Pride of Columbia Prep lighting it up with Positive Direction

Brian Lissak’s summer plans didn’t include playing AAU basketball. His college plans didn’t include competing on a higher level than Division III.

Things are rapidly changing for Columbia Prep's rising senior guard.

Lissak, a dead-eye 3-point shooter, is the leading scorer thus far for Positive Direction, a team that includes budding superstar Jermaine Lawrence and LeBrent Walker. The 6-foot-3 guard had six 3-pointers in a game Sunday against the Kendall Madison Playaz at the Long Island Lightning Live tournament at Island Garden.

“I actually think he’s a high-major shooter,” said Positive Direction coach Daon Merritt, who played college ball at Richmond and South Alabama. “If he was 6-5, he’d be Mike Miller. He’s that good of a shooter. I think he’s one of the best shooters in the metro area. It’s just that guys don’t know about him because he plays in the private school league. If he was a CHSAA guy, I’m sure colleges would be all over him. He’s that good of a knockdown shooter.”

Lissak had 17 points to lead Columbia Prep to a win over Riverdale for the NYSAISAA Class C title back in March. The ‘C’ winner doesn’t even gain a berth in the New York State Federation tournament in Albany, where he might have been seen by colleges. Before this summer, Lissak didn’t travel with an AAU team and he just started playing basketball when he was in seventh grade.

“I’m definitely way under the radar,” Lissak said.

Before this spring, the radar didn’t even exist for him. Lissak played at the IS8 Spring Classic with the New York Phoenix and his incredible shooting caught Merritt’s eye. Merritt, who played high-school ball at St. Raymond, spoke to the Phoenix coach and then Lissak’s father Ken. He had to have him for Positive Direction.

Lissak ended up trying out and traveling with PD to a tournament in the spring. Now he is a staple in the starting lineup.

“Something like July can be big for a kid like him to get an opportunity during the live period and show these guys,” Merritt said. “I always tell him, 'you’re auditioning for Broadway. Guys have never seen you. You have not come up on a traditional power AAU team.'”

His father Ken played basketball at the University of Florida, but Lissak was never interested in basketball – or any sports – until seventh grade. When he did take to the sport, he began getting excellent shooting lessons from former Central Florida star Ray Abellard, a 3-point specialist.

Lissak spent nine months shooting one-handed form shots two feet from the basket with Abellard. Then he moved two feet back and added a guide hand. He says he still practices form shooting every single day, like he has since seventh grade. Merritt calls him one of the top two shooters in the area, comparing him to Xaverian’s Brian Bernardi for a reason.

“I’m confident it’s going in when I shoot it,” Lissak said.

With his 1980 SAT score and superlative grades, Lissak could end up playing Ivy League basketball, Merritt says. The coach is confident he’ll be a scholarship player on some level and he truly believes Lissak can compete on the Division I level.

But right now the kid is just having fun. Playing with and against some of the best players in the city – and country – is a far cry from Columbia Prep.

“The private school league is pretty weak, so it’s good to finally play against some really good competition,” Lissak said.

mraimondi@nypost.com