| 21 March 2011
Sitting in the waiting room at Terrell Brandon’s Barbershop on an overcast Saturday afternoon, Reverend Robert Kelley paused from watching March Madness on the flat screen television that hung in the corner.
Having been in the neighborhood for 14 years, he thought about the question as he waited to get his hair cut.
“By looking at this, it looks like things in the neighborhood have changed for the better,” said Reverend Kelley, holding up a small black foldout map of Northeast Portland, detailing the rejuvenated Alberta Street district.
“This barbershop was one of the first new businesses on the block. It’s like a beacon of light.”
Twenty minutes later, Terrell Brandon walked through the side door and apologized for running late. His smile combined with a welcoming handshake and embrace made it all worth the wait. It’s all good coming from Brandon. After a quick photo shoot in front of the red-brick building that’s boasted his name for the past twenty years, the former NBA point guard can’t help but wonder how time has flown by.
“People see me in here. They just don’t see the name on the outside,” said Brandon, who is ‘at home in his barbershop’.
Part of Brandon's story is running now for Page 2 on ESPN.com.
This is the rest of the story.
“When I purchased my land, I had many calls and letters from people trying to persuade me not to open a business and that I was making a mistake because of how dangerous the neighborhood was. I countered that by saying, ‘if this is one of the more dangerous and drug infested neighborhoods, if we throw something positive here that maybe we can help get rid of those things’,” he continued.
“I knew whatever it was and I had the opportunity, that I wouldn't leave North or Northeast Portland. I wanted to spearhead that and be a leader that would bring back positive things to the neighborhood you grew up in.”
A dream and some drive.
That’s how Brandon got here -- or back here as the case has been for this Northeast Portland native. For as much as people told him to avoid such a sketchy business decision (one of many ventures in Brandon’s impressive portfolio), Terrell wanted prove in college at Oregon he was more than just a basketball player.
“I was really an angry college player -- because I was a Prop 48 and being a Prop 48 was real embarrassing,” Brandon explained about the NCAA rule student-athletes must meet in regards to high school grades and standardized test scores.
“You want to show people that an SAT test isn't the equivalent of who I am and what I represent. I just didn't pass the test. So, then you have to prove that academically to people that you're not illiterate or stupid. I had the mindset that I wanted to be a scholar athlete. That freshman year was a real long year and once I played as a sophomore, I was a real angry player after sitting out that year and I wanted to show it on the court.”
That mindset took him from Eugene to the Association, with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking him 11th overall in the 1991 NBA Draft.
Brandon learned greatly from Mike Fratello, Mark Price, and ran the pick-and-roll with Larry Nance and Hot Rod Williams on his way to becoming a two-time NBA All-Star with the Cavs. Yet while Brandon was also traded twice over with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, he always knew basketball wouldn’t be around forever.
After recurring knee injuries, Terrell decided to listen to his body.
At 31 years old and after averaging 13.8 points and 6.1 assists per game over his career, Brandon walked away from the game.
“I always kept in the back of my mind, that you are always one injury away from your career ending. So when I retired, I knew my business would be there to fall back on.”
Even now as Brandon stands talking in his barbershop, he remains in constant motion. He changes his stance. He shifts from side to side. Still battling sore knees, Terrell tries to find comfort from the metal rod in his right leg and multiple surgeries on his left leg.
It makes Brandon feel for guys like the Portland Trail Blazers’ Greg Oden and Brandon Roy.
“I know what he’s going through. It’s tough, but once he finds out how to adjust his game he’ll be fine,” Brandon said of Roy.
“Watching sports over the years, that is something that never changes – the injuries.”
It’s been ten years since Brandon retired from the NBA, but that doesn’t mean he is done with basketball just yet.
“The more I think about, the more I want to get back in it. I haven't been asked yet, but I know the game and unfortunately injuries ended my career,” admitted Brandon, who said he plans to reach out to teams at the end of the season including the Blazers.
A future in coaching, community-team outreach, or even TV or radio could be part of the plan.
“I've been around so many coaches who taught me the game that I think I could help a franchise and help players develop.”
Hopefully that day will come. That day should come. Knowing the kind of person Brandon is and his vast point guard knowledge and overall love for the game, there is no doubt “Coach Brandon” has a nice ring to it.
Until then, it’s back to the barbershop and back to being a beacon.
“It's a dream,” Brandon said of being able to call something his own.
“It really is a dream come true."
photo: patrick ulch
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