University of Minnesota Athletics
Pride In The Program: Freshman Brandon Smith
12/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Considered the best senior in the state, who played in two state championships during his freshman and sophomore years, Smith was being heavily recruited by several of the nation’s top schools. Some of the schools included Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA, Marquette and Iowa State to name a few. But the 6-foot-6-inch, 205-pound guard made his decision early to be the first of the 2005 recruiting class to commit to the University of Minnesota.
“Brandon is a KEY ingredient for this program because of the kind of kid he is,” assistant coach Vic Couch said, who was heavily involved in Smith’s recruiting process. “He is a very good student. He’s a really good athlete and he’s a freshman that we’re going to play a lot this year. He will gain some experience to make him a leader for this basketball program.” Smith was up for a tough decision when he chose his collegiate home. His final decisions came down to Marquette, Stanford and the University of Minnesota; three prestigious schools that all have their own uniqueness. He hopes his decision to stay in the Twin Cities spurs other talented local stars to choose the U in the future. “I felt more comfortable with the coaching staff and the players at Minnesota,” Smith said. “To me, that’s an honor being from the hometown, playing at the U and being the first person since John Thomas. It really shows that I have faith in the system and really want to be a part of the Minnesota basketball team.”
Having faith in the system or taking pride in the program is something that is very important to a successful basketball team. That is what Smith hopes to bring to the Golden Gophers...success. He has experience with it and plans on making a statement by staying in Minnesota. “In practice he’s still overwhelmed by trying to learn everything but you can see in games how excited he is to go up on that floor and play in front of his friends and family,” Couch said. “Putting that uniform on that says ‘Minnesota’, says a lot to him.”
Staying close to home was also important to him because of the support he would find. “I have major support from family, friends and other people living around the area,” Smith said. “That was one of the main things, was I wanted to perform in front of them and get the support.”
But when Smith came to the University of Minnesota, basketball wasn’t the only thing on his mind. “Academics are the most important thing about being in school,” Smith said. “If you can get past that part, you can get past any part of college. Being able to get my degree and graduate is very important to me.”
Smith doesn’t just talk the talk. He has put up outstanding grade point averages in high school with a 3.8 GPA along with being a member of the National Honor Society. After the Inner-City All-Star Basketball Classic this past spring, Smith was not only named co-MVP but he also received the boys’ academic award. As a freshman at the University of Minnesota he’s proving himself academically once again. “Right now I’m undecided on my major, but I’m thinking about business or marketing,” Smith said.
Athletically, Smith matches his academic success. “On the court he has strength and athleticism,” Couch commented. “He might be one of our best, if not our best pure athlete. He runs the court really well, jumps really well, he can move laterally and he’s very quick.”
But the jump from high school to Division I is an awakening. To prepare during Smith’s senior year of high school, he worked out extremely hard for his freshman year at Minnesota. During the school year he was employed at Lifetime Fitness and took advantage of the facilities to get in his workouts. He also had other people to support him on the way including his former junior varsity coach and current Henry girls coach J.D. Deloney, who worked with him a lot during his freshman year of high school, as well as his senior year. “I don’t think I could have been more prepared even though I missed out on my senior year,” Smith remembered. “I think I was fully prepared coming to Minnesota. It’s a whole different level and the things I have to learn I will learn here.”
Although nothing can prepare you for the many ups and downs of your freshman year of college, Smith has adjusted well through the whole experience. “I expected to learn as much as I can,” Smith said. “I expected to come in and become a role player and learn from the upperclassmen and the coaches. College life is hard at times and it’s fun at times. It’s very diverse. Right now it’s going great for me and it’s what I expected.”
Even though Smith is just minutes away from his home, college life keeps you wrapped up in a separate world and can sometimes make you feel millions of miles away from your friends and family. But being a part of the Golden Gopher men’s basketball team has given him a new family, people he can trust and rely on. “I room with Moe Hargrow, Lawrence McKenzie, and Aaron Robinson. Those are my boys,” Smith said. “That’s exactly what we call each other. Brothers.”
Ten years later, Minnesota landed a student-athlete from the Minneapolis City League and not just any student-athlete. “Brandon is an excellent student and physically he possesses the strength to be able to play at this level and in this league,” Couch said. “We thought that he would be able to play right away and he’s shown that he can because physically, he has the size to do it.”
Brandon Smith coming to Minnesota has shown his loyalty to the state along with his loyalty to his family, wanting to play close to them so they can watch. “I think he made a statement that opened doors for a lot of kids and said it’s okay to stay at home and play for the University of Minnesota,” Couch said. “Sometimes the kids get so familiar with Minnesota because we’re so available to them. There’s access to the ‘U’ all of the time and it’s all they see. Kids are normal and they want to try something new and different. Brandon had the foresight to say that the University of Minnesota is for me, regardless of who else is recruiting me.”
Brandon Smith has made a statement by taking pride in his state and coming to the University of Minnesota but this wont’ be the last statement he makes during his career. Combine a talented athlete, an excellent student and a genuine person; there’s a statement right there. And when he puts on that Maroon and Gold uniform that says ‘Minnesota’ across the front, he takes pride in that.
story by Cathy Behr, athletic communications graduate assistant The last time a Minneapolis City Conference recruit committed to the University of Minnesota men’s basketball program was in 1994. John Thomas, who graduated from Roosevelt High School was the last player to commit to the program. Ten years after the future NBA first round draft pick chose Williams Arena as his collegiate basketball home, a new local star has emerged from the high school conference in Minneapolis Henry’s Brandon Smith.
