Bowling Green State University Athletics
BG Sentinel Feature on Brandon Pardon
February 16, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2002
By JACK CARLE
Sentinel Sports Editor
For those who didn't know him, Brandon Pardon probably wouldn't be one of the top choices when the sides were being selected for a pick-up basketball game.
Just be aware - don't let his slight frame and unassuming manner fool you. Pardon, the 6-foot-1 senior point-guard for the Bowling Green Falcons, is an extremely accurate passer, is deceptively quick and can knock down the outside jumper or take the ball to the basket. While teammates Keith McLeod and Len Matela get most of the headlines, Pardon's strong all-around offensive floor game is one of the major reasons the Falcons are 19-5 overall this season.
"What more can you ask from a point-guard?," said McLeod, who leads the MAC in scoring this season, thanks in part to Pardon's performance. You see "B" walking in and you say what's this guy going to do?" He's a typical old-fashioned point guard, with a little more pizazz to him.
"Brandon pushes the ball up court and if you're open he'll get it to you," McLeod added. "If you're open and not looking, he'll bust you in the face with the ball, so the next time you had better look." It may be a natural gift or just the result of long hours of practice, but Pardon sees the floor very well. He knows when to hit McLeod or another Falcon on the wing, when to find Matela or another teammate on the low block or when to pull the ball out and start the motion offense again.
"I do see things happen a little bit faster, I see it coming," Pardon said. "They are very confident in my handing the basketball and getting them the ball.
"I tell them if they work, I'm going to get it to them," he added. "It helps their confidence." More often than not, Pardon has made the right decision. This season he has 165 assists, best in the MAC and in the top 10 in the nation, and only 66 turnovers. His 2.5 assist/turnover ratio tops the MAC. He also led the MAC last season with 204 assists.
"I won't trade Brandon for any other point guard in the world," McLeod said. "We've just got a great bond. He really holds the team together." Pardon thought baseball would be his sport when he was in elementary school. That changed in junior high and Pardon began spending long hours at practice as well as playing AAU basketball. "If I wasn't practicing, there was someone else working for my spot," he said. "In the seventh grade, I could see myself ahead of the game a little bit ... In the eighth grade, I decided this was my thing." The long hours have paid off as the basketball is almost an extension of his left hand as he weaves through traffic looking for the open man in BG's transition offense.
"I just loved playing," Pardon said. "It was something I had to do. It was almost like a need, just like it still is.
"I just worked and worked to get the opportunity to be where I'm at now ... there's nothing I would do over again."
Pardon is also working hard off the court to complete his degree
requirements. He did a methods class at St. Aloysius during the fall
semester and is now student teaching at Ridge Elementary, working in a
second grade classroom with Sondra Bates.
>=It'
"You're getting in at 3 or 4 in the morning and you have to get up 7 in the
morning, you have to be prepared with a lesson plan," Pardon said. "She
(Bates) is demanding, but she's really good to work with. I try to do as
well as I can in both aspects, basketball and student teaching."
The Falcons have five regular season games remaining, starting with a Monday
contest at Toledo. BG is 9-4 in the MAC and battling for a first-round
playoff bye.
It's the last chance for Pardon and his three senior teammates to win the
MAC tournament and earn an NCAA berth.
"We've put ourselves in a very good position," Pardon said. "You have to
take it one game at a time, but you do look at the big picture and you want
to make the NCAA tournament so bad. Growing up as a kid that's all you could
think about."
