EWU’s Drew Brandon brings complete game

It wasn’t Drew Brandon’s idea to become one of the best rebounding point guards in the country. The notion was forced on him as a child, by his older brother Spencer. “He wouldn’t pass me the ball, so I had to go grab some rebounds,” said Brandon, who’s doing that – and much more – this year for Eastern Washington. There’s no such thing as a complete player, but Brandon is coming close these days. In his last three games – all wins – the senior from Corona, California, averaged 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. “He’s been our glue guy,” coach Jim Hayford said of Brandon, who’s been a key part of the Eagles’ 18-5 record going into tonight’s showdown with Sacramento State: In the Eagles’ landmark win at Indiana back in November, he made one clutch shot after another, finishing with a career-high 27 points. Two weeks ago against Idaho, Brandon had 10 assists, nine boards and 18 points, including a buzzer-beating layup for force overtime in a game the Eagles eventually won 98-95. Last week, on the road in Montana without national scoring leader Tyler Harvey, it was Brandon who led the way to Eastern’s first Big Sky Conference road sweep in 11 years. In those games, he averaged 21 points, nine boards and four steals. That earned Brandon his second straight Big Sky Player of the Week award and his third of the season. Which is nice, but … “It’s really just a team honor,” the soft-spoken Brandon said this week. “I think we’ve just stepped it up as a team … I get people the ball when they get open.” He’s done more than that this season, averaging 9.8 points and leading the Eagles in rebounds (7.3) and assists (5.3). Brandon’s arrival in the fall of 2013 was good karma for Hayford, who’d been snakebit at the point guard position since moving from Whitworth in 2011. First, incumbent Glen Dean left for Idaho and forcing Hayford to adapt on the fly. A year later, transfer Justin Crosgile quit the team in midseason. Meanwhile, Brandon, a late bloomer in high school in Southern California, took his father’s advice and moved north, to Sierra College. “I had to grow up and mature,” said Brandon, who grew to 6-foot-4, honed his game and drew the attention of former EWU assistant Craig Fortier. “We knew we needed a JC point guard, and he (Fortier) knew they had a good point guard,” Hayford said. In the spring of 2013, Hayford reached out to Brandon with the promise of a scholarship – with five strings attached. “I wasn’t doing real well in school at the time, so they took a real chance on me,” said Brandon, who needed to pass five classes that summer to earn the transfer. “Coach Hayford, he keeps pushing me to get my degree, and I appreciate that,” said Brandon, who’s majoring in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in communications Once in Cheney, Brandon said he bonded immediately with the coaches and players, including the large group of foreigners. “They’ve come so far. This is their family, so they’re all in, and that brings everybody in with them,” Brandon said. On the court, Brandon made a smooth transition to Division I ball, leading the Big Sky in assists and being named a second-team all-star. He also had a league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1 after starting 29 of 30 games. Still, there was an empty feeling at the end of the season, when Brandon was injured and the Eagles finished one game out of the Big Sky Tournament. “We feel like we left some games on the table last year,” said Brandon, echoing this year’s team motto of “Leave no doubt.” So far, they haven’t. With at least nine games left, the Eagles have matched the school record for overall wins set in 1989-90. They’re ranked a season-high 12th in this week’s Collegeinsider.com mid-major poll, and are a Big Sky-best 63rd nationally in the RPI rankings. They’re doing that despite injuries to Harvey, to forward Venky Jois and to Brandon, who played through a broken finger earlier this year and has battled back spasms. “It shows we have to fight through adversity – we’re going to have injuries,” Brandon said. “When we’re healthy, we can be phenomenal.” Indeed, the Eagles have surpassed most of their preseason goals, which inevitably raises the bar even higher. “The NCAAs? It’s in the back of our minds, that we can get there,” said Brandon, who said.