Raiders' Condlin rises to new heights

MASSENA — Brady Condlin grows in twos — a couple inches here, a couple inches there. At 6-foot-4, he's using his new-found size to score 18 points and grab eight rebounds per game for the Massena Red Raiders.

"It definitely makes life a lot easier," he said.

Condlin represents the new generation of high school athletes. He has complemented his growth with weight.

"I lift six days a week," he said. "This started with my brother (Tyler). He got really big in high school and played in college."

Condlin watched as his brother went from playing basketball at Massena to SUNY Potsdam. He wants to do the same.

To prepare, he starts his week building up his chest. On Tuesday, he moves to his arms. By Saturday, he's worked every muscle, putting on the weight needed to play inside and out.

"It was a different muscle every day," he said. "I gained 20 pounds of muscle."

Now, he's controlling the paint, the glass and much of Massena's offense. It's a fact coach Tom Miller said can make him a threat beyond high school.

"He's very self-motivated and self-driven," Miller said. "He's done it all on his own. In our one-on-one meetings, we have discussed that he has the potential to play at that level."

Getting into a college isn't going to be a problem, either. Condlin ranks in the top-3 in his junior class. He's also a drummer in the school's jazz band. It doesn't stop there.

"I was thinking of majoring in biology," he said. "It comes easy to me and is really interesting."

Condlin is a part the International Baccalaureate program, which, according to its Web site, is "a recognized leader in the field of international education, encouraging students to be active learners."

His recent work includes research on human genes. He just finished a study to help determine the probably of a great grandchild acquiring the same disease the great grandmother had.

"I've always been a science kid," Condlin said. "Learning about how your body works is interesting."

He's in the same program for math, where he said his last test was sent to Nigeria to be graded. In the end, he hopes to earn college credit taking these advanced courses.

"If you take these classes now, you can save thousands going to school," he said. "I'm paying $75 for the class now. In college that might be $3,000. That's one less class I have to take."

Miller said that Condlin will have his pick of schools to attend academically and athletically once he graduates in 2011.

"He has a world of unlimited potential," Miller said. "He is very strong academically. It's just picking the right school."

In the meantime, Condlin can be found any number of places at Massena HS. He's either in the weight room, gym, lab or band room.

And in every place, he stands out. After all, it's hard to miss a 6-foot-4 junior in a lab coat.