No place like home: Former Eagle Brandon returns
Jan. 12, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
PALMDALE — Long removed from his days as one of the deadliest sharpshooters in the Antelope Valley, Timothy Brandon was back in town, sitting at a gym at AV High on Tuesday, watching the school he spent nearly his entire life with getting demolished.
As the soft-spoken 18-year-old witnessed Lancaster Baptist being handed its first loss of the season in emphatic fashion by Eastside, he felt an itch, maybe even the urge to jump in to try to help those he once called teammates.
"It brought back a lot of memories, definitely," said Brandon, currently a freshman at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. "It was nice seeing old friends compete."
As a junior in 2012-13, Brandon was the face of Eagles basketball. He averaged 20.3 points per game and hit 120 3-pointers in just 20 games. He had three games in which he made 10 3-pointers as Lancaster Baptist went 11-10 overall and fell in the first round of the CIF playoffs.
But, the end of the year brought uncertainty for Brandon, who longed to test himself beyond where the Eagles could take him. He was then faced with a difficult decision: Finish out his senior year with the school he'd attended since kindergarten, or depart for Heritage Christian, where he'd go against bigger, tougher teams for a year before it was time to leave again.
Tim left.
"I did (want to stay at Lancaster Baptist), and at the same time I didn't because, obviously, we weren't doing good either," Brandon said. "So I felt like I had to be at (Heritage Christian) to prove myself against better competition."
As a Warriors senior, Brandon found what he sought: Powerful rivals. His new team didn't find many wins, however, going 8-18 overall. Brandon's last game was a 90-49 postseason loss to Oaks Christian, the No. 2 seed in the Division 4AA playoffs.
Taking less shots than he was used to in the AV, Brandon averaged 11.9 points per game in 17 appearances for Heritage Christian, a private school. He still led the team in 3-pointers as he made 62 on 48 percent shooting.
"(Heritage Christian) offered him a scholarship. That was the main reason," said Donell Brandon, Tim's father. "It worked out fairly well. We just wanted to get him on a bigger stage."
Following a year at the school, located in Northridge, along with his brother Michael, a sophomore then, Tim weighed his options, which were limited. The most attractive one came from Vanguard University, but ultimately Tim decided to go to Pensacola Christian College, a private institution that competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).
"He decided he wanted to play for good Christian coaches and pretty much stay on course the way he's used to," Donell said.
Donell was happy to have his son back home for the first time in months as Tim arrived for winter break in December. Tim, who returns to Florida later this week, was also ecstatic to be back in the AV.
But much like he does around the basketball court to get himself open, all Tim's seemingly been doing for the past two years is move. One wonders if he feels like he pulled the trigger too quickly when he chose to leave Lancaster Baptist after his junior year.
"I don't regret it," Tim said. "It was something I knew I had to do to prove I was one of the good ones. I feel like I did good."
Although playing for the PCC Eagles wasn't exactly what Tim had in mind when he uprooted from his high school Eagles prior to his senior year, he has no complaints. His faith played a huge role in his decision to move to the other side of the country.
"I think I'll be there for four years," Tim said. "I like it there."
Tim said he's even a better shooter than he was back at Lancaster Baptist. Only in his first year with PCC, he hopes to continue to grow as a player so he can show off his unforgiving long-distance shot to multitudes on the east coast.
"I've just gotten a whole lot faster, just more fluent," he said of his shot.
Upon returning to the Valley to spend time with Michael, now a junior at Highland, his sister Kayla, a freshman on the Lancaster Baptist girls basketball team, and his parents, Donell and Karen, Tim couldn't stay away from his old friends from Lancaster Baptist for too long.
Tim left, yes. And then he left again. But he's always been part of the Eagles family. There are no hard feelings.
"Not at all," Tim said.
In Pensacola, Tim is back to being an Eagle. Not that he ever stopped being one.
"(Lancaster Baptist) is where they go to church," Donell said. "All (Tim and Michael) did was change schools. Nothing really changed. We have a lot of good people over there."
