Charlie Breindel: From Crusader to Lion
It has been two years since Charlie Breindel led the Elk County Catholic Crusaders to the basketball state semifinal. After high school, he decided to take his talents to Penn State Behrend.
When asked what led to choosing Penn State Behrend, Breindel said, “My brother played a huge role in that, he is currently a student here and I have always looked up to him as a role model and as an athlete and knowing he could be at the same school was a huge factor.”
Penn State Behrend is off to a hot start this season as they currently sit at 19-6 overall and 14-4 in conference play, and they have just locked up the two seed for their conference tournament.
When talking about how Briendel himself has been able to assimilate to college basketball he said, “One of the hardest things for me was the pace of play is so much faster and also playing with a whole new group of guys is different, but then you realize you all have the same love for the game which is really special.”
When talking about improvements that Breindel has made to his game he said, “Honestly every day is a new day, and I try to work on one thing new.”
He also added, “As a point guard I have just been working on finding guys in space and really trying to learn the offense.”
When talking about the improvements the team has made, he said “I feel like we have great chemistry and we are all just working together and everyone's part of the team, no matter what your role is.”
Breindel discussed his short-term future saying, “Next year I will continue playing hoops which is something I love to do and something I always cherish.”
Then about his longterm future he said, “I want to graduate from here with a degree in Environmental Science, and then I want to go back to my hometown and get involved in sporting volunteer efforts, and then use my degree to get a job in the industry.”
The Penn State Behrend Lions are looking to become AMCC tournament champions for the first time since 2019.
Breindel said the goal for the team right now is, “We want to win our conference and make a run in the NCAA tournament; it is every player's dream to play in the NCAA tournament.”
Breindel and the Lions will look to start their run to the tournament at La Roche on Friday when they open play in semifinals of the AMCC Tournament.