With injuries healed, Dean jumps forward

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

ATLANTA -- Brandon Dean has been known for his explosiveness since coming to Arkansas two years ago -- flashing to the basket, executing rim-assaulting dunks and pick-pocket steals.
Now he's known as a tough guy, too.
After fighting through a spate of injuries this season, a finally healthy Dean scored 61 points in four games, lifting Arkansas to the SEC Tournament championship and earning MVP honors Sunday.
Dean, a sophomore from Monroe, La., scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting in a 75-67 victory over Auburn at the Georgia Dome.
A month ago, few of the Razorbacks' followers would have picked Dean to storm through the tournament with timely baskets and inspiring plays. He was entirely capable, but Dean had been struggling.
Except for a three-game stretch in early February, Dean averaged 5.5 points in SEC play. He had severely sprained both ankles before league play and, he said Sunday, was hobbled by a stress fracture in his shin, an injury previously not made public.
But complaining isn't Dean's way, coaches and teammates said. Persisting is.
It wasn't until March 5, the final regular-season game against Auburn, that Dean said his legs felt like new again.
"It's so satisfying that I finally got my abilities back," Dean said. "It's been a struggle, but I think I kept a level head."
His confidence also returned. Where Dean had been playing to avoid injury, now he played aggressively. Instead of finger-rolling layups, he tried to tear the rim down with dunks and fired in three-pointers.
"He's the player everybody thought he would be now," sophomore guard T.J. Cleveland said. "He just dug deep in his heart and gutted up."
Dean shot 42.4 percent and averaged 7.7 points during the regular season. He shot 54.8 percent and averaged 15.2 points in the tournament coming off the bench, which doesn't necessarily make him a reserve in Coach Nolan Richardson's committee approach.
"It's all about playing time," Richardson said. "He's the MVP. I tried to make that point to my players. I try to get every kid ready so if I ever have a chance to call on you, you've been in that spot."
Richardson called on Dean in every game in Atlanta. The sophomore delivered 7 points and 5 assists against Georgia, 12 points against Kentucky, 20 points against LSU and 22 against Auburn.
The 6-1 Dean also made a statement in the Kentucky game when he stood up to 7-0 center Jamaal Magloire, widely recognized as the conference bully.
Arkansas forward Carl Baker fouled Magloire hard under the basket. Magloire started to stare down Baker, and Dean jumped in front of Magloire. Magloire backed off.
"It wasn't just big for him because he knows he's tough," assistant coach Brad Dunn said of Dean. "It was big for everybody else on the team because Magloire is real physical. He slapped that ball out of bounds, and [Dean] said, 'Hey, if you think I'm scared of you, you're talking to the wrong guy.' "
Teammate Teddy Gipson started laughing when he recalled the incident Sunday.
"That's what he's done since high school," said Gipson, who's also from Louisiana and has known Dean for five years. "He's the type of player that ... takes up for his team. Magloire was in Carl's face, so he [Dean] felt he should step up for Baker. That's what he did. When he did that, we just came together."
It was a reciprocal deal for Dean through the four games. Like the team that had to win it all or miss the NCAA Tournament, Dean had something to prove about his game, Gipson said.
"What was going through his mind, I don't know," Gipson said. "But come NCAA Tournament, I hope he has that same exact thing on his mind."

This article was published on Monday, March 13, 2000

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