BIO: Marc Brandon was born in Wollongong (NSW) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Illawarra basketball program. Brandon received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1991. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1991, 1992).

FAMILY: Marc’s brother, Guy Brandon also played 18 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Marc Brandon made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 19 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

As a rookie, Brandon appeared in 8 games and averaged 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists as the Hawks finished in sixth place (15-11).

1994
In 1994, Brandon averaged 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists, playing a regular role in the Hawks rotation as Illawarra finished in tenth place (13-13).

1995
After three consecutive years of being eliminated in the first round of the NBL playoffs, head coach Alan Black knew his job was on the line if the team was unable to advance past the Quarterfinals. Black was able to re-sign star import Melvin Thomas and have veterans Chuck Harmison, Mick Corkeron and Dene MacDonald return but lost Butch Hays and Craig Adams, who both signed with Newcastle. Black bolstered his roster by replacing Hays with pass-first point guard Andre LaFleur, who had connected on more assists than any other player in the league over the prior three seasons, former Perth Wildcats star Kendal Pinder, young talent Glen Saville and Illawarra junior Terry Johnson.

Five games into the season, offcourt issues arose surrounding Pinder (9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists), who was released from the team after facing criminal charges. However, with his absence and injuries to Mick Corkeron (9.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists), the Hawks witnessed the explosion of young point guard Terry Johnson. Johnson, who had failed to make his with the Giants two years earlier. Off court issues saw the Giants question Johnson’s commitment to the sport which resulted in him spending a year playing with Cairns in the state league. Johnson (11.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) respnded by tripling his numbers from 1993 to finish as the competition’s leading three point shooter at 48 percent (34 of 71) and runner-up to Tonny Jensen (Newcastle) for the Most Improved Player award.

Melvin Thomas led the team in almost every category, posting 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks and formed quite the duo with LaFleur, who finished with averages of 21.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.9 steals. Brandon finished the season with averages of 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

Illawarra (14-12) finished seventh and faced off against second-placed South East Melbourne in the Quarterfinals. In game one, the Hawks delivered a upset, defeating the Magic behind a 29 point outburst from 37 year old veteran Chuck Harmison (12.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists). The Hawk’s flying start was stemmed once the series moved to Melbourne. There, the Magic claimed victory in both games two (92-89) and three (93-75) to deliver a fourth straight Quarterfinals exit for Illawarra in as many years.

Brandon continued to see his numbers improve, becoming a regular part of the team’s rotation and averaging 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across 27 games.

1996
After losing both coach Alan Black and their leading scorer and rebounder from the past four seasons in Melvin Thomas the Hawks looked to rebuild in 1996. Although many felt the void left by Thomas and Black heading to NSW rivals Sydney would be difficult to replace, incoming coach Brendan Joyce had just the player in mind. New arrival Marcus Timmons surprised everyone by being one of the premier forwards in the competition, proving to be a more than adequate replacement for Thomas and led the team in points (21.9 ppg), rebounds, (12.3 rpg), steals (2.3 spg) and blocks (1.0 bpg). Alongside Timmons, Terry Johnson (16.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) would produced the best numbers of his career, this included a career high 41 points in a win over rival club Sydney (145 def. 121).

The big numbers delivered by Timmons and Johnson were offset however by the decline of import point guard Andre LaFleur (18.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists) who had shown clear signs of slowing down in his sixth season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds and assists. Hawks legend Greg Hubbard also struggled to overcome a back injury which saw him average 6.0 points in 16 minutes per game (lowest minutes of career) and retire at the end of the season. As a result, the Hawks struggled to find wins during the year and finished in tenth place (9-17).

Brandon would finish the year averaging 3.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.

1997
After finishing 10th with a 9-17 record and missing the playoffs in 1996, Illawarra entered another rebuilding season after Marcus Timmons (to Melbourne), Andre LaFleur (not re-signed), Greg Hubbard (retired) and Chuck Harmison (retired) left the playing roster. Harmison moved into the general manager role, while Matt Zauner, Terry Johnson, Glen Saville, Mat Campbell, Dene MacDonald and Marc Brandon returned under head coach Brendan Joyce. Eric Cooks (via Ballarat), Lachlan Armfield (via Newcastle), Jason Brettell and imports Bryan Edwards and Clayton Ritter completed the new-look group.

Brandon (1.7 points across 9 games) continued to see his role decrease, falling from 22 games and 8.4 minutes per game the previous season to only 37 minutes in total during 1997. No injury was reported, with the reduced playing time leaving him outside Joyce’s regular rotation and eventually prompting his decision to leave Illawarra following the season. An Illawarra junior, Brandon had previously spent 1991 and 1992 at the Australian Institute of Sport before beginning his NBL career with the Hawks in 1993.

Brandon’s best scoring game of the season was a six-point performance, his season-high during a year in which he scored 15 points in total, although the date and opponent could not be confirmed.

