By John Rosenstock, Athletics Media Relations Student Assistant
Senior member of Longwood Men's Golf Team
Brandon Giles was like any other kid one night, just flipping from channel to channel. Then, he happened to land on a University of North Carolina basketball game. He was entranced in the action. The players, the coaches, the intensity, and all of that Carolina blue. Little did he know he’d one day be a Division I basketball player wearing just a slightly different shade of blue.
Brandon recalls not being pushed by anyone to take the game of basketball too seriously, but it was his life growing up. He always thought about getting out on the court and figuring out ways to improve his game.
“I knew I wanted to play competitive basketball from a young age,” said Giles.
But Brandon did not settle for just being competitive, he was outstanding. The Gaithersburg, Maryland native played four years of basketball at Magruder High School and averaged a solid 13.5 points and 4.1 assists per game as a senior. His leadership on the court supplemented these stats, and earned him honors such as All-Met honorable mention from The Washington Post.
Brandon’s successful high school career attracted schools such as Columbia University, Boston University, Mount St. Mary’s, American University, and of course, Longwood University. Head Coach Mike Gillian was looking for a steady point guard in just his second recruiting class at the helm of Lancer Basketball.
Gillian stated that being in the beginning of a four-year reclassification to Division I, it was crucial to get players with not only talent, but also great character. And that is what the coach got in Brandon Giles.
“I was definitely looking at the other schools that were recruiting me, but Longwood showed the most interest and I made the commitment to come here the summer before my senior year of high school,” commented Giles.
Brandon’s freshmen season at Longwood was nothing short of a struggle on the basketball court. The team fought hard in some close games, but was only able to come up with one win against 30 losses in the program’s first year versus a Division I schedule. Giles maintains that the first season was still beneficial, as it gave the extremely young team some experience to take with them for the next season. When asked what stood out the most about the first year in college basketball, Giles simply responded…
“The win!”
That win came against Howard University, (75-69) and it served as a springboard for the following year when the team improved to a very respectable 10 wins. Also, the middle of the season that year served as a cornerstone for Brandon’s career as he took over as starting point guard 15 games in, and never gave up that distinction. It is worth noting that late in that second season, Longwood had a pivotal match-up against in-state rival James Madison. Willet Hall saw its largest crowds ever, selling out the then 2,522 seat arena, and Brandon rose to the occasion. Giles scored a career high 21 points going five for five from beyond the three-point line, and grabbed eight rebounds which led the team to a thrilling 77-73 victory.
“Everyone thinks they can come up with a big performance in an important game like that, but Brandon believed it,” said Gillian. “The JMU game proved to him that he could do it, and we couldn’t have won without his performance that day.”
Brandon is certainly a major factor in developing the men’s basketball program into a formidable Division I team. He has also had to take on a new role in the last year or so: team captain. Giles and teammate Lamar Barrett were the only fourth-year seniors on the squad this year and were appointed team captains for 2007-08 by Coach Gillian.
“They were instrumental in fighting through some difficult times and still getting some great wins along the way,” commented Gillian.
When asked about his role as a veteran leader, Brandon responded, “It’s kind of funny, I see myself in the younger guys. All I want to do is make their transition easier than mine was, because I didn’t have any older guys to follow when I got here.”
Brandon’s college basketball career may have come to close, but his professional career is just beginning. This past summer, he served an internship with The Neustadt Group, a sports marketing agency in his hometown of Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was a phenomenal experience according to Brandon. He explained that the agency represents professional basketball players, some in the NBA and some aspiring NBA players competing in developmental leagues all over the globe.
Coach Gillian commented, “He’ll do great. There is no training class or seminar that can teach you what four years of hard work and sacrifice as a college athlete will teach you. His experience with Longwood Basketball will certainly help him in the future.”
Giles finished his career with 80 starts in 123 career games -- tied for first in career games (123). He ranks third in career assists (380), fifth in career three-point field goals (114) and career three-point field goal attempts (347), and eighth in career assist average (3.1). Giles totaled 595 career points and 253 career rebounds as well, averaging 6.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists as a senior.
The aspiring sports agent looks to go on to do great things in the sports world, but says he’ll never forget the relationships he was fortunate enough to have on and off the court during his time at Longwood University.
