Bright lights, big games

Flittner, Wood light up the Dean Dome

By Pedro Velazco

Brandon Wood walked into the Dean Smith Center on Nov. 15 and was taken aback. In his first season with Valparaiso’s men’s basketball team, the guard from Kokomo had hit the jackpot. There he was, on the floor at North Carolina.

“It was crazy,” he said. “North Carolina was my favorite team, it’s still my favorite team. This was my first time being to the Dean Smith arena. When I first walked in, I was shocked. I didn’t know how big it really was.”

The Smith Center, a.k.a. the Dean Dome, is big. It’s bigger-than-Conseco-Fieldhouse big. Seating 21,750, the home of the defending national champion Tar Heels holds more people than the entire population of Tipton County.

“I was probably more ready for this game than any game of my life, just having the opportunity to play against my favorite team ever,” Wood said.

Grayson Flittner can relate to that. Eight days later, the former Tri-Central star was in Chapel Hill, N.C., with Gardner-Webb to take on North Carolina. Wood and Flittner each took a loss, but each went out swinging.

Wood scored 30 points in his turn at the Dean Dome though the Crusaders fell 88-77. Flittner poured in 32 including nine 3-pointers in a 93-72 loss. The losses sting, but the experience of playing a big opponent on a big stage makes the experience worthwhile.

“I know it gets my adrenaline pumping a little more,” said Flittner of playing against top teams. “It’s definitely different than any other game for me I know, especially after you hit that first or second shot and you kind of get that feeling it’s going to be a good night. After the second 3 [against Carolina] I knew I was feeling pretty good and I knew I was going to let it go and see where it took us.”

A week later you could still hear the grin on his face as Wood tried to put the experience into words while interviewed via phone. He had been transfixed by the championship banners and retired numbers.

“It was 20,000 people there; it was crazy,” he said.



A new beginning for Wood

Brandon Wood’s career is just hitting stride. After playing just a few games two seasons ago in an injury-shortened start at Southern Illinois, Wood transferred to Highland Community College in Illinois to play his freshman season. After a good run at Highland, Wood moved on to Valpo to continue his career.

In his first season with Valpo, Wood is averaging 22.8 points per game with the high water mark coming in the loss at Carolina. He also had 25 points against Ball State and 24 against Michigan State.

“I’ve played at the D-I level before so it was good to be able to get back and be able to play D-I again,” Wood said. “It made the transition easy. I had to get used to the pace of the game, and once I got used to that, it went from there.

“I think [playing at Highland] helped a lot. I think it got back my confidence in my game, and that’s big at this level.”

Wood instantly moved into a starting role at Valpo, where he’s used as a combo guard. He likes the way the Crusaders’ style of play emphasizes spacing on the floor and moving the ball to create attacking lanes.

The Crusaders are 1-3 on the season, and have a healthy dose of road games against high-level opponents. Even though the Horizon League squad may take its lumps in the preseason, playing against top-flight opponents is worth it for Wood. The big games fire the imagination, and toughen up the players for the league grind which includes two games against No. 12 Butler.

“That was one of the main reasons why I chose to come to Valpo, the non-conference schedule,” said Wood. The Crusaders play at No. 6 Purdue Dec. 9. “The exposure you get from playing top teams … it’s like no other. Of course we’d like to win games, but I’d rather play against the best teams than play against some average team and get the win.”

Wood said he’s excited about his academic opportunity at Valpo and glad to hit the floor for Homer Drew’s squad.

“It think it was a great decision by me and my family’s part to come here to Valpo,” Wood said. “I had a chance to come in somewhere that’s playing at a good D-I level, and get to play some of the best teams in the country.”



Last chance at glory

Grayson Flittner is no stranger to the big stage. The Gardner-Webb senior guard enjoyed a brief flurry of national attention two years ago when he ripped Kentucky for 22 points in leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs to an upset.

Flittner’s nine treys at the Dean Dome tied an arena record for opponents with Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott and Drew Barry. He wasn’t thrilled with the loss on game night, but after a day to lick his wounds, he was able to enjoy the experience.

“There were actually quite a few [G-W] students — it’s a small campus — quite a few of them made the trip,” he said of playing at Carolina. It’s a drive of about 21/2 hours. “I got a lot of compliments after the game of how we played, we just couldn’t match up against them with their size.”

Flittner is in his final season at G-W. He had surgery on his right knee over the summer and is still getting back to full strength. But as a senior, there’s no time to lose. A sense of urgency hit him when last season ended.

“I felt that since our last game last year,” he said. “I kind of went into instant panic mode and realized I still hadn’t gone to the March Madness tournament and realized there’s things I want to accomplish before I leave this place.”

The Bulldogs return four starters, including Flittner, and six of their top seven players.

“We have real high hopes this year,” Flittner said. “A lot of the magazines and preseason [polls] had us ranked anywhere from second to fourth in our conference. We feel we can really contend for the Big South this year.”

As one of the key players, Flittner has had to become more vocal, more of a leader in his senior season.

The Bulldogs are 3-1 this season, warming up with three schools outside NCAA Division I before heading to Carolina last Monday. Flittner combined for 23 points in those opening three games as he tried to work himself into shape. He’d missed preseason conditioning as his knee recovered from surgery. Even though he’s not fully fit, being on the road to recovery makes him feel a lot better.

“Not necessarily physically, but mentally [I feel better],” he said. “I know this season I’m not breaking my body down. This year, I know it’s just going to keep getting stronger and stronger.”

The sports management major is closing in on the end of his run at Gardner-Webb and wants a healthy body for the future.

“I’d like to go overseas and play after this season if my knee holds up and I have a good enough season,” Flittner said. “If that doesn’t work out, than I‘d think I’d like to get into college coaching.”

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