Most would tell you the indelible image of Brandon Gfeller’s four years in Missoula is of the Colfax, Washington native rising from beyond the 3-point line, his right arm fully extended and straight as a ray, sending the ball on a high-arcing path to the basket. This has happened 202 times since his first fall in maroon and silver, enough threes to rank Gfeller second in the program’s history.
Over time, his last name, which is often mispronounced as Guh-feller, has evolved to not only suggest its correct pronunciation, but also to locate Gfeller’s most likely positioning on the court. When the Montana athletic department released a recent article on Gfeller, sports information director Eric Taber tweeted the story using the moniker thrust about the soft-spoken senior: “You can’t ask for a better person to go into the world and represent Grizzly Athletics the way my man 3-Feller will.”
Taber’s tweet was a 140-character reminder of the intersection at which the general public’s and the basketball program’s feeling toward Gfeller meet. While the fan base won’t forget his prolific shooting ability, coaches and players will remember him for a slightly different and more impactful reason.
Montana senior Brandon Gfeller drives to the hoop against Eastern Washington earlier this season/ by Jason Bacaj
“Man, with Brandon, the thing with him is he’s special,” sophomore Michael Oguine said. “He’s really a leader, but he leads more by example. There are people who lead with their voices. With Brandon, he’s a soft-spoken guy — he doesn’t say much. But you just look at him, not just on the court, playing hard, but off the court as well. He sets an example and holds himself to a certain standard that we all aspire to be like.”
“He’s like a big brother. When we’re getting out of line he put us in our place,” fellow senior Walter Wright said. “He won a championship here before (the 2014 Big Sky regular-season title) so we understand that we know what he is talking about. He’s a hard worker and he never complains. It’s easy to follow a guy like that.”
With as little as two games remaining in his collegiate career, Gfeller is poised to become the first four-time recipient of the Allan Nielsen Award, presented every year since 1979 to the player who best represents Griz basketball. It’s an honor that considers a player’s approach to the game, but also how he serves the program in the classroom and the community. When the team gathered at the home of program coordinator Julie Tonkin last May for its annual awards banquet there was little surprise when Gfeller was called up for the third time, joining Mike Warhank and Jeremy Lake as the only three-time winners.
“That’s special. I’m proud to have that award and I appreciate that my teammates and coaches respect me in that manner,” Gfeller said. “I think it’s important as Griz basketball players that we do our best to represent the community and to be thankful more than anything and appreciate all of the things we are given and the people that work so hard to cheer us and support us on and off the floor.”
Montana senior Brandon Gfeller, pictured her last season after winning the Big Sky’s Player of the Week honor/ Photo courtesy of UM athletics.
“When people give us things, whether it’s candy for a holiday,” Montana coach Travis DeCuire said, “or a parent bakes cookies or someone sends a note wishing us well and it gets to the players one person you know that is probably going to reply every time is Brandon Gfeller.”
In his final season, Gfeller’s selfless approach has become more important than ever. In a turbulent season that began with an 0-4 start to the Grizzlies’ most difficult non-conference slate in almost 60 years, then wound through another four-game tumble amid rumors of outsized egos and self-indulgence that threatened the fabric of the team, Gfeller has retained his devotion to the name on the front of his jersey. In the midst of what has become an erratic conference schedule, Montana’s coaches approached Gfeller, who was already designated a team captain, and two others to be the voice of the team. During its most dire days, the staff needed Gfeller as a symbol of what it expected from the players earning the most minutes, and of those unlikely to step on the court.
“I don’t think it would have gotten away from us. I wouldn’t say that,” associate head coach Chris Cobb said of Montana’s season. “I’d like to have enough faith in us that we would have been able to keep it together. [But] I think that it does help that there is a guy that we can point out and say he’s about the right stuff.”
UM swingman Brandon Gfeller/ by Brooks Nuanez
Gfeller could have rejected the request. After all, he has shown he could be a difference maker on the court. He could have refused his reduced on-court role and complained when his minutes dipped. He could have reminded the staff that he was a deadly shooter with the ability to turn a game in hurry. He could have reminded them of all the times he hit a streak that left most in attendance doubting the ball was going to hit anything but the center of the net. How could it not? The form looked so pure; his feet set, the snap of his wrist, the splash of the net. On New Year’s Eve 2015 at Northern Arizona, Gfeller hit six consecutive threes on his way to a career-high eight triples that helped the Griz overcome a deficit and earn a wild double-overtime win.
Almost nine months earlier with Montana trailing Texas A&M 33-17 in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament, Gfeller drilled six straight threes giving the Griz a 48-46 lead with 13 minutes left in what would have been the program’s first postseason win in nine years.
Gfeller could have done all of that, but chose not to.
“When coach told me, ‘Hey, I need you to step up and not just lead by example, but talk too,’ that was big to me,” Gfeller said. “I felt like he really appreciates what I do and understands the value of what I do. That was important.”
Though Gfeller has always been a leader of his teams, helping guide his high school teams at Colfax to a state championship as a junior and a second-place finish as a senior, it wasn’t in his nature to speak out. He instead lead by example, bringing an unparalleled work ethic and a positive energy to every practice, every bus ride, every early morning flight and every game. Sometimes it wasn’t easy; Gfeller admitted to faking it on occasion because “you have to do whatever you have to do to encourage your teammates and be ready to go when your name is called.”
Montana’s Brandon Gfeller, left, battles Montana State’s Zach Green for a rebound/ by Brooks Nuanez
He started to grow accustom to the role last season when DeCuire shuffled the lineup. The shift brought then-freshman Bobby Moorehead into the starting lineup and relegated Gfeller to the bench. His minutes dwindled and when the season ended, Gfeller reexamined how he could best help the team. He spent time in the offseason improving his shot, but also working himself into the condition necessary to provide a defensive presence, knowing full well that his minutes may never climb back to the levels he experienced as a sophomore.
DeCuire felt comfortable asking Gfeller to take a reduced on-court presence because he knew Gfeller, who carries one of the team’s highest GPAs and has been recognized by the conference and his professors for his academic work, was unlikely to do anything to put the team in jeopardy. DeCuire remembers a time when Gfeller and Montana were playing at UW-Milwaukee during a particularly difficult time in their first season together. Gfeller committed a turnover, then instantly turned and sprinted to chase down his opponent. As they approached the basket, Gfeller dove, knocked the ball away and busted his chin on the floor to prevent a layup in what became a 15-point loss.
“He’s a guy that you can lean on and you know you never have to worry about his attitude,” Cobb said. “You never have to worry about his approach on a daily basis. He is going to bring it every single day.”
Montana senior Brandon Gfeller/ by Jason Bacaj
As he approached his senior season, Gfeller needed just 47 three-pointers to become the school’s career leader. Given that he hit 83 of them as a sophomore and 72 more as a junior, even a moderately successful season would have ensured Gfeller the top spot. Admittedly, his final season has not been as individually successful as he hoped. With his minutes cut to their lowest level since his freshman year, Gfeller went through a 10-game conference stretch where he made just a single three. For a guy known as a shooter, the 1-for-19 slump could have caused him to regress to some dark places. But there he was, standing on the bench waving a white towel, celebrating the success of his teammates.
“There is nothing like when a teammate hits a shot, or if I hit a shot and I look over at my bench and my teammates are jumping out of their seats, that’s big time,” Gfeller said.
Added DeCuire, “Never did you see anything in his body language. When his number was called he ran on the floor just as fast as he would have if he were starting. That’s very difficult, but he did it. That’s how you represent Grizzly basketball.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez and Jason Bacaj. All Rights Reserved.
