Brandon Brantley is new Purdue men’s hoops assistant
From Purdue Athletics
Brantley has extensive experience on the sidelines, spending the last two years with Basketball University and as the EG10 AAU Under-16 head coach. During his time with the EG10 Under-16 squad, he guided the team to the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions title in Atlanta during late April of this past year.
Brantley also spent time in the Indianapolis Pro-Am Summer League from 2008 to 2012, where he was the head coach to several NBA and NCAA Division I players in the AAU and summer league circuits.
From 2006 to 2010, Brantley was the head JV basketball and assistant coach at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, where he assisted in coordinating youth programs and student study tables.
-We are excited about Brandon joining our staff. He has worked very hard to stay in and around the game after a successful career overseas,” Painter said. -As a three-time Big Ten champion as a player, he brings a wealth of experience in understanding what it takes to be successful at the highest level. I am confident he can teach and mentor our players into well-rounded student-athletes in a first-class manner.”
Brantley was key figure in Purdue’s run of success in the Big Ten Conference in the mid-90s. He helped the Boilermakers to three Big Ten Championships, serving as the team captain of the 1995-96 squad that posted a 26-6 overall record, a 15-3 Big Ten mark and the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region.
During his time at Purdue, Brantley competed on three NCAA Tournament teams (1994-96) and one NIT Tournament squad (1992). He finished his career appearing in 129 games, the 10th-most in school history and scoring 803 points with 591 rebounds and 114 blocks, the sixth most in a career in Purdue history. He was honored with the team’s Courage Award in 1995, the Doc Combs -Play Hard” Award in 1996 and he shared the John Wooden Most Valuable Player Award in 1996.
Following his stint in West Lafayette, Brantley participated in the Indiana Pacers Training Camp and then played professionally in Spain, Finland, England, Italy, Venezuela and the CBA. Brantley won rebounding titles in four different leagues and was a four-time MVP, earning English League All-Star Team honors in 2000.
He was a member of the Purdue Athletic Advisory Council and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Restaurant and Hotel Management.
-This is a great opportunity to learn from and coach with one of the best coaching staffs in America. I am very excited to come back to Purdue and have been trying to get to this level for a couple of years. It is a blessing to be able to come back and work with this program,” said Brantley. -I am coming in as the rookie, so I am going to soak up all I can and learn from them. This is the best situation I can be in and thank Coach Painter and his experienced staff for this opportunity.”
All three of Painter’s assistants hail from Indiana as Brantley played his high school basketball at Andrean High School in East Chicago, Ind. He joins Greg Gary (Anderson Highland High School) and Jack Owens (Indianapolis Washington High School) as Indiana natives, in addition to Painter (Muncie Delta High School).
-Brandon understands what Purdue Basketball is about having played on championship teams here in the mid-90s,” Painter said. -It’s about passion, emotion, a family atmosphere and a desire to succeed in all aspects at the highest level. Brandon brings all of those things and will be a welcome addition to our staff and program.”
-It is definitely a thrill for me to come back to a place that shaped me into the person that I am today, and hope that I can be as influential to them as my coaches and support staff were to me when I played here,” Brantley said.
Editor’s Note: Brantley played in the alumni game in 2012, and unfortunately was the victim of a Lewis Jackson buzzer beater. To his credit, he was still good enough to be in the game at the end and actually played pretty good defense on the play.
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