The Man Behind All The Blocks

Friday, March 08, 2019 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

There is more to Brandon Gilbeck than his defensive prowess on the court.

102 blocks and counting. Anybody can take one look at the 7-foot frame of Brandon Gilbeck and realize that he is a force on both ends of the floor.

An observer can also notice the amount of passion and emotion that he plays with each game. The mentality of wearing your heart on your sleeve is a calling card for him.

"I feel like emotion isn't a bad thing because it shows I care about the team and care about winning," senior center Brandon Gilbeck said. "You have to have some emotion."

The big fella was "only" 6'9" in high school and actually hit a growth spurt of a few inches his freshman year at Western Illinois. This did not come to the surprise of Gilbeck, who considers himself a late bloomer and is thankful for head coach Billy Wright giving him a chance.

"I didn't do much my first couple years of high school," Gilbeck said. "I didn't get a lot of looks. Western Illinois was my only division one offer and it was pretty much just Division III schools that knew about me. I remember sending out my clips during my senior year to a whole bunch of schools and I guess Coach Wright was looking at his emails one day. He saw it and liked me."

The Spring Green, Wis., native had his critics from his home state wondering if he could hang at the Division I level. That chip on his shoulder has helped drive Gilbeck to become a consistent starter for the Leathernecks.

Brandon's dad Scott is a junior college head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County and was always his coach as well as his biggest supporter.

"It's great, but obviously, he was tougher on me than the rest of the players," Gilbeck said. "That just helped me in the long run. He knows basketball and he's taught me basically everything I know. He even tried to recruit me to his college, but I had to go somewhere else at that point."

A small-town community is what he grew up in and thrives in. While some student-athletes may see what a place like Macomb lacks, the giant from Wisconsin sees the perfect college town.

"I love small towns and I love Macomb," Gilbeck said. "Where I come from is much smaller than Macomb so when I came here I thought Macomb was pretty big. All of these guys coming from Chicago thinks this is a tiny town but I'm thinking this is huge. I'm a big believer in knowing everyone and in a small town you can know your whole community. You go into the store people know you and everyone is friendly."

Every player has a favorite musical artist that seems to get them in the zone. Gilbeck goes old-school when it comes to his ideal soundtrack.

"My love for Johnny Cash started with my grandpa and I always listened with him," Gilbeck said. "I don't know if I have the 'Man in Black' persona because I'm not as cool as Johnny Cash was."

Just like anything else in a sport, there is an art to blocking a shot and other than being 7-feet tall, he attributes his shot-blocking instincts to his experiences playing soccer.

"I was a big goalie," Gilbeck said. "My whole life I played goalie and have always been playing soccer. I used to go out and play with Dalan Ancrum a little bit. I'm a big believer that athletes especially at a young age need to play multiple sports. In small towns, we have to play multiple sports. I really think that's what made me become such a good shot blocker because as a goalie you have to work on your instinct and it's a lot of timing. One of my favorite things was timing a corner kick. Being a goalie definitely helped with my shot-blocking ability."

Nothing gets better for the nation's leading shot blocker than swatting a ball away.

"There's definitely a rush," Gilbeck said. "For point guard, it might be making that incredible pass, for shooters, it's getting that perfect release. For me, it's getting that adrenaline rush. Whenever I see that shot go up something clicks and something makes me want to go get it. Most athletes have that instinct. There's something about blocking shots that I just love."

The quarterfinal round of The Summit League Tournament begins Saturday, March 9 inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. against the likes of Mike Daum and South Dakota State. Gilbeck plans to pursue a professional basketball career to keep the feeling of sending a shot back but wants to keep wearing the purple and gold as long as he can.

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