The South Bay Lakers have some very exciting players this season, this week we wanted to introduce you to Stephaun Branch.
The South Bay Lakers were the first NBA-owned Developmental Team in 2006. The Agua Caliente Clippers are in their inaugural season. This was the first game between the two teams and the start of a new rivalry now in the G-League. The Lakers ended up losing to the Clippers 109-99 on Saturday night.
Alex Caruso did his part though, he scored 26 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished eight assists, took two steals and added a block to his stats for the night. Stephaun Branch came off the bench and scored eight points and earned a team-high +/- 9.
In other SB Lakers news, head coach Coby Karl was named the G-League November Coach of the Month! Karl’s team went 8-1 in their first nine games of the season. The Lakers Thomas Bryant was a huge part of that, he was assigned back to the Lakers and didn’t play against the Clippers.
Los Angeles Lakers
One of the fiercest players who has contributed to the Lakers success off the bench is 6-foot-5, 230-pound Stephaun Branch. Branch just turned 22 on November 7th. He grew up in Upland, CA in the Inland Empire which is also referred to as the IE.
When Coach Karl was making his final cuts, he chose to let a Drew League sensation Frank Session go and he kept Session’s 2016 Drew League teammate Steph Branch on the roster.
After he was released from the SB Lakers, Session went on to play for the Prince Edward Islanders in the National Basketball League of Canada with his Birdies Revenge teammate Marcus Bell who also tried out for the SB Lakers. Their teammate and third Birdies Revenge star, Jarion Henry, is playing on the rival team The Edge of St. John’s New Foundland. Henry was invited to a private try out for the AC Clippers before he signed across the border.
Why do I bring this up? There are two reasons.
One is to mention that Branch is also a former Drew League player. He played for Birdies Revenge in 2016. Birdies Revenge is an ‘in your face’ gritty team that wins a lot and is coached by the rapper The Game so it gets a lot of attention. A lot of the players in the Drew play overseas, the NBA and in the NBA G-League.
The second reason I brought this up is to emphasize just how hard it was to make a G-League team this season. For Branch to outplay and impress the SB Lakers enough to add him to the roster, out of hundreds of players who tried out, says a whole bunch of his playmaking abilities. Coach Karl loves to win, and he and his staff felt Branch was the best fit and his youth was going to be a plus as well.
Branch did not take the easy road to playing in the G-League. He got his start in Junior College at Mt. San Antonio College (or Mt. Sac) where he averaged a double-double. He also was named to the second team all-conference. He was then recruited by University of West Georgia men’s basketball head coach Michael Cooney because he discovered Branch while visiting Mt. Sac to try out Branch’s teammate. He went on to excel at West Georgia and entered the NBA Draft.
While touring in China, Branch’s agent had him fill out papers to try out for the South Bay Lakers. Branch has been with the South Bay Lakers ever since.
As you can see from this Drew League highlight, Branch is fierce, and when he dunks, you better watch out! Coach Cooney and coach Karl both saw a lot of this while evaluating Branch.
Branch can shoot a three and drive to the basket as well as grab rebounds. He has averaged ten minutes off the bench scoring an average of 8.8 points and averaging 3.6 rebounds. He is very efficient and has been a spark for Karl on offense. Branch has also logged steals and blocks. He does it all.
Here are some highlights from just one of his SB Lakers games this season where Branch scored 17 points against the Austin Spurs:
Here is our interview with Steph, you will see a different side of this gifted athlete, he is sentimental and spiritual and he loves the game of basketball.
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The Lake Show Life would like to thank Steph for his time, it was a pleasure getting to know him. Come down to Lakers practice facility and catch Steph and the South Bay Lakers in action. I promise you, you will be impressed!