Mom's advice sparked Haraway to big finish

ASHLAND — The comment wasn't a criticism.But after six days of observing, Kisha Haraway needed to have a conversation with her youngest of three sons, Brandon.In three games over those six days from Jan. 24-29, Brandon had scored 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting for the NCAA Division II Ashland University men's basketball team.So after Ashland's 81-48 win over Villa Maria College on Jan. 29, Kisha offered just a few words."My mom told me I have to start being aggressive," said Brandon, a 2019 Norwalk graduate. "She said it would help my team out in great ways." The very next game, four days later, Haraway scored 41 points on 15-of-22 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game at Tiffin. He came within striking distance of single-game AU records for points (49) and field goals (18).And it didn't stop there.For the entire month of February over an eight-game stretch, Haraway averaged 24.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for the Eagles."Since then, I just took that mindset and ran with it," Haraway said. "After the game at Tiffin, it just kept going. Just a few words from my mom is all it took."The flurry to end the regular season for the