Mike Vukovcan “Brody is one of the most freakishly athletic kids I’ve ever been around and I’ve been around some.”
That’s pretty high praise from Hopewell HS Boys basketball coach Doug Biega when talking about Hopewell sophomore Brody Rock.
The true is that it’s not an exaggeration as Rock has been a high-level performer in 3 sports since his freshman year. Not only does Rock excel on the basketball court but he’s a 2-way standout as a linebacker and running back/H-Back for HC Matt Mottes and the Vikings football team. Add to that, his tremendous freshman season with HC Jeff Brunton and the track and field team, throwing the javelin and shot put.
Hopewell’s Brody Rock
Rock is currently playing a leading role with the Vikings basketball team as they look to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
“I’m having a lot more fun this year obviously because we’re winning,” Rock tells Vikings Sports Now. “While the losses have hurt, I feel that we’ve been able to build off of every single loss and gotten so much better. The wins have been real fun, afterwards we joke around for a bit but then we’re right back in the gym working for next game.” ”
“I think our coaching staff have helped us a lot. They have helped us as players get a lot better. Our team bonding is a lot better; we talk more and have fun. Our practices are harder; we work harder and actually play as a team this year.”
As I’ve mentioned a lot with various Hopewell sports, coaching matters but so does having players the likes of Brody Rock and Coach Biega wasn’t shy when talking about his importance.
Hopewell sophomore Brody Rock
“Brody Rock is a glue guy,” said Biega. “He necessarily isn’t your best player, but he is maybe your most important player and does a little bit of everything. He has the most minutes on the team this year because he does everything well and it’s very hard for me to take him off the court. I can’t take him off the court because I view him as a glue guy. He’s always been that but as I’ve been pointing out to him, we’ve developed him into a guy that knows his value to this team on the court, whether it be handling the ball, rebounding, defending, setting picks, shooting, breaking presses. Brody has learned his value.”
“He is a funny, silly kid, at times too much but I think that comes with them being 16. Brody is maybe; I don’t wanna say the most liked player on the team but he’s the guy players go to when they wanna laugh. Brody will be the guy that breaks the room down and get everyone to laugh. I don’t know one person that doesn’t enjoy having him as a teammate.”
That was Coach Biega’s view of his star player, so I asked Rock about that and how he views himself and his role on the team.
“I guess I’m kind of like a vibe on the team,” said Rock. “I bring a lot of energy, but I take things serious too. Guys might come to me when they want to mess around, we’ll have fun. But I mess around in a serious kind of way so that I can push my teammates harder in order to try and make them better.”
That’s his value off the court but when you talk about on the court, Rock has many strengths including his uncanny ability to pass the ball. Because of his size, and while I’m certainly not comparing him, Rock has a lot of Magic Johnson in him. Despite his size, Rock is able to get into the paint and either get a shot around the rim or him someone with a pass, many of them being no-look variety. That was certainly on display in a recent game against Quaker Valley.
“I think I surprise a lot of people. I’ve watched a few of my games and heard the commentators and they say, “wow, I didn’t know that he can do that or he doesn’t look like a guy that can do that,” said Rock.
“I’m kind of bigger and don’t look like a guy that can dribble and pass. Teammates always come first so that’s something I’ve always tried to be good at passing and finding my teammates. I believe my biggest strength is passing. Most people like to shoot more but I like to pass more. Kind of a flashy pass, that’s more fun to do. I wanna be a player that my teammates want to play with.”
One of his teammates that certainly enjoys playing with him is sophomore James Armstrong. Over the years and going back to junior high, that duo has dominated opponents and led their teams to many wins. At the same time, their individual skill level has helped each other get better.
“Over the years, James and I have developed into pretty good friends outside of just sports,” said Rock. “Every single day, whether it’s basketball or football, we push each other to try and make each other better. We love to compete against each other. Every single thing is a competition with him because that’s just the kind of people we are. I think being teammates and how competitive we are have made us both better.”
“He isn’t the focus most times and I think sometimes that’s to his benefit,” said Coach Biega. “When the defenses are forced to adhere to James, maybe that frees Brody up to do some of the things he’s doing both in football and basketball. Maybe he excels more because he doesn’t have the entire spotlight on him.”
“There’s a lot of people in today’s age of social media that love the attention, sometimes it’s not bad to just go play and put up legit numbers. Brody’s parents aren’t on social media; Brody isn’t one of those dudes showing you everything he’s doing, he just works and puts up numbers. Brody works extremely hard, and to your point, no one doesn’t know who Brody is. If he’s under the radar, he’s not very significantly under the radar.”
The exciting thing for Rock and for Hopewell sports is that we get to enjoy watching him play for 2+ more years. While it’s impossible to project what his future will be after high school, one thing that’s certain is that whatever team Rock is a part of, they’ll win and eventually compete for championships and in the end, that’s what’s most important.
“In high school, Brody is going to be a big-time all-conference player in both sports,” said Coach Biega. “I’m not good at projecting to the next level and that’s almost impossible to do now with the transfer portal. Is Brody a talent, absolutely. Does he have the measurables in terms of speed and quickness, I don’t know that one way or the other. Does he have the size, I don’t know that either because he’s probably not done growing yet. I can’t project who’s going to go to college for free, but I can tell you that Brody is going to have a very, very decorated high school career, that much I can guarantee.”
As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked Rock about both sports and what he’d like to be doing once his Hopewell HS career comes to an end.
“I think I enjoy football a little bit more just because I like to hit people and I love the physicality of it,” said Rock. “Hitting is really fun to me. However, basketball has been really fun this year, especially with us winning. If we make it to the playoffs this year, I’m sure that will be very fun.”
“I wanna go to college and play linebacker or anything on offense. I watch a lot of college football, and I can see and really hope to be there one day.”
