April 22, 2010
Where’s Waldow?
While many of us have driven by the exit for Shingle Springs on Highway 50 while heading to Lake Tahoe, very few have any familiarity with the town. Fresh off a marvelous advance to the Sweet 16, the St. Mary’s coaching staff was looking to reload on the front line and found a solid piece for their 2010-2011 roster by taking that particular off-ramp.
The basic factors in this particular equation: Ponderosa High is in Shingle Springs. 6-foot-9, 260-pound Brad Waldow attends school there, plays on the Bruin basketball team and averaged 25.6 points and 10.7 boards a contest this past season. The Gaels had a need in the paint. A mutual admiration society formed and Waldow’s college residence will be in Moraga.
Waldo will bring braun and brain to St. Mary’s
So why was St. Mary’s the choice? "It’s close to home, the coaching staff and players made me feel comfortable and academically it’s perfect," Waldow explained.
It was in December that he noticed the burgeoning interest from the Gael coaches. An official visit ensued, hosted by redshirt Kenton Walker. It went well and the choices eventually came down to St. Mary’s, UC Davis and Air Force.
Randy Bennett received the prize.
Omar Samham and Ben Allen, the mainstay ‘bigs’ for St. Mary’s, are departing. Waldow will join the returnees group that consists of the 6-foot-9 junior Walker, 6-foot-9 sophomore Tim Williams, 6-foot-9 sophomore Mitchell Young and 6-foot-8 senior Phil Benson.
As for his best basketball skills, Waldow offered, "My post play, using my weight and working the angles." By the way, he shot 72% overall from the floor this season.
Ken Gee, program director of the Youth Basketball Academy (YBA) Dawgs (Waldow’s club basketball team) offered this on his player: "Three things comes to mind right away: potential, potential and potential. He has great hands and uses his body well. He is coachable, highly motivated and great on and off the basketball court. Brad never took anything for granted and is wise beyond his years."
YBA Coach Millard "Doc" Haynes had this to say "Brad is passionate about basketball. He is a real team player and a pleasure to coach."
Equally proficient in the classroom -- he was accepted into the Air Force Academy and UC Davis based just on his academics -- Waldow is looking to major in biophysics or biogenetics. If a professional basketball career doesn’t pan out or when it concludes, he sees himself "in a lab mapping genes."
Waldow also shines outside of class and off the court. "When I first got to high school, the older guys on the team took me under their wing," he explained, adding "so I made sure as an upperclassmen to walk around campus with my younger teammates and hang out with them. I’ve definitely grown both as a person and a player since my early years."
He cites his parents as his biggest basketball influence. "They gave me a lot of motivation and believed in me even when I didn’t."
It’s an understatement to conclude that the list of Waldow believers has grown exponentially..