In My Words | Brendon Gooch
01/21/2019 | 8:09:00 | Men's Basketball
Since I was young, I've always had a ball in my hand.Â
My dad was an athlete. He played basketball, football, baseball and track in high school. He had a scholarship opportunity until he tore his ACL as a senior. I'm in the middle of three sisters, and dad always had a ball in my hand.Â
Aaron Cook and I have been playing against each other since fifth grade. We played together once in eighth grade and we just got that bond.
After my freshman year, I got my first scholarship offer, and that's when I realized I might be pretty good. A couple years later, SIU starting recruiting me pretty hard. I remember watching the Salukis on TV growing up, seeing them in the Sweet Sixteen. I knew I wanted to be a Saluki, and I knew the Salukis wanted Aaron.Â
I committed in the fall and started recruiting Aaron pretty hard. We took our official visits together, and he committed his senior year. It was a big deal when he committed, because I knew him and how he plays, and I knew Armon, because we played on the same AAU team, so we are re-living the old days.Â
I'm from Belleville, which is only a couple hours away. In high school, we played five guards all the time. We were a great team and won the state championship my senior year.Â
I think I took some sort of satisfaction in winning that state title. Division I basketball was not what I expected it to be. I just wasn't ready. We would play pick-up games, and my guy would score on me all the time. We would do 1-on-1 workouts, and I couldn't stop anybody.Â
I was the biggest guy in high school, so I always guarded the other team's biggest player. I never lifted a weight in high school. When I got here to SIU, I had a long way to go to get on the court. The redshirt process was easy.Â
Coach Hinson pulled me aside one day after practice and asked if I wanted to redshirt. He said, 'I'm not saying you should, but you have the option.' After I talked to my dad, we both felt it was a good thing to redshirt and try to get better at all aspects of the game.Â
Redshirting is unique because it's all about improvement—the practices were my games. I had to get my feet quicker and my body stronger. I had to bring the energy to every practice to help the team play its best during the games. While I was improving, I was helping the team improve.Â
The most important thing for me was getting my confidence back. The game is about confidence and building on that confidence every day. Get a basket here, get a stop there. Do the little things to gain confidence.Â
For me, it's not about offense. I've always been able to knock down shots, and everyone on the team encourages me to be aggressive when I'm in the game. It's about defense, and I'm starting to get some stops. Last year, of course I wanted to play more, but I take everything as a learning process. I could learn from the older guys. What works and what doesn't?Â
This year is going to be a fun year. We didn't get off to the start we wanted to, but we learned a lot in those first two games against Kentucky and Buffalo. We're working hard to fix those things now, and it's going to pay off in conference.
Even though it's not my team, I'm a part of the team and I know I can contribute by talking and doing other things. Next year, I'm going to have to be a leader. When I look at the freshmen, I feel like I"m seeing myself. A little unsure of what they can do to help, but there's great potential. We're all excited for this year, but this program also has a bright future beyond this year.Â
I'm looking forward to the journey,
Brendon
