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 13^th 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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