Considered the best senior in the state, who played in two state championships during his freshman and sophomore years, Smith was being heavily recruited by several of the nation’s top schools. Some of the schools included Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA, Marquette and Iowa State to name a few. But the 6-foot-6-inch, 205-pound guard made his decision early to be the first of the 2005 recruiting class to commit to the University of Minnesota.
“Brandon is a KEY ingredient for this program because of the kind of kid he is,” assistant coach Vic Couch said, who was heavily involved in Smith’s recruiting process. “He is a very good student. He’s a really good athlete and he’s a freshman that we’re going to play a lot this year. He will gain some experience to make him a leader for this basketball program.” Smith was up for a tough decision when he chose his collegiate home. His final decisions came down to Marquette, Stanford and the University of Minnesota; three prestigious schools that all have their own uniqueness. He hopes his decision to stay in the Twin Cities spurs other talented local stars to choose the U in the future. “I felt more comfortable with the coaching staff and the players at Minnesota,” Smith said. “To me, that’s an honor being from the hometown, playing at the U and being the first person since John Thomas. It really shows that I have faith in the system and really want to be a part of the Minnesota basketball team.”
Having faith in the system or taking pride in the program is something that is very important to a successful basketball team. That is what Smith hopes to bring to the Golden Gophers...success. He has experience with it and plans on making a statement by staying in Minnesota. “In practice he’s still overwhelmed by trying to learn everything but you can see in games how excited he is to go up on that floor and play in front of his friends and family,” Couch said. “Putting that uniform on that says ‘Minnesota’, says a lot to him.”
Staying close to home was also important to him because of the support he would find. “I have major support from family, friends and other people living around the area,” Smith said. “That was one of the main things, was I wanted to perform in front of them and get the support.”
But when Smith came to the University of Minnesota, basketball wasn’t the only thing on his mind. “Academics are the most important thing about being in school,” Smith said. “If you can get past that part, you can get past any part of college. Being able to get my degree and graduate is very important to me.”
Smith doesn’t just talk the talk. He has put up outstanding grade point averages in high school with a 3.8 GPA along with being a member of the National Honor Society. After the Inner-City All-Star Basketball Classic this past spring, Smith was not only named co-MVP but he also received the boys’ academic award. As a freshman at the University of Minnesota he’s proving himself academically once again. “Right now I’m undecided on my major, but I’m thinking about business or marketing,” Smith said.
Athletically, Smith matches his academic success. “On the court he has strength and athleticism,” Couch commented. “He might be one of our best, if not our best pure athlete. He runs the court really well, jumps really well, he can move laterally and he’s very quick.”
But the jump from high school to Division I is an awakening. To prepare during Smith’s senior year of high school, he worked out extremely hard for his freshman year at Minnesota. During the school year he was employed at Lifetime Fitness and took advantage of the facilities to get in his workouts. He also had other people to support him on the way including his former junior varsity coach and current Henry girls coach J.D. Deloney, who worked with him a lot during his freshman year of high school, as well as his senior year. “I don’t think I could have been more prepared even though I missed out on my senior year,” Smith remembered. “I think I was fully prepared coming to Minnesota. It’s a whole different level and the things I have to learn I will learn here.”
Although nothing can prepare you for the many ups and downs of your freshman year of college, Smith has adjusted well through the whole experience. “I expected to learn as much as I can,” Smith said. “I expected to come in and become a role player and learn from the upperclassmen and the coaches. College life is hard at times and it’s fun at times. It’s very diverse. Right now it’s going great for me and it’s what I expected.”
Even though Smith is just minutes away from his home, college life keeps you wrapped up in a separate world and can sometimes make you feel millions of miles away from your friends and family. But being a part of the Golden Gopher men’s basketball team has given him a new family, people he can trust and rely on. “I room with Moe Hargrow, Lawrence McKenzie, and Aaron Robinson. Those are my boys,” Smith said. “That’s exactly what we call each other. Brothers.”
Ten years later, Minnesota landed a student-athlete from the Minneapolis City League and not just any student-athlete. “Brandon is an excellent student and physically he possesses the strength to be able to play at this level and in this league,” Couch said. “We thought that he would be able to play right away and he’s shown that he can because physically, he has the size to do it.”
Brandon Smith coming to Minnesota has shown his loyalty to the state along with his loyalty to his family, wanting to play close to them so they can watch. “I think he made a statement that opened doors for a lot of kids and said it’s okay to stay at home and play for the University of Minnesota,” Couch said. “Sometimes the kids get so familiar with Minnesota because we’re so available to them. There’s access to the ‘U’ all of the time and it’s all they see. Kids are normal and they want to try something new and different. Brandon had the foresight to say that the University of Minnesota is for me, regardless of who else is recruiting me.”
Brandon Smith has made a statement by taking pride in his state and coming to the University of Minnesota but this wont’ be the last statement he makes during his career. Combine a talented athlete, an excellent student and a genuine person; there’s a statement right there. And when he puts on that Maroon and Gold uniform that says ‘Minnesota’ across the front, he takes pride in that.
story by Cathy Behr, athletic communications graduate assistant
