notre Dame football and basketball games together over the years.

“I don't know if going to Notre Dame is possible, but that would be the dream, playing both basketball and baseball at Notre Dame,” Motzel said. “That would be even better than hitting the height lottery.”