By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Looking around the NBA, other than Golden State's Steph Curry, Aundre Branch sees a serious dearth of pure shooters.

"What I did in college, if I was coming out now, oh my god," Branch said. "Even when I was 38, I'm playing with Sam Cassell and Moochie Norris and all these big-time players. And they're like, 'Man, you're supposed to be in the league. I know some people that you shoot way better than them, and they're making millions.' You hear that, and it crushes you."

Branch, who turns 43 later this month, got nothing more than a token tryout with the Houston Rockets for his one shot at the NBA. But, the former Baylor standout played five years of pro basketball overseas and another eight years with the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters.

"I got the chance to play basketball till I was 38 years old, so that was a blessing," said Branch, part of the 2016 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class that will be inducted next month. "I remember my first overseas trip, this lady walked up to me and said, 'Globetrotters, I love y'all.' She didn't care who I was, what my name was, she just knew what I represented. I was like, 'Wait a minute, this is something big here.'''

Known as "Hot Shot" during his Globetrotter days, Branch was actually recruited as a point guard out of Kingwood High School.

"I liked to pass," he said. "I could shoot in high school, I could score whenever I wanted to, but I liked Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas. I grew up watching those guys. . . . The no-look passes, that was my thing. I used to love doing that."

That was not his thing at Baylor, though.

Originally recruited by Gene Iba, Branch said he had "mixed emotions" following a freshman season that saw him average just 2.4 points in limited action.

"I was like maybe this is not the place for me. I was thinking about leaving," he said.

But when Iba was fired at the end of that season and replaced by Darrell Johnson, the new coach told him, "I promise you, you're going to play a lot for me."

Johnson's only challenge to Branch was that "if you don't shoot, we're going to sit you."

"They wanted me to shoot at least 20 times a game," said Branch, who knocked down 81 3-pointers and averaged 18.4 points as a sophomore. "I kind of took it personal. That next year, I was like, 'I don't care who's guarding me, somebody's going to know who Aundre Branch is.'''

After averaging 19.0 points the next season and earning second-team All-Southwest Conference honors, Branch was at a crossroads again in 1994 when Johnson was fired and the basketball program was placed on NCAA probation.

"That summer before, we were told nothing was going to happen, we won't be affected," he said. "So when all that started happening, I felt like this was another chance, I'm going to transfer. I'm not going to suffer behind somebody else's wrongdoings. . . . I think if it wasn't for the fans, I probably would have left."

Opting to stay to play his senior season for Harry Miller, his third head coach in four years, Branch bumped up his scoring average to 21.7 and hit a then-school-record 104 treys to again earn All-SWC honors. Hamstrung by probation, injuries and player departures, the Bears finished 9-19 overall and 3-11 in conference, losing nine games by single digits.

"The record shows that we didn't have a good season on paper," said Branch, who still ranks seventh on Baylor's all-time scoring list with 1,666 points. "But if you look, every game came down to the wire. We were young, we had young coaching. . . . I told Nelson (Haggerty), we're playing for Baylor pride. Whatever team comes in, we're going to make sure that if we don't win, we're at least going to win some respect. And teams highly respected us."

After his Baylor career, Branch followed the paycheck, playing in Venezuela, China, Turkey, France, Spain and the Dominican Republic and stints with the CBA and IBA pro leagues in the U.S.

He was actually on his way to the Philippines to play in a pro league there when the Globetrotters called.

"Living in Houston, the Fonde Rec Center was like Rucker Park. That's where everybody went to play," Branch said. "That's the gym where Moses Malone taught Akeem Olajuwon how to play. You go in there in the summer, and you'll find everybody from David Robinson to Tim Duncan to Gary Payton. And the Globetrotters would come in there and watch."

The rest, as they say, is history.

"That first training camp they had in Houston, I was like that kid who has to stand up in church and give a speech. I was nervous," he said. "I can't believe here I am playing with this team that I grew up watching. I thought I had to be funny and do all the stuff the Globetrotters do. And I'm like, 'I'm too cool for that, I'm a basketball player.'

"But, one of the veteran guys sat me down and said, 'Hey, they really do like you. You can make some good money doing this. We know you can play basketball, and that's what the Globetrotters are known for. All you've got to do is put your personality on it, and you can have a great future here.'''

When Disney purchased the team and basketball became less the focus, Branch decided it was time to get out in June 2011.

"They were pulling away from (basketball) and doing more entertaining during the game," he said. "I just saw that what I brought to the table and where the team was headed, and it was two different things. . . . I'm a funny guy. I used to have the whole team cracking up. But at the same time, I'm a basketball player. So, it was hard for me to be out there on the floor playing the game of basketball and actually being more like an actor. I couldn't swallow that."

Since retiring from basketball, Branch has been working with a car dealership in Houston and is also interested in getting into coaching. He and his wife have four children, including Janvier Branch, a freshman at Trinity Valley Community College.

"I guess it still hasn't hit me what's going on," Branch said of the Baylor Hall of Fame. "The Kashmere neighborhood where I came from, I'm like a legend there. My friends back there are like, 'Man, we watched you on TV. We screamed and hollered for you. You represented us.' And to hear that, it takes away all that, 'Oh, you didn't make the NBA.' I was carrying my neighborhood on my back and representing up."

Joining Branch in the Hall of Fame class are fellow basketball player Sophia Young-Malcolm, football's Daniel Sepulveda and Bentley Jones, pitchers Jon Perlman from baseball and Cristin Vitek from softball, track and field's Darold Williamson and women's tennis All-American Jahnavi Parekh. Jay Allison and Bill Glass Sr. will also be added to the Wall of Honor.

The Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at the Waco Convention Center. Tickets are $50 per person, with table sponsorships (with seating for eight) also available for $600 and $800. Contact the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at tammy_hardin@baylor.edu.