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Congratulations to Head Coach Tony Bennett and the University of Virginia (UVA) Cavaliers on recently winning their first NCAA men’s basketball national championship in program history! I tweeted the win as the ‘comeback of the century,’ acknowledging the incredible bounce back from the team after suffering an early exit in last year’s tournament. I genuinely felt happy for the players and coaches, as I’ve held a great deal of respect for the Cavaliers ever since having the opportunity to interact with the program’s members up close and personal back in 2015. I worked their summer week-long youth camp as a counselor. Reflecting on their win also made me realize something else: my family and I sure do personally know quite a few of the university’s former basketball players. That notion, along with UVA being at the top of the college basketball world currently, led to the idea of this new series I’m introducing: ‘You Know ‘Hoo'’ The ‘Wahoos,’ shortened to ‘Hoos, serve as the unofficial nickname for UVA’s sports teams. For the remainder of April, heading into May, I plan to start releasing features on particular ‘Hoos that I’ve personally known throughout the years; focusing on their success in both the past and present.
One of the most lethal scorers to ever don a Cavaliers uniform, Bryant Stith holds personal accolades that can be argued as some of the best ever in program history. His post-career story is one of much fascination: from his professional career and retirement to now working in the coaching ranks, while also seeing his own children continue to grow in their own athletic success.
Big ‘Dog’ in a Small Town
Growing up in Emporia, VA, the second-least populous city in the state, I’m sure Stith and his other childhood peers had to constantly find a way to entertain themselves. As usual, sports always prove reliable when searching for activity and it wasn’t too long before basketball gained Stith’s attention. He especially started to take it more seriously once his teenage years arrived; enrolling at Brunswick High School (Brunswick County, VA). There, Stith became a star who turned the program into one of Virginia’s best in the late 1980s when the Bulldogs won back-to-back Group AA state championships in 1987 and 1988. A prolific scorer at 6’6,” Stith himself collected all sorts of accolades as an upperclassmen, including the Group AA State Player of the Year both years his team won the state title (1987 and 1988), while being named a Parade All-American and Converse All-American. At the conclusion of his high school career, the senior finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,221 points. Those should know that Stith also was a winner in the classroom; honored as Valedictorian for his 1988 senior class.
My family’s connection to Stith traces back to my dad’s high school days playing against him. A standout for Matoaca High School (Ettrick, VA), he can still recall the electric atmosphere in the small Brunswick gym whenever Matoaca would travel for an away contest. My dad refers to the Bulldogs’ fan section a bit likewise to that of the notorious ‘Cameron Crazies,’ which speaks volumes. With Stith leading the madness, it became evident to the community’s members that their hometown hero looked more than ready to take on the next challenge of his career: playing in the renowned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Here’s a picture below of Stith going up for a dunk against my dad, #25, and his high school squad (sorry, Dad).
Time Spent with the Hoos
As noted by his career totals, scoring came relatively easy for Stith throughout his high school days. The result at UVA' Well, pretty much the same, if not better. In the 1988-89 season, Stith immediately stepped into a contributing role as a first-year to put points on the board, averaging 15.5 points, on nearly 55% field-goal percentage, and 6.5 rebounds per outing. His season total of 513 points still currently remains the highest ever by a freshman. Those efforts led to Stith taking home the 1989 ACC Rookie of the Year award, while the team finished fifth in the ACC at 22-11 and made it to the NCAA tournament’s ‘Elite Eight.’ Helping the team to 20+ season wins and an NCAA tournament appearance would be a feat that Stith accomplished three and two more times, respectively, following his exceptional freshmen campaign.
