Mike Branaugh
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- Induction Year:
- 2020
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- Sport:
- Basketball
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- Year(s):
- 1965-67
The SC4 men’s basketball teams in the 1960s thrilled Blue Water Area fans with their high-scoring wide-open offense attack.
But it was no secret that whenever the Skippers needed the rim protected with a blocked shot or defensive rebound, Mike Branaugh delivered.
“Mike was a good one,” said Robert “Sam” Kromer, the SC4 Hall of Fame coach. “He was a force around the basket. We really didn’t need scoring out of him. He knew his role and followed it every game.”
Branaugh, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Toledo, led the Skippers to a 27-1 record during the 1966-67 season. He helped SC4 capture back-to-back state championships.
“My years at SC4 (Port Huron Junior College) were the most enjoyable and overall productive of my basketball career,” Branaugh said. “I would like to thank the people that were most responsible for whatever success I was able to achieve in my time at SC4: First of all, Dick Groch in basketball and the man in charge of the defense. He was the person responsible for getting me to attend the college.”
“Next was Sam Kromer, our head coach. He was one of the nicest and most genuine people I ever met. Then Dr. Roy Rogers, my teacher at the college. We still keep in touch 54 years later. And lastly, that 1966 team. It is my belief that if we would have stayed together over four years, we would have been something very special.”
After his time at SC4, Branaugh continued his basketball career at Indiana University, playing in 27 games for the Hoosiers from 1968-70.
Branaugh lives in Indianapolis and runs a very successful tree trimming business.
