Roy High basketball player Bronson Belnap leading Utah in charges taken
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- Roy High basketball player Bronson Belnap, right, passes the ball during a practice at Roy High School on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.
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- Clearfield’s Peyton Kotter, rear, and Roy’s Bronson Belnap (3) dive for a loose ball on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, in Clearfield.
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- Roy’s Bronson Belnap (3) and Clearfield’s Peyton Kotter (4) reach for the basketball in a game Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, in Clearfield.
ROY — Bronson Belnap wears the No. 3 jersey for Roy High’s boys basketball team.
Roy’s basketball jerseys are such that the numbers contrast well with the body of the jersey, so it’s relatively easy for people to find No. 3 on the court.
Or, they can just wait for someone to hit the deck after taking a charge or diving for a loose ball. Odds are good that it’s Belnap.
The 5-foot-8 junior guard has taken 18 charges in 22 games so far this season, according to MaxPreps — not counting the times he was called for a blocking foul or the times where the referee let play continue after an attempted charge.
“I think it’s just the fact that I’m small, so I don’t have a ton to bring to the game. So I gotta find something to help my team out; that’s one of the things,” Belnap said after a recent practice. “It’s a momentum play and if I can’t always get in there and a get a steal because I’m smaller, well, that’s one way I can get the ball back in our possession.”
He’s listed on the roster at 5-foot-8, 145 pounds (Belnap says he’s 5-8 1/2 and closer to 155 pounds). He’s had bruises and scars to show anyone how familiar he is with the floor.
“That’s just kind of how I’ve always played,” Belnap said. “I think kind of maybe when I was little I just realized I was going to be littler than everyone, so I think that I just had to find something and that’s making the tough plays that not really everyone wants to make.”
As of Friday, his 18 charges taken was tied for the state lead, according to MaxPreps, with the caveat being that not all teams report stats to MaxPreps and some teams that do report stats don’t include charges taken.
At any rate, both Belnap and Roy coach Scott Hunt think the 18 charges number could be an undercount. Roy and other high schools receive promotional sandwich cards from Jersey Mike’s — buy one, get one free and that kind of thing — that the schools can hand out however it wants.
Hunt gives cards to players who take charges or get a certain number of steals, rebounds or assists. Belnap’s earned about $200 in sandwich cards this season.
“He’s a funny kid because last year, he played sophomore game, JV game, varsity game, never gets tired, he has a motor that doesn’t quit,” Hunt said. “All summer long through all our summer games, he’s playing all week long. I mean, he never quits, so for the casual observer it would be like, ‘Wow that’s really unusual,’ but for me, I’ve been around him so much I’ve known his personality, I know what makes him tick.”
Teams that take a charge get the ball, along with a foul called on the other team. A charge can be a better outcome than a blocked shot or a steal.
Theoretically, anyone can take a charge; the play doesn’t require extraordinary athleticism, vision or anything related to raw talent.
But there is a certain art form to taking charges, too.
“I wouldn’t call it a flop, but I think I sell it pretty good. Like, sometimes it looks like they hit me harder than they do, but obviously you gotta go down or else you won’t get the ref’s attention,” Belnap said.
The impact of a charge goes beyond a change in possession and a foul call, in the Royals’ case. Roy forward Elijah Sowards, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, has taken six charges, three more players have at least two charges and two more have one charge.
“In my opinion, it’s lead by example and when he’s doing that, it becomes contagious because he sets the standard for what the expectation is on our team, so as he does it, his brother does it, pretty soon everybody’s buying into that philosophy,” Hunt said. “‘Hey we’re taking charges, we’re sacrificing for the team.'”
Belnap is one of the reasons why Roy’s had a good season so far. After Thursday’s win at Hunter, the Royals are 13-9 overall and 8-3 in Region 2. They allow 49.2 points per game on defense, which is statistically the top mark in 6A as of Friday morning.
“I think part of it is in their nature. Some kids are built with more competitive fire in their bellies, so to speak, and those kind of kids have a propensity to (take charges),” Hunt said. “Now, our philosophy, and I would say our culture for our program is all about toughness, grit. This team we got here, they got a nickname called ‘Gritty Boys,’ so because of that they take a lot of pride in (taking charges).”
In the state RPI rankings, Roy has hovered around the Nos. 14-15 spots lately, which would mean a first-round home playoff game in a couple weeks and another chance for fans to see if Roy’s No. 3 can add to the charge total.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.