The literal rise of Austin Bragg, a Mark Morris senior who has grown nine inches taller since entering the ninth grade, has been a gradual one. But there were moments when the lanky, agile 6-foot-8 post player’s mercurial growth announced itself with gusto.

Like the morning this summer when Bragg rolled out of bed and was walking out of his bedroom — then found himself on the floor.

With a headache.

“I hit my head on the doorway,” Bragg said. “I didn’t see it. It dropped me for a couple minutes.”

Bragg picked himself up, of course, and finished his only season of varsity basketball by becoming one of the area’s most improved players for the Monarchs, whose season ended at the state tournament in Yakima last Thursday.

Bragg will put his skills on local display for a final time tonight at 7:45 p.m. as a participant in the Lower Columbia Area High School All-Star Game at Myklebust Gymnasium.

Bragg is a “classic survivor story in our program,” said MM coach Bill Bakamus.

A quiet contributor to junior high teams in the seventh and eighth grades, a two-year C-squad player for the Monarchs, only a spot starter on the JV as a junior.

Bragg was 5-foot-10 as a freshman before spurting to 6-2 the summer before his sophomore year. Bragg grew another three inches in the next two years, then went from 6-5 to 6-8 this summer. He has a 6-9 wingspan, and despite his physical transformation, Bragg hasn’t lost the footwork, soft jumper and ball-handling skills he toiled to develop as a wing player at the subvarsity level.

“If you look at the player he has become, it’s out of self-motivation,” Bakamus said. “He has hung in there, and he hasn’t even tapped into his physical abilities yet. He’s going to be one of these kids who blossoms into an outstanding college basketball player.

“Austin deserves the credit,” he added. “He had a good year with the JV last year, but it wasn’t like anyone was saying, ‘Wait ’til senior year.’ But he is really dedicated, he hung in there and he is a very, very good basketball player. I think his better days are ahead.”

The next level

The notion that his basketball future would extend beyond high school graduation did not even occur to Bragg until early in his senior season. As MM’s sixth man and occasional starter, he made an immediate impact for the second-ranked team in the state.

He established himself as a versatile defender, quick enough to harass and pressure guards, long and coordinated enough to swat shots. He was a lethal finisher in transition. His jumper demanded respect.

Bragg sprained his ankle during a practice in early January, and was in street clothes when a coach from Clark Community College approached him at an MM game against Fort Vancouver.

“Once the season got going, I realized that I was probably going to have an opportunity to play in college,” said Bragg. “But when the coach from Clark talked to me, that set in the reality that I was going to play ball at the next level.”

Being 6-9 and playing like a 6-9 athlete ought to play are two different things. The transition has required hard work, Bragg said.

“It takes a while to get used to your body, but you also have to get used to playing a new position,” said Bragg, who was a wing-style forward his entire basketball career prior to playing post during his one and only varsity season. “It was hard to take, playing C-squad as a sophomore, but there is no substitute for playing time. It kept me focused on fundamentals, and I’m still trying to master those as a post player. I’m still not used to playing with my back to the basket. It’s not that it is more complicated, it’s just different.”

Bragg misses being a “creator” on the wing.

“In the post, you are more of a recipient,” he said. “But you still have to do the little things, like get your teammates open.”

Bragg walks the post walk in halfcourt situations, but his inner wing still rears its head. In a game at Kelso on Jan. 20, Mark Morris shifted its defense to a 3-2 zone, with Bragg playing at the top of the perimeter circle. Bragg erased the last of an 11-point third-quarter deficit against the Hilanders by stealing the ball at midcourt, dribbling at full sprint between a pair of Kelso guards, and elevating for a powerful two-handed slam dunk.

His most memorable play of the year came in the playoffs, when Bragg cut into a passing lane and stole a Black Hills pass, then dribbled the length of the court and leaped from just inside the free-throw line.

“He took off maybe further than he wanted to,” Bakamus recalled. “Once he got up there, sailing through the air, I think he realized, ‘I’m up here high enough. I’d better flush this thing.’”

Which Bragg did, cocking the ball back in his right hand and finishing a monster slam that would have scored handsomely in an NBA dunk contest.

“Some kids can get discouraged, whether they are just not physically mature, or psychologically when they are put into a lesser role,” Bakamus said. “Sometimes you accept that. Then, as you start to blossom, you recognize that you have skills and your confidence begins to grow. That is where Austin is right now.”

‘Nightmare matchup’

Lower Columbia has shown interest in Bragg, and he has been contacted by The Evergreen State College and Warner Pacific. He is still deliberating, weighing the value of the skill development that a junior college might provide versus the program familiarity and continuity that a four-year school would offer.

“And my education is an important factor,” said Bragg, a 3.0 student who would like to become an engineer. “I’ve been talking it over with (Bakamus). The help he has given me in and out of practice has been great. I’ve also done a lot of work with Dave Harshman (a former Michigan State assistant and the coach of Bragg’s AAU team last summer). I’ve worked with him on an individual basis.”

It’s a tough decision, but a nice option to have. And Bragg knows it.

His upside, meanwhile, should delight the program he chooses to join.

“He is capable of taking over a college game,” Bakamus said. “He’s a nightmare matchup. He can go around anyone his size, or draw them away from the basket. He can create an advantage inside against smaller players. His wingspan is longer than long. And people aren’t even aware of how well he handles the ball.”

There are two other things to consider when gauging Bragg’s upside. One is that he is young for his class, won’t turn 18 until July 29 and “should probably only be a junior,” Bakamus said, wistfully.

“I started school one year early,” added Bragg.

The other was revealed during a precautionary X-ray following his ankle sprain.

“They looked at my ankle,” said Bragg, “and the doctor told me that my growth plates are wide open.”

Which means that Bragg is not done growing.