Men’s basketball at Pepperdine has struggled in recent years. However, this season the Waves have jumped out to a strong start compared to years’ past. A major reason for that success has been the play of forward Brendan Lane, a senior transfer from UCLA. Lane is second on the team in points (13.9) and rebounds (7.7) as Pepperdine enjoys its best season in almost a decade.
“Everyone’s buying in to the system,” Lane said.
Born in Vermont, Lane played a lot of sports but he ended up gravitating towards basketball.
“I enjoyed it the most, basketball stuck,” Lane said.
Enjoying success at the high school level, Lane took his talents to UCLA, which historically is the one of the best college basketball programs in the entire country. He would play there for three years, but struggled for minutes on a talented roster.
With just one year of eligibility remaining, Lane wanted change and got his wish. He decided to transfer to Pepperdine University mainly to see more playing time, but also because he loved the location overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The coaches showed Lane how they were going to make some changes to the program. However, Lane would redshirt the 2012-13 season. His main reason was to gain confidence and it ended up helping his play on the court.
The favorite moment of the 2013-14 season so far for Lane came when the Waves defeated B.Y.U 80 to 74.
For Lane, his mother and high-school basketball coach have been his biggest influence in his life. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and claims Kevin Garnett as his favorite player. Lane also wants to continue playing after college even if it means going overseas.
The Waves are off on a road trip but will be back home to take on Loyola Marymount at 3pm February 1st.