Edwards (18.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.5 steals across 13 games) was not the fit Joyce needed at point guard despite his individual production and was replaced midway through the season by Dylan Rigdon (19.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists across 15 games).

Ritter (23.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) led the Hawks in scoring, topped 40 points twice and won the club’s team MVP award, while Saville (13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals) continued his emergence and was selected for the NBL All-Star Game. Zauner (12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds), Johnson (9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds), Cooks (8.9 points and 6.5 rebounds) and Campbell (8.7 points) were the other major contributors, although Zauner’s contract dispute with Joyce added further problems during the season.

Brandon’s shrinking role prompted him to change clubs following the season, with Brandon (to Newcastle) joining the Falcons for 1998 and increasing his playing time to 14.8 minutes per game across 28 appearances.

Illawarra missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season and finished 11th with a 7-23 record, closing the year at Beaton Park on September 27 with a 115-90 win over Brisbane.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1998
After five seasons with Illawarra, Marc Brandon changed clubs after his role with the Hawks had fallen to only nine appearances and 37 total minutes in 1997. Newcastle coach Shawn Dennis was rebuilding a Falcons roster that had finished 12-18, with Scott McGregor (to Sydney), Ben Pepper (to North Melbourne), Dave Simmons and Butch Hays departing. Tonny Jensen, Ben Melmeth, Greg Blake, Damien Robertson and Mathew Low returned, while Brandon (via Illawarra), Terry Johnson (via Illawarra), Isaac Burton (via Sydney), Todd Mundt and Nathan Hawkes were added. Johnson was given the opportunity to move from shooting guard to the point after Illawarra had told him he was not a “point guard’s bootlace”, while Brandon arrived looking for a larger role after slipping outside Brendan Joyce’s regular rotation.

Brandon opened his Newcastle career against South East Melbourne at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on January 30, finishing with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in 24 minutes. Burton (21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) and Jensen (18 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) led the Falcons, while Clinton McDaniel (19 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 5 steals) powered the Magic to a 93-73 victory.

Brandon (3.1 points across 28 games) saw his playing time jump to 14.8 minutes per game after averaging only 4.1 minutes the previous season. He became Newcastle’s most productive scorer off the bench and ultimately appeared in more games during 1998 than he had over the previous two seasons combined.

His best performance came as Newcastle finally broke through for its first win on February 21. Brandon scored a season-high 9 points with 6 rebounds in 14 minutes as the Falcons defeated Townsville 110-96 following an 0-4 start. Terry Johnson (28 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal) and Melmeth (25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) carried Newcastle offensively, overcoming Derek Rucker’s 39 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals for the Suns.

Newcastle produced one of its most convincing wins against NSW rival Sydney on March 3, with Brandon contributing 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in a 112-85 victory. Jensen erupted for 32 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals and Burton added 27 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Shane Heal (21 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists) led the Kings.

Brandon went scoreless with 2 rebounds in limited minutes on April 9 as Newcastle delivered one of the season’s biggest upsets, beating eventual champion Adelaide 111-85 at Adelaide Arena. Jensen finished with 27 points, 3 rebounds, and 11 assists and Melmeth added 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Darnell Mee (21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) was Adelaide’s best.

A difficult stretch followed, and Brandon went scoreless in six minutes against Perth on May 9 as Newcastle suffered its fourth consecutive defeat, 97-90. Jensen scored 29 points with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals and Melmeth produced 16 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals, but Ricky Grace (29 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led the Wildcats.

The Falcons responded six days later at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, where Brandon contributed 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in a 109-96 win over the Kings. Burton exploded for a season-high 38 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block against his former club and Melmeth supplied 24 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Heal (23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) was Sydney’s leading performer.

Melmeth (21.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across 30 games) emerged as Newcastle’s leading scorer and rebounder, improving dramatically from the previous season and earning both NBL Most Improved Player and All-NBL First Team honours. Burton (19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.2 steals across 29 games) gave the Falcons another major scorer, with Jensen (18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals across 30 games), Mundt (13.6 points and 6 rebounds across 28 games) and Johnson (10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.8 steals across 29 games) completing the main rotation. Johnson’s transition to point guard also earned him an invitation to a Boomers selection camp. Newcastle’s lack of depth remained a problem, however, with the entire bench combining for around 12 points per game and Brandon its highest-scoring reserve. A further three-game losing streak followed the Sydney win before Newcastle put together consecutive victories late in the season.

The Falcons entered their final game unable to reach the postseason and faced Melbourne at Melbourne Park on June 7. Brandon recorded 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in 19 minutes, while Melmeth delivered a season-high 36 points with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks and Jensen added 23 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal. Andrew Gaze (28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal) led Melbourne to a 102-100 victory, leaving Newcastle 11th at 9-21 after North Melbourne claimed the head-to-head tiebreaker. The game was also Brandon’s final NBL appearance.

Marc Brandon played six seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Newcastle Falcons and the Illawarra Hawks. He averaged 3.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 113 NBL games.