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Perkiomen School's 'undervalued' Bobby Rosenberger commits to Saint Francis (Pa.)

08/23/2022, 7:00pm EDT
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Over the past four years, Bobby Rosenberger watched as many of his Perkiomen School teammates achieved their dreams.

Sometimes his felt far away.

The 6-foot-5 wing has a game that doesn’t always stand out, but one coaches have told him contributes to winning basketball.

“I wouldn’t consider myself a flashy player, but the things I do I’ve been told help the team win,” Rosenberger said. “That’s really all that matters at the end of the day is winning.”

On Monday he announced he’d found a school that appreciated his game and helped make his Division I dreams come true.


Perkiomen School's Bobby Rosenberger announced his commitment to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Monday. (Photo: Courtesy Bobby Rosenberger)

Rosenberger  committed to Saint Francis (Pa.) on his official visit this past weekend toe become the first member of the Red Flash’s 2023 class.

“I just kept working,” Rosenberger said. “Honestly I’ve always been undervalued as a player to some people. I’ve had people doubting me my whole life telling me that I’m not going to do this or that. But I’ve always believed in myself and continued to grind and work hard.”

Rosenberger arrived with the Panthers in 2019 after spending the first of two freshman seasons at Quakertown. 

He is one of just two players Perk School coach Tom Baudinet has coached for four seasons in his seven-year tenure, during which he’s turned the Panthers into one of the state’s premier prep programs.

Rosenberger saw limited minutes as a freshman. He cracked the rotation as a sophomore, getting consistent minutes off the bench. As a junior this past season, Rosenberger was the team’s ‘sixth starter,’ functioning as the sixth man while also starting 15 games and oftentimes on the floor to close games out as well.

“He’s really had a steady progression all four years,” Baudinet said. “And to see him get better, I think it’s rewarding for everybody, but especially him, to see other people recognize that. I think a lot of the stuff he does oftentimes goes under the radar helping teams win and it’s nice to see that scholarship-level and Division I-level schools appreciate those things that he does to help teams win.”

“That’s always the goal and the dream and it doesn’t always happen, but we’re really happy for him that he was able to achieve that and for it to be with somebody that we’ve worked with so much and we’ve gotten to see grow over the years has really been special.”

Colleges began to hone in on Rosenberger this offseason after strong showings in the June live events with the Perk, where he will be one of the teams veteran leaders this season alongside Thomas Haugh (Florida). (CoBL tabbed him as one of the June live period eye-openers)

He continued his strong summer into July with WeR1 on the Under Armour circuit, showing marked improvements in his game.

Rosenberger earned his first scholarship offer on June 24 from West Chester. He caught Saint Francis’ eye in June as well and they continued watching him throughout the summer, eventually extending an offer on July 18. 

Navy became the second Division I program to offer Rosenberger on  Aug. 4. Marist, Air Force, UMBC were other D1 programs to reach out along with a number of Division III schools.

Before arriving on campus this past weekend, Rosenberger said he had a good connection with Red Flash coach Rob Krimmel and his staff. He also knew a few players on the Saint Francis roster in Zahree Harrison (Cheltenham), Gestin Liberis (George School) and Josh Cohen.

By the time he left he decided Loretto, Pa. was the place he wanted to spend the next four years of his basketball career.

“I kind of went in there thinking that I enjoyed talking to coaches,” Rosenberger said. “When I got on campus, I started talking to kids and talking to coaches, seeing all the facilities and all that, I really felt like it was the best fit for me.”

He expects to compete for a role right away for the Red Flash, who are coming off a combined 15-37 record during the past two seasons but won 22 games in 2019-20.

“They see me being very versatile on offense and defense,” Rosenberger said. “From what I’ve heard, I’ve been called a ‘glue guy.’ That’s just a guy that comes there and does what it takes to win. And that’s what they want, a guy who comes there and wins and I feel like I can help them with that.”

Baudinet noted Rosenberger arrived at Perk four seasons ago with intangibles like his toughness, versatility, motor and ‘nose for the ball.’ He’s gotten stronger and more athletic as he’s developed physically, throwing down some slams in traffic this summer.

The other parts of his game and skillset have incrementally grown year-after-year like his shotmaking and finishing. Where Baudinet has noticed the most growth in the past year is Rosenberger’s ballhandling and playmaking/decision making with the ball in his hands.

”Combine that with some of the attribute’s he’s had since he was young … and he’s a really good player,” Baudinet said.

He’s an easy player for a coach to root for as a program guy at a prep program that doesn’t often have player fit that mold .

“He’s a great kid and a very unselfish kid,” Baudinet said. “He cares a lot about his family, about our school, about our program, his teammates. Bobby more than anybody that I know deserves to get a scholarship and be able to play at the Division I level just because of how he approaches everything, everyday. 

“His relationships on campus, his academics, his basketball. He’s just been great ever since he got here Day 1. He really deserves it and hopefully he can have a great senior year heading into college next year.”

With his recruitment behind him, Rosenberger can now focus on what he does best — helping his team win.

The Panthers went to their first PAISAA title game last season, falling to Westtown in a matchup that’s become a marquee event every time they play. (Perk won a 71-70 thriller in the Mid-Atlantic Prep Shootout at Hun School in June this offseason.)

The goal in his final season on campus is to finish the job and deliver the program its first PAISAA championship.

“It’s really exciting. It’s also very relieving that I can go into my senior year and just go out there and win a state championship,” Rosenberger said. “That’s the goal. That’s always been the goal for four years now.”


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