SXU Athletics Forward Andre Brandon shoots over his defender
Cougars’ power forward Andre Brandon has been through an odyssey in his basketball journey, he has truly defied all adversity sent his way.
Brandon started his journey playing organized basketball when Brandon was in 1st grade. Brandon would later go on to play AAU with friends he grew up with.
“I started playing basketball because it was fun, I had a lot of fun playing with my friends,” said Brandon.
Brandon frequently brought up his enjoyment playing with his friends throughout the interview. It is clear that Brandon’s friends have motivated him to keep playing even through injury.
“My friends and family motivate me to keep going…[they] helped [me] throughout my injury telling me to keep going and keep going,” said Brandon.
Injuring yourself and coming back from playing basketball is a tall task. Especially when you factor in how physically tasking the sport can be. Playing a sport that requires a lot of jumping, you need to strengthen the lower parts of the body.
When Brandon was in high school at Liberty High School Prep in North Liberty, IA. he tore his achilles in his last year playing AAU basketball.
“I had rehab for that..injuries [make you question], what you [have] to do to be better,” said Brandon.
Through injury Brandon kept a positive attitude and it paid off because he was able to achieve his goal of playing basketball at the collegiate level.
“This was pretty much the only sport I took seriously so this was always a goal,” said Brandon when asked about his choice to play basketball in collegiate years.
Brandon’s collegiate career has seen itself migrate from school to school.
Brandon played his first season of college basketball in the 2021-22 season at Sauk Valley Community College in Lee County, Illinois. As a Skyhawk Brandon played in 27 out of the 29 games, and started in 21 out of the 27 games he played in.
In those 27 games Brandon recorded 278 points, racked 169 rebounds, blocked 33 shots, dished out 17 assists, and had 16 steals. Brandon also shot 36.6% from beyond the arc which is very rare as a power forward.
With this excellent first season Brandon returned to Sauk Valley for the 2022-23 season. In Brandon’s second season he played in 29 out of 32 games, but only started in 15 of those games.
Regardless of Brandon’s reduced minutes, he was still able to score 285 points, grabbed 192 rebounds, blocked 30 shots, dished out 21 assists, and collected 30 steals. Even with less minutes he was still able to put up better stats. After his second season Brandon transferred to Saint Xavier University.
Brandon has had the best season of his collegiate career in his first season at SXU.
He has started in every game since his debut as a Cougar against Rochester University on November 3rd, 2023. In his debut game he dropped 19 points, collected 10 rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
As of now, Brandon has recorded 337 points, 158 rebounds, 18 assists, 14 blocks, and 30 steals in 26 games.
Brandon’s scoring ability has flourished throughout his years at Sauk Valley to now as an asset for the Cougars Men’s Basketball team. Brandon’s ability to score has been used in the Cougars game plan in every game.
It is a grave mistake to leave Brandon open in the three point range because when Brandon is on a streak, he is flawless. He also has an incredible ability to score down low, force turnovers, and capitalize on turnovers.
Brandon is truly a gem for the Cougars; his play style is similar to that of former NBA player LaMarcus Aldridge because of his ability to shoot from beyond the arc efficiently.
Brandon’s collegiate has been successful and through injury and adversity Brandon has shown why he is the real deal.
Even though Brandon isn’t sure about playing at the professional level he is enjoying the time he has now, and taking care of what needs to be done now.
“If you want to be a good college athlete, getting your school work done and finding time to get better at your sport [is key],” said Brandon when asked about the most important quality of being a college athlete.
It is safe to say that getting the job done is not a problem for Brandon, off and on the court he has done what he needs to do to become a great student athlete.