As a sophomore in 1989-90, Stith’s numbers boosted up to 20.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists; all career-highs. He also earned his first All-ACC selection, landing a first team nod, but UVA fell a bit short of their success compared to the previous season. The Cavaliers suffered a narrow loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, 63-61 on March 18, 1990. Former UVA standout, Jeff Jones, took over as head coach for the next two years with Stith still excelling as an upperclassmen. He continued to show out as one of the best scorers in all of Division I college hoops; posting 19.8 points per game as a junior and 20.7 as a senior. UVA again made the NCAA tournament during Stith’s junior season in 1991, this time losing in the first round to Brigham Young University (BYU). The same couldn’t be said the next year in 1992, however, but the team indeed still went on to win the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and Stith picked up MVP honors. Looking at his college resume, one could say Stith sure had a decorated career:
- All-time leading scorer in program history (2,516 career points)
- 1989 ACC Rookie of the Year
- Set the Cavaliers’ freshman scoring record with 513 points in 1989
- Finished with the fourth-highest career point total in ACC history
- Three-time Associated Press honorable mention All-American (1990 – 92)
- Three-time first-team All-ACC selection (1990 – 92).
- 1992 NIT Champion and MVP
- #20 retired by UVA men’s basketball; sixth player in program history to receive honor
Life in the League
Stith’s outstanding career led to his name called as the 13th pick in the 1992 NBA draft. About 27 years later, he can still recall the surreal moment.
“On June 24, 1992, all of my basketball dreams came true when I walked across the NBA draft stage in Portland, Oregon and shook Commissioner David Stern’s hand,” Stith stated. “I realized that I was carrying the banner for all of my family, friends, the people of Brunswick County, and in Charlottesville, Virginia. Each night I took the floor, I played with a passion to be one of the best players in the world.”
Stith’s began his NBA career relatively well with the Nuggets, as he became a valuable scoring option in his second year after only playing 39 games as a rookie. Averaging 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and starting/playing all 82 regular-season games in 1993-94, the guard would continue his double-digit scoring averages for the following three seasons. Stith’s best play, statistically speaking, arrived in 1996-97: 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. He spent eight seasons in Denver (1992-2000) before being traded to the Boston Celtics; a move that may have primarily been the result of injuries.
After playing in Boston for only one season, Stith once again found himself traded, this time to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Similar to his stint in Boston, Cleveland attempted to trade the former UVA legend once the season had concluded. An exchange of Stith and Andre Miller to the Los Angeles Clippers for Darius Miles was in the works, but Stith ultimately retired before ever suiting up for the Clippers. He played ten years in the NBA and averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and two assists for his professional career. Done with his playing days, Stith decided that heading back to his old stomping grounds in Brunswick County, VA would suit him best.
“I’m Coming Home”
After returning back to Brunswick, it wasn’t long before his high school alma mater came knocking in search of a head coach for the men’s basketball program. Stith was strongly reluctant at first, having felt drained from the last several years of adversity brought on by the NBA. Ideally, one would’ve thought that he’d want to escape from basketball to get a physical and mental break. However, after taking time for consideration, Stith, 32 years-old at the time, accepted the head coaching offer at Brunswick High School. The Bulldogs had successfully landed their old alum back home where it all started.
While he never would’ve imagined him making a career out of coaching, Stith soon found himself becoming passionate about the job likewise to his own past as a professional hooper. He realized that serving as a coach would force him to integrate elements of what he experienced during his own playing days; both the good and the bad.
“For 13 years, my journey to the NBA consisted of countless sacrifices, many lonely nights at the gym, and hundreds of trips around the globe to prove that I was worthy of reaching the pinnacle of the basketball world. So, when I became Brunswick’s head coach, my mental game was superior and on the top level. I needed that edge to overcome losing four straight championship title games from 2007-10.”
Yep, you read that last sentence right. Under Stith, the Bulldogs did their part in becoming one of the state’s premier programs, yet just couldn’t get over that final hump to win a championship in the late 2000s. Losing in the title game for four consecutive years would could crush anyone’s spirit. I commend Stith for how he handled those times of coming up short.
“The disappointment only fueled my desire to win even more. I knew our program was so close to our breakthrough. We just had to stay the course and, finally after trusting our process and persevering through the pain, we won three consecutive state championships from 2011-13!”
