After spending his first three years as the team manager, junior Brandon Goebel has earned his spot on the Winona State University men’s basketball team. The Winonan caught up with Goebel to ask him a few questions about his journey.

While Goebel has had to wait for his chance to be a Warrior, Winona State was not the only option on the table for him.

“I did have a few teams recruiting me, they were division three, so like Saint John’s and Bethany,” Goebel said.

So, what brought Goebel to Winona State?

“I came here on a visit, it was a school close by. Wasn’t too far from home but was away from home,” Goebel said. “I liked it here, I like the environment it had.”

Goebel also went on to say the Warrior teams from years past had an influence on his decision.

Now that Goebel has the opportunity ahead of him, he told the story of how he got his start with the team, and how his role has changed over the past few seasons.

“When I got here, there was a poster on the wall, it said something about the team needing a student manager, and I wanted to be around the team and just get back into basketball,” Goebel said.  “I started out doing random miscellaneous tasks in practice and what not. It hasn’t evolved much, I’ve been doing the same stuff the past few years like running the clock and doing whatever else they needed me to.”

Last season, Goebel had the opportunity to be on the bench during home games and take stats for the team. Now, with the chance to be the one stuffing the stat sheets, the Winonan asked him what he was looking forward to the most this next season, and how he saw himself helping the team make it back to the Pentagon for another deep playoff run.

“For me, personally, I probably won’t get much playing time and I expect that coming in,” Goebel said. “I think I can be someone during practice that can really help them and push them to be the best that they can be.”

The Winonan was not about to let Brandon humble his way out of this question and reminded him that an elite defender like myself could hardly stay in front of him during intramurals. He chuckled and went on to say he hopes the work he put in after practice will eventually earn him some playing time, but really, he just wants to “help the team win in any way possible.”