Point guard isn’t an overly familiar position for John Pecarich.
During his time with the Brainerd High boys basketball team, Pecarich would occasionally step in to run the point, but he often found himself slotted into the starting five as the shooting guard.
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Last season – Pecarich’s freshman year with the Bemidji State men’s basketball team – offered plenty of learning opportunities for the guard coming off the bench, but it did not include any time orchestrating the offense.
His sophomore campaign was shaping up to be a similar story, that is, until the last few weeks. Pecarich’s undeniable production off the bench has propelled him into BSU’s starting lineup, and now head coach Mike Boschee has entrusted the Brainerd product with the keys to the offense as the point guard.
“First time I’ve done it since high school,” Pecarich said. “Big leap for sure. I can pick up full courts, a new experience for me every time I’m involved, but I’m getting better at it. I feel like I’m better at taking pressure.”
Off the bench
Pecarich wrapped up his freshman year at Bemidji State averaging 4.6 points and 12.6 minutes per game with zero starts to his name.
His first two games of the 2024-25 season told the same story: a solid, young player coming off the bench and developing more comfort with the collegiate level. Pecarich played a combined 14 minutes through the Beavers’ first couple of matchups, tallying just six points.
It was the third game of the season when something seemed to click for Pecarich. In Bemidji State’s 96-72 win over Valley City State, he provided a massive spark off the bench, nailing six 3-pointers and winding up with a team-high 24 points, eclipsing his previous career best of 12.
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Pecarich’s shooting ability had been on full display at Brainerd. In that victory on Nov. 13 with the Beavers, though, he proved that he could still rip it from beyond the arc at the collegiate level, and even provide the occasional slick drive to the cup.
“He’s always been a really good shooter,” Boschee said. “In high school, he might've had more opportunities to drive to the hole and those kinds of things. The talent level is not quite as good as a Division II level, but he’s still sneaky with it. He can still get in there once and a while and make plays for himself and his teammates.”
Pecarich followed up his hitherto career-best with another strong showing off the bench, shooting 3 for 5 from 3 and grabbing 14 points against Minnesota Morris less than a week later.
The sophomore guard cooled down a bit through the rest of November and most of December, save for a 19-point night against Minnesota State Moorhead on Dec. 14.
However, through the first few weeks of January, that fiery scoring ability from the bench reappeared. Pecarich dropped double-digit point totals thrice from Jan. 10-18, continuing to demonstrate his near-top-end ability to shoot the 3 and produce points.
“First year here, I was a little nervous for a little bit,” Pecarich said. “I didn’t play my best. And now I think I put in a lot of work in the offseason, getting bigger, stronger, just better. … I feel like every person you play (in college) is going be a good player, so it just makes you work hard, makes you 10 times better.”
On Jan. 24, Pecarich was thrust into the starting lineup for the first time at BSU. He bagged four 3-pointers and 16 points, logging 35 minutes on the court.
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Since then, he’s been in the starting lineup every night.
“It’s more of just him producing,” Boschee said. “I think he was comfortable in that role coming off the bench, but over time if you keep playing well, you start developing that trust with your teammates and with the coaches. He got his opportunity and he didn’t look back.”
As it stands, Pecarich is averaging 11 points per game (BSU’s third-highest average) and is shooting 42.9% from beyond the arc, the highest percentage among Beavers who have more than 12 attempts.
“JP’s always been a little bit of a gamer,” Boschee said. “The things that struggled with him early on is probably the size, the strength a little bit. He’s still pretty slight of build, but he’s got game and that translates all the time. If you can put the ball in the hoop, if you add a little flavor into your game, score multiple ways, you know you’ve got a chance. He’s been shooting it very well, he’s been taking really good shots, he’s very unselfish and so it’s cool to watch him go out there and play well.”
Getting comfortable at the point
Pecarich’s jump in playing time has come with increased responsibilities. For the first time since high school, he’s shifted from shooting guard to point guard.
Though there’s still room to grow while guiding the offense at the collegiate level, Pecarich continues to illustrate his ability to produce. On Feb. 15, he scored a career-high 28 points, collecting six 3-pointers and continuing to improve his scoring ability at the rim.
“Just have to go out there, have confidence, and then play with confidence,” Pecarich said. “Do the best you can and make sure it works out well. … It just shows that I’m more than just a shooter. Defenses have to respect me from more than just the 3-point line.”
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Pecarich’s play at the point has also opened up the floor for teammates, creating spacing issues for defenses trying to gameplan against the Beavers.
“We need a guy like him to be able to shoot 3s and keep the floor spaces and not allow defenses to help off of him,” Boschee said. “It’s kind of nice when teams are trying to shut him down from three a little bit because that does give other people the opportunity to have more space and more room and more opportunities for others.”
There’s still a lot of work ahead as Pecarich becomes acquainted with his newfound position. Besides the obvious – becoming acquainted with the full-court game, pushing and guiding the offense, etc. — there’s a physical aspect of the position that could be improved.
Pecarich is tall for a guard at 6-foot-3 , but he still has a slighter frame. Added weight and muscle could be a huge asset in the offseason, especially in driving the net and defending around the perimeter.
“He’s still got a lot of growth,” Boschee said. “The point guard spot is not an easy position to play and I think he’s got a lot of growth there. But again, it's that he needs to continue to improve his body, get in that weight room so he can go against anybody in the league, whether they’re big or strong or quick or athletic and he can still fund success.”
“I’m still undersized in my weight, I need to get stronger,” Pecarich said. “I feel like if I put 10, 15 more pounds on, come back next year, I think I can be way better. … Because right now I’m taller than most point guards, but they probably weigh more than me so I can’t do much with my frame against them.”
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