23.8 points per game (high of 51), 7.2 rebounds a contest. 4.2 assists an outing. Plus the best motor in northern California. He made fourth team all state for MaxPreps. He earned The Sac - Joaquin Co-Player of the Year honor. The Sacramento Bee named him Player of the Year. West Coast Preps’ chose him as Northern California Boys Athlete of the Year. He also won Metro League Player of Year as well.
Monterey Trail High talent Brandon Gibson Jr. earned all these honors through the hard work of off-season multiple (3) daily practices while rising at 5:00 a.m., pushing himself harder than anyone else could. It has paid off handsomely.
"Brandon deserves every accolade he has received and the honor of leading us to a school best record," said Robert Fields, the head coach of Monterey Trail High. "He's a tough, no-nonsense competitor who doesn't take plays off and is willing to do anything to win. Any close game we were in, I was confident as a coach because we had #5 on our team. I'm beyond proud of his commitment to FPU, he will excel there."
It began with a goal. "In elementary school, I was thinking I could be one of those guys who gets a (college) scholarship," he recalled.
Now he has determined his college. He will be a freshman at Fresno Pacific University, a member of the D2 PacWest Conference. Dominican University and Academy of Art are NorCal conference schools FPU will match up against with the remaining opponents in southern California, plus three schools in Hawai'i. At least one trip to the islands is a nice bonus.
"I chose Fresno Pacific because the coaching staff believed in me and how they recruited me -- keeping it real. They even brought my family down on a visit." FPU began recruiting Gibson Jr. in July 2023 and never paused or ghosted him as others did. Plus, my family can come to more games and it won't require driving to Los Angeles."
He'll be a guard or a wing at 6-foot-5. "They already have a point and want me to score for them."
Under a sports management umbrella, he'll major in kinesiology. His reasoning? "I got hurt as a sophomore and want to know what to do if I get hurt again."
Gibson Jr. expects to be part of summer workouts at Fresno Pacific. Additionally, "I believe I'll also be in summer classes."
His short term goals for next season are "making the conference tournament, winning the PacWest Conference and being the Freshman of the Year."
So new obstacles are on the horizon. A competition for playing time. Hopefully earning and retaining a starting spot. Gibson Jr. will just keep on working, slaying whatever is impeding him from achieving his latest goal, just like he always does.
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