Brent Lawson experienced his first NCAA men’s basketball tournament as a little kid in the Metrodome stands. He watched in awe, studying some of the top collegiate teams in the nation and dreaming he’d one day play for one.
His dream came true in March 2005, when the former Maple Grove Crimson star capped off his unlikely collegiate journey from a sophomore walk-on to a senior captain and led the Minnesota Gophers to their first NCAA Tournament since the 1999 academic fraud scandal. The Gophers lost in the first round to Iowa State, but that did little to sour Lawson’s fairytale—one that started picking up momentum in 2000. A senior all-state selection that year, Lawson led the underdog Crimson to the program’s first state tournament run, which ended one game shy of a championship. “When you get a little taste of success and winning, it becomes something you want to strive for all the time,” says Lawson, who played one year with St. Francis University in Pennsylvania before deciding to trade his full athletic scholarship for the chance to join his home state Gophers.
It’s fair to say the gamble paid off. Lawson, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten winner who majored in mechanical engineering and was second in the conference with 62 steals as a senior, was one of two Crimson boys basketball players to ever play in an NCAA tournament. (The other is 1999 graduate Ryan Pederson, who played for the University of Montana.)
“For the rest of your life you’ll always look back on plays that you wish you would have made differently,” says Lawson, who is now a commodities trader in Chicago. “But I have nothing but the fondest memories looking back, and I’m just really thankful and blessed to get the opportunity to play at all the levels I played at. It was a dream come true.”
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BRACKET-OLOGY
To get tips on filling out your tournament bracket, Lawson breaks down strategy from a former March Madness participant’s perspective.
- Pick with your head and not your heart. It’s easy to pick the alma mater, but sometimes you have to choose the “sure” thing.
- Pick some upsets. There are always a few Cinderella stories out there, so don’t be afraid to pick a couple. Just don’t get carried away ... the cream rises to the top.
- Send 1 and 2 seeds to the final four. Sure there may be some surprises, but your best bet is to pick mostly teams that are supposed to be there.
- Find a team with a star. The best teams have that one player that they can jump on the back of when the going gets tough.
