Andrew Funk's 3-point explosion didn't surprise his high school coach

Digital Brief: March 18, 2023 (AM)
Digital Brief: March 18, 2023 (AM)

DES MOINES, Iowa (CBS) -- Andrew Funk played high school basketball for Archbishop Wood in Warminster, Pa.

Thursday night, he stole the show, scoring 27 points as the Nittany Lions took down Texas A&M.

Funk, a 2018 graduate, hit eight three pointers Thursday to help lead Penn State to its first NCAA tournament win since 2001. On Friday night, we caught up with his high school coach, who has seen several of his former players excel at the collegiate level.

"It's really exciting, it feels like it's one of your own sons playing at that level and it's enjoyable to watch and see how well they play. You're excited for them and you're happy for them," said Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco.

Mosco says Funk was a gym rat, continually working to get better. The results of that work were on full display against Texas A&M.

"He's just a flat-out shooter, he's a scorer, he played with a lot of confidence and knows the game really well," Mosco said. "He moved without the ball and he was always ready whenever he went in there. He had the right mindset."

Funk has two older brothers and two younger brothers, all of whom are athletes, pushing one another. He averaged 12.5 points a game this season for Penn State.

His offensive explosion Thursday, which saw him hit six three-pointers in a row at one point, didn't really surprise Mosco.

"He just has the mindset that he can do anything. He's a confident kid, a smart kid, a student-athlete, an academic All-American, so on and so forth," Mosco said.

Hopefully, for Funk and the Nittany Lions, the best is yet to come.

The Nittany Lions take on the Texas Longhorns at 7:45 p.m. Saturday on CBS3.

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