Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week for March 17, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Monday, March 17, 2025 | 10:29 PM

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Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week – Jude Rottmann

School: North Catholic

Class: Junior

Height: 6-foot-3

Position: Guard

#Earned: All year long, the dynamic duo of junior guards Jude Rottmann and Jason Fredericks have been leading the way for North Catholic. In the district playoffs, Rottmann scored 20 in a quarterfinal win over Deer Lakes while Fredericks dropped 30 points in a semifinal victory over Beaver. In the WPIAL championship game, the two combined for 35 points in a five-point loss to Belle Vernon. Fredericks scored 25 points in a PIAA first-round win over Hickory, but last week was Rottmann’s turn to shine. In a second-round rout of Beaver, Rottmann scored 25 points. He followed that performance up three days later in the state quarterfinals by scoring 28 points to lead the Trojans past District 10 champion Cathedral Prep in overtime, 78-75. Rottmann drilled a 3-pointer in OT to put North Catholic up 69-66, a lead it did not relinquish.

Background: Once the season is over, Rottmann will begin to prepare for his senior year and beyond, as he hopes to continue his basketball career at the next level. When he was younger, Rottmann also played soccer and ran cross country on a team coached by his father Hans. His mom Molly is the girls basketball coach at North Catholic with over 500 wins and WPIAL and PIAA gold as a player and a coach. Jude’s two older brothers, Hans and Max, played basketball at North Catholic and his youngest brother Tom is a freshman player on the Trojans team. If the four brothers played a series of one-on-one games against each other, Jude is very confident he would come out on top and be the best of the Rottmann brothers. When asked about the possibility, Jude quickly said, “No doubt.”

What coach says: “Jude just plays free and has the skill to support the embracement of that freedom,” North Catholic coach Jim Rocco said. “He just plays with great confidence and just never gives in. Jude really embraces a next-play attitude as well. His will to make plays was truly special in that game.”

“He’s just a resilient, talented kid, and he has the gift of being able to make shots,” Rocco said. “He has also heeded the challenge to be dynamic defender. He has given us another lockdown guy that we can put on nearly any high school player and his length allows him to guard 1 through 5 spots.

“I would say he has improved his IQ and skill level,” Rocco said “He, of course, is growing up and maturing, which has allowed him to embrace big moments. He also embraces humility and is so willing to learn. His ability to shoulder the responsibility of a big moment is directly related to being a humble learner. He is coachable in every sense of the word.

“Jude and Jason have blossomed into one of the better duos in the state,” Rocco said. “They complement each other so well, and they are close friends. It’s just not those two. Our entire team is very close, from freshman to senior. It’s really a credit to our senior class, who has built a culture that would make any coach proud. Jason and Jude, and their play, are a byproduct of that culture.”

2025 Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Players of the Week

Week 10 – Jacob Guillen, Aquinas Academy

Week 9 – Courtney Wallace Jr., Neighborhood Academy

Week 8 – Bobby Fadden, Mohawk

Week 7 – Isaiah Jeter, Central Valley

Week 6 – Calvin Winfrey III, Uniontown

Week 5 – Connor Crossey, Franklin Regional

Week 4 – Colton Straight, Montour

Week 3 – Zach Pollaro, North Hills

Week 2 – Cameron Epps, South Allegheny

Week 1 – Brady Mayo, Beaver

Tags: North Catholic