An ODUSports Feature
Now a redshirt sophomore forward on the Monarch basketball team, it was an unbreakable father-son bond that magnetized Stith, drawing him to leave a school and program he held in high regard to play for his father, former NBA great Bryant Stith, at Old Dominion.
“When it was time for me to graduate from high school, I accepted my scholarship to East Carolina, and within a matter of weeks, my dad accepted the assistant coaching position at ODU. Even if I had wanted to change my decision, I probably would have had to sit out for a year at that point.”
Despite mixed emotions at the time, Stith does not regret the decision he made to honor his commitment and enroll at ECU.
“East Carolina was a great experience,” he reflected. “I loved the school, team and coaching staff. But your heart is where home is, and home was here at ODU. I missed the relationship I had with my dad, and knowing I had the opportunity to get it back, I couldn’t pass it up.”
The 6-7 232-pounder was forced to sit out a season due to the NCAA’s transfer policy during the 2014-15 season. He could offer only words of encouragement from the bench as he cheered his new team on to an NIT semifinal berth.
Needless to say, Stith has never been more excited to get back on the hardwood to play the game he has loved all his life.
“Having to redshirt last season, I learned how much I truly love the game of basketball,” he said. “Sitting on the sideline in a suit and tie watching your teammates play did hurt me a little, but it also helped me improve my game a lot.”
Then Stith received some news that added a silver lining to the cloud that hovered over him for the entire season. His younger brother, B.J. Stith, declared his intent to transfer from Virginia to join the ODU basketball team. Just 13 months his elder, Brandan was afforded the opportunity to play side-by-side with his brother for three more seasons, all under the tutelage of his father and role model, who had coached the brothers’ high school team until accepting the job at Old Dominion.
The Stith brothers, who won three consecutive Virginia 2A State Championships together while their father was the head coach at Brunswick High School in Lawrenceville, Va., were finally reunited on the court. The uniform was different, but the goals they set for themselves never changed.
“I was absolutely thrilled. With my situation, B.J. couldn’t pass up the opportunity to join us at ODU. Now the whole gang is back together, and we can possibly do here what we did at Brunswick.”
They have been relentlessly attacking that objective since the day B.J. extended the Stith-count to three on the Old Dominion campus.
“All summer, B.J., my dad and I were in the gym probably four to six days a week for two hours a day just working on technique, fundamentals and just getting in repetitions for every situation of the game. I feel like I could step on the court right now and play the best game of my life. I’m more confident than ever before.”
Stith attributes this self-assurance and eagerness to contribute to a variety of individuals. Associate Director of Sports Performance Alex Parr, who has put him through the most difficult weight lifting regiment of his life, has him feeling stronger than he ever has before. Head coach Jeff Jones and his staff are constantly finding new ways to push him to his physical and mental limits. His teammates, who he describes as a group of brothers who just happen to be on the same basketball team, broaden the already-existing family tie he has found at Old Dominion beyond the name on the back of the jersey. And there is one more key player in the equation, even though he wears a suit rather than a jersey.
“My dad has been great at the highest level of the game. He knows what it takes to get there and stay there. He pushes me to my absolute limits on the court and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. From the time I was young, he never pushed me into basketball but always let me choose what I wanted to do and helped me along the way. He has always been my biggest fan.”
As the basketball Monarchs gear up for their season-debut on Nov. 13 against Niagara, three Stiths will take to the Ted Constant Center floor. Two will be wearing a suit, and one will be wearing a jersey.
This year, Brandan plans to make plenty of noise for the Monarchs, but unlike last season, he can let his game do the talking at last.
All the while, Stith will remember it was the family name across his back that brought him here, and the University name across the front that keeps him here.