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
PALMDALE — Long removed from his days as one of the deadliest sharpshooters in the Antelope Valley, Timothy Brandon was back in town, sitting at a gym at AV High on Tuesday, watching the school he spent nearly his entire life with getting demolished.
As the soft-spoken 18-year-old witnessed Lancaster Baptist being handed its first loss of the season in emphatic fashion by Eastside, he felt an itch, maybe even the urge to jump in to try to help those he once called teammates.
"It brought back a lot of memories, definitely," said Brandon, currently a freshman at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. "It was nice seeing old friends compete."
As a junior in 2012-13, Brandon was the face of Eagles basketball. He averaged 20.3 points per game and hit 120 3-pointers in just 20 games. He had three games in which he made 10 3-pointers as Lancaster Baptist went 11-10 overall and fell in the first round of the CIF playoffs.
But, the end of the year brought uncertainty for Brandon, who longed to test himself beyond where the Eagles could take him. He was then faced with a difficult decision: Finish out his senior year with the school he'd attended since kindergarten, or depart for Heritage Christian, where he'd go against bigger, tougher teams for a year before it was time to leave again.
Tim left.
"I did (want to stay at Lancaster Baptist), and at the same time I didn't because, obviously, we weren't doing good either," Brandon said. "So I felt like I had to be at (Heritage Christian) to prove myself against better competition."
As a Warriors senior, Brandon found what he sought: Powerful rivals. His new team didn't find many wins, however, going 8-18 overall. Brandon's last game was a 90-49 postseason loss to Oaks Christian, the No. 2 seed in the Division 4AA playoffs.
Taking less shots than he was used to in the AV, Brandon averaged 11.9 points per game in 17 appearances for Heritage Christian, a private school. He still led the team in 3-pointers as he made 62 on 48 percent shooting.
"(Heritage Christian) offered him a scholarship. That was the main reason," said Donell Brandon, Tim's father. "It worked out fairly well. We just wanted to get him on a bigger stage."
Following a year at the school, located in Northridge, along with his brother Michael, a sophomore then, Tim weighed his options, which were limited. The most attractive one came from Vanguard University, but ultimately Tim decided to go to Pensacola Christian College, a private institution that competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).
"He decided he wanted to play for good Christian coaches and pretty much stay on course the way he's used to," Donell said.
Donell was happy to have his son back home for the first time in months as Tim arrived for winter break in December. Tim, who returns to Florida later this week, was also ecstatic to be back in the AV.
But much like he does around the basketball court to get himself open, all Tim's seemingly been doing for the past two years is move. One wonders if he feels like he pulled the trigger too quickly when he chose to leave Lancaster Baptist after his junior year.
"I don't regret it," Tim said. "It was something I knew I had to do to prove I was one of the good ones. I feel like I did good."
Although playing for the PCC Eagles wasn't exactly what Tim had in mind when he uprooted from his high school Eagles prior to his senior year, he has no complaints. His faith played a huge role in his decision to move to the other side of the country.
"I think I'll be there for four years," Tim said. "I like it there."
Tim said he's even a better shooter than he was back at Lancaster Baptist. Only in his first year with PCC, he hopes to continue to grow as a player so he can show off his unforgiving long-distance shot to multitudes on the east coast.
"I've just gotten a whole lot faster, just more fluent," he said of his shot.
Upon returning to the Valley to spend time with Michael, now a junior at Highland, his sister Kayla, a freshman on the Lancaster Baptist girls basketball team, and his parents, Donell and Karen, Tim couldn't stay away from his old friends from Lancaster Baptist for too long.
Tim left, yes. And then he left again. But he's always been part of the Eagles family. There are no hard feelings.
"Not at all," Tim said.
In Pensacola, Tim is back to being an Eagle. Not that he ever stopped being one.
"(Lancaster Baptist) is where they go to church," Donell said. "All (Tim and Michael) did was change schools. Nothing really changed. We have a lot of good people over there."