Jan 24, 2008 - 06:12:01 CST
United Tribes guard Gavin Brisco seems to gravitate to Bismarck.The 6-foot-2 guard started his men's basketball career here two years ago at Bismarck State.
He attended a semester at BSC and returned to his hometown, Madison, Wis., where he finished the year at a technical college.
"I sat out (the basketball season)," Brisco said. "I focused on academics and got my school work in order. Ihad some off-court distractions (at BSC) and needed to go home to get my head together."
Brisco came back to Bismarck last year as a student at United Tribes. The business management major, again, focused on school.
This year he's eligible and has returned to the court. He's averaging 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game for the Thunderbirds. He's also netted 31 3-pointers.
"He came to me last year and asked if I would give him a chance," UTTC coach Gerry Geistler said. "I saw him as a kid who needed a fresh start. Sometimes things aren't in place the way you would like them to be when you start college. I like to pass my own judgment. He seemed sincere, and I gave him a chance, and he has been sincere."
UTTC and the city of Bismarck has agreed with Brisco this time around.
"I wanted to come out here and prove I could be successful in anything I wanted to do," he said. "I might as well come back here and clean up the little mess I started."
Brisco will face his former team tonight at the BSC Armory. UTTC comes in at 0-6 in the Mon-Dak and 3-14 overall. BSC is 0-5 in the Mon-Dak and 10-10 overall.
He admits it will be strange matching up against his former team. He also said he carries no hidden agenda.
"It will be exciting to play against familiar faces, and a team I used to play for," Brisco said. "I just want to win the game for regionals and seedings to go to nationals. We'll have great sportsmanship, and no hard feelings against anybody, win or lose."
During Brisco's two-year hiatus, he played very little basketball. He's finally started to rub away some of the rust from being idle.
Brisco had a break-out effort against NDSCS-Wahpeton on Sunday with a 36-point effort.
"We're almost done with the season, and it took me that long to get started," Brisco said. "I'm more comfortable and confident in my game."
The biggest adjustment for Brisco has been getting back into shape. He's lost 20 pounds since August.
"That was one thing my coach was worried about. He said I had to be in shape and ready to play,"Brisco said. "But I played 39 minutes (against Wahpeton), so I think I'm doing pretty good on conditioning."
Geistler said a big game for Brisco was just what the doctor ordered. Geistler is looking for somebody to take the scoring burden off sophomore guard Jarvis Bearstail.
"(Brisco) has given us a player who can score off the dribble," Geistler said. "He's brought a certain maturity to the team. He's a dad now, and he's almost a 4.0 student. He works hard in practice."
Brisco plans to return to the Madison area after the school year is completed, unless he gets an offer from a four-year school in North Dakota.
He plans to go into the daycare business with his mother.
"Coming back has been a good move for me,"Brisco said. "Basketball-wise I'm having a lot of fun and I've learned a lot of things from my coach and teammates. Hopefully I can go to the next level and play somewhere else."
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