It seems like Stith simply had ‘to lose to win.’ It’s funny (and always satisfying) how things can turn around when you refuse to let up in your quest. The addition of two studs, which happened to be Stith’s sons, on Brunswick’s roster throughout those glory years also helped create the team’s winning ways. Brandan, a 6’7” forward and class of 2013 graduate, played as a relentless finisher and rebounder in the paint. BJ, the youngest son, played shooting guard at 6’5” and earned recognition as a top-100 player in the country. The two sons put on a show night in and out during their years together up until that last state title win in 2013. Brandan graduated and had his plans set for a college career at East Carolina University. BJ made the move to basketball-powerhouse Oak Hill Academy for senior year in preparation to follow in his father’s footsteps at UVA. Father Stith also had some plans of his own… the decade spent back at Brunswick had been great, but now a new stage of coaching emerged to call his name.
*Brandan on left, BJ in center*
Where is He Now'
Ever since the 2013-14 season, Stith has worked as an assistant coach on the Old Dominion University (ODU) basketball staff. The move brought a reunion with Jones, who still currently serves as ODU’s head honcho. After only one season of college coaching, however, Stith would find another reunion taking place; this time with Brandan. The oldest brother decided to transfer from East Carolina after his freshmen and, at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, BJ decided to try the same route. It became a Stith affair within the Norfolk, VA program, as ODU has become one of the top teams in Division I Conference USA throughout the last few seasons. Having good scoring moments, Brandan also became one of the team’s top rebounders and defenders as an upperclassman; averaging 8.8 points, 7.7 rebounds (a team-high), and 1.6 blocks as a senior in 2017-18. He currently plays professionally in Europe. Taking over more of a scoring role, BJ blew up this past 2018-19 season. The senior was awarded the 2019 Conference USA Player of the Year and placed as an Associated Press honorable mention All-American selection after averaging 16.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. It looks likely that he too will take the next step in the professional life. The two daughters of the family, Bria and Brooke have made their way into East Carolina as track standouts. Bria’s wrapping up her junior year on campus, with Brooke doing the same as a sophomore.
My dad ran into Stith a couple of times during his high school coaching tenure. I remember one time Stith’s team visited my hometown of Fredericksburg, VA for a playoff game and it felt like they brought the entire town of Brunswick with them. I also can trace back to being in the stands at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as a high school junior when Brunswick won their third straight state title. Those Stith brothers had the entire gym electrified. A coach himself, my dad and Stith stayed in touch time to time and my family had a chance to catch up with Stith in the summer of 2013 at ODU while in the area for a family vacation. In summer 2017, I again ran into Stith at a tournament for AAU nationals and about two weeks later again at ODU’s basketball elite camp, where I had the pleasure of catching up with him.
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Like the other UVA greats I’ve come across in my life, Stith’s down-to-earth personality could make it easy to forget he’s one of the best ACC players of all time and former NBA veteran. I respect how he always takes time out of his day to chat and help out in any way he can in terms of advice. One can really see his wisdom in not only basketball but other approaches to life once seriously talking to him. Having been through personal struggles of injury, NBA trade circumstances, and suffering big-game losses as a head coach, Stith clearly knows how to face the process of adversity. We all go through different situations in our life and I feel it’s always good to have someone to look up to who’s shown the ability to bounce back from difficult days. Even with his success as both an athlete and coach, however, I think I appreciate Stith’s love for his family the most. One could note this in how much his sons wanted to continue playing under him in college after those years at Brunswick. The father in Stith has done a great job raising his kids who all seem to have a strong head on their shoulders. That’s the epitome of a winning family, both on and off the court/track.
If you haven’t come across it yet, be sure to check out my other articles of this ‘You Know ‘Hoo' series also: feat. Justin Anderson, feat. Harold Deane, Jr., feat. Sean Singletary, and feat. Donald Hand!