North Catholic basketball’s Jude Rottmann adds to family legacy after reaching 1,000-point mark
Jude Rottmann has done more than uphold his family's basketball legacy at North Catholic High School, he's added to it.
During a recent victory over Freeport, the senior shooting guard and Penn State-Behrend commit reached 1,000 career points.
His mother, longtime North girls coach Molly Rottmann, is approaching 600 wins and has led the Trojanettes to 12 WPIAL titles and a state title in 28 seasons. Older brothers Hans and Max are former point guards for the Trojans, with Hans helping the Trojans to a district crown in 2020.
A fourth son, Tom Rottmann, is a sophomore on this year's team.
“Each brother has been really good at supporting the younger ones, and that gives them more confidence,” Molly Rottmann said.
Both of his older siblings have influenced Jude's approach to the game.
“When Hans was on the court, I remember him enjoying himself,” Jude said. “He had a lot of fun playing the game, and that's something I strive to do with basketball. Max was a very good defensive player, and I've tried to become the best I can be in that aspect of the game.”
Jude's earliest memories of basketball date back to attending his mother's games when North Catholic was based in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The current location in Cranberry Township opened in 2014.
“It was a small gym, and I served as a water boy for the girls team,” he said. “I was just in first grade at that time.”
“I was bringing him to practices when he was a newborn,” Molly Rottmann said. “All of our boys have been around basketball their entire life.
“Jude has always had a scorer's mentality.”
That fact has helped the Trojans (15-4) average over 80 points per game this season. Senior point guard Jason Fredericks scored his 1,000th career point in late December.
“Having two players in the same grade get to 1,000 points is pretty rare,” said Jude, who is in his third year as a starter. “It means a lot to me to be part of that. Jason and I have so much chemistry, we've been playing together since AAU in sixth grade. We don't have to talk, we just know what the other one is thinking.”
