http://lrtrojans.com/news/2015/8/23/MBB_0823154327.aspx

LITTLE ROCK – Despite coming off a senior season at Colleyville Heritage High School (Colleyville, Texas) that saw him earn First Team All-District honors, Thomas Brandsma was well into the summer months before deciding on where he would play college basketball.

"As good a player as he was – he led our team in scoring and rebounding and shot 60 percent from the floor – I still believed that his best basketball was ahead of him," Colleyville Heritage head coach Stephen Hamrick said. "He was a very good player for us. He was one of the most skilled players we had and we used him to create and exploit mismatches a lot. He had that knack of making plays, being tough as nails and just being fearless."

Brandsma, who averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds as a senior in 2011-12, was working at his school's basketball camp in July when Hamrick informed him Chris Beard was on his way to see him workout.

"Who?" Brandsma asked.

Beard, coming off 10 seasons as an assistant at Texas Tech and one as head coach of the ABA's South Carolina Warriors, had been hired in May of that year as head coach at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. Through Texas basketball circles, Beard and Hamrick knew each other well.

"Coach Beard is a good friend of mine and I always thought Thomas would be a good fit for him, personality and character-wise," Hamrick said. "Coach Beard got the McMurry job kind of late, and I just wanted to let him know about a player we had who I thought was kind of flying under the radar. (Thomas) is the ultimate player and the ultimate teammate. And the rest is history."

Looking back, Brandsma says the workout that day was nothing out of the ordinary, just 20 or 30 minutes of shooting and ball-handling drills. But after the workout he and Beard had a conversation. Within minutes, Brandsma said, he knew he was going to play for Beard at McMurry.

"He just oozes confidence," Brandsma said, reflecting on his first talk with Beard. "He said he was going to win, and the way he said it I believed it. He told me he's honest and he takes care of his players, and that's exactly what it's been like these past three years."

Brandsma's transition to college basketball was filled with some of the same obstacles that all freshmen face. The level of competition increased. He was an 18-year-old going against players sometimes four or five years older.

It was made easier by the fact that he had run some of the motion offense – Beard's preferred offensive style – on his high school and AAU teams. That he had no qualms transitioning from featured star on his high school team to more of a role player at McMurry was an added plus. His minutes fluctuated, but his attitude stayed the same.

"It was a smooth transition – whatever it takes to win," Brandsma said, adding that the biggest difference was the business-like approach from the players and coaches. "In college, everyone there is a basketball player. It's not always like that in high school. Everyone is there to work and get better with a purpose."

McMurry went 19-10 in 2012-13, and at season's end Beard had the opportunity to become head coach at Angelo State. The same night he informed the team, Beard asked Brandsma about joining him in Angelo.

Brandsma decided to make the move almost immediately, saying yes before he even had the chance to call and tell his parents. It was "a no-brainer," he said.

With immediate eligibility at Angelo State, Brandsma shouldered a heavier load with the Rams than he did in his lone season at McMurry. His familiarity with Beard's style increased his role and minutes despite the Lone Star Conference being a step-up in talent. He played just under 15 minutes per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor in his first season with the Rams.

Brandsma's two seasons at Angelo State also gave him the opportunity to see how Beard's teams could evolve from one season to the next. After the foundation was laid in year one, Angelo State won 28 games and advanced to the program's first-ever Sweet Sixteen. Beard was named the Lone Star Conference and South Central Region Coach of the Year.

"We had our culture set," Brandsma said. "Winning is a big part of that. But to do that, you have to be unselfish. You have to have guys that love basketball, want to work and want to play for the guys next to them."

Following ASU's record-setting season, Beard was announced as Little Rock's new head coach on April 8, 2015. For the second time in three years, Brandsma was presented with the opportunity to join his coach for the transition. After taking a visit to Little Rock to see the facilities and talk with Beard in-person, Brandsma chose to make the move. He will sit out the 2015-16 season after transferring per NCAA rules. An economics major, he will use the year to put in extra work toward his degree.

"I wanted to finish my career up with (Beard)," Brandsma said. "I wanted the chance to play Division I basketball. When I was 18 years old, if I would have had the chance to play Division I basketball, I'd have taken that in a heartbeat."

Do you have to sit out a year when you transfer from D2 to D1? Evidently so.

This says a lot of good things about the coach as well as the player.

Very good article. Good job by the PR department.

(08-26-2015 07:23 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Do you have to sit out a year when you transfer from D2 to D1? Evidently so.

I have no idea, but it kind of makes sense that you wouldn't have to if you moved up a division. Sometimes making sense doesn't make sense.