Pathway to the NBA: A Road Less
Traveled
By Craig Earnshaw
A chance encounter in 1988 set two
young men on different paths to the NBA.
Ten-year-old Brandt Andersen was
attending a BYU basketball camp and decided to show up early one
morning to get in some extra shooting practice. Cougar basketball
star Michael Smith, who was coaching at the camp, happened to
show up early that same morning and the two shot around for awhile.
Andersen doesn’t remember what the
two talked about, but he does remember that it was that morning
when he decided he wanted to be involved in basketball for the
rest of his life.
Smith’s path to the NBA was more
immediate — he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1989 NBA
Draft and later played for the Los Angeles Clippers. Andersen’s
path led him to the NBA just last month.
Love of the Game
Blessed with neither height nor speed,
Andersen compensated with desire. He won the free throw shooting
contest for his age group at the summer camp where he met Smith.
His 3-on-3 team won their age-group bracket that year as well.
When his family moved to France
in 1989, he played on the French national junior team for three
years while his father served as mission president.
Eventually, the family moved back
to the U.S.
and Andersen’s love of basketball was forced to take a back seat
to school and work.
Andersen’s dedication to his work
paid off. In 1999, while a student at BYU, he founded uSight,
a software company that provided solutions for small businesses
on the Internet. In 2004, uSight was named the second-fastest
growing privately owned company in America
by INC. Magazine. That same year, Andersen sold part of
the company, giving up day-to-day duties, and moved into real
estate development full time.
Currently, Andersen is involved in
two projects in Utah County:
The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge, a golf course in Orem,
and a project in Lehi that is being designed by world-renowned
architect Frank Gehry of Frank O Gehry and Associates.
With the success of his business
ventures, Andersen found himself with the time and means to get
reacquainted with basketball. Instead of the game doing something
for him this time, he wanted to do something for the game.
He found his opportunity in the NBA’s
Development League, or D-League, which began play in 2001.
Stern Words
On Dec. 2, 2006, NBA Commissioner
David Stern announced the award of a D-League expansion team to
Andersen in Orem. The
yet-to-be named team will be the D-League’s 13th team
and will begin play during the 2007-08 season at the McKay Event Center
on the campus of Utah Valley State College.
“The D-League continues to provide
the NBA and its teams the opportunity to cultivate talent, test
new ideas and give young roster players a means to improve through
game competition,” said Stern in his announcement. “That commitment,
coupled with delivering the game of basketball in an affordable,
fun and family-oriented atmosphere, has more investors seeking
to bring the D-League to their communities.”
The D-League plays a 50-game schedule
from November through April and currently includes teams in Albuquerque,
N.M., Anaheim, Calif., Little Rock, Ark., Austin, Tex., Bakersfield,
Calif., Broomfield, Colo., Bismarck, N.D., Fort Worth, Tex., Boise,
Idaho, Los Angeles, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Tulsa, Okla.
NBA teams are permitted to assign
first- and second-year players to the D-League, where they continue
to receive full NBA pay while in the development program. Remaining
slots on D-League rosters are filled through open tryouts.
“Brandt Andersen is the kind of entrepreneurial,
passionate owner that is a perfect fit for the D-League,” said
NBA D-League President Phil Evans. “The Utah County area is
a market appreciative of quality basketball and entertainment
options. We couldn’t be more excited about partnering with Brandt
to deliver both for years to come.”
Roots
“The (Utah County) community
is a place where I live and work. I love living here and I want
to enable families to have experiences they will never forget,”
said Andersen.
He wants his team to be connected
with the Utah County community, especially with families. As part
of this effort, fans can vote for the new team’s name at the team
website, www.dleagueutah.com.
Maybe a youngster will have a chance
encounter with a future NBA player on Andersen’s team and decide
to make basketball a part of his life. It’s happened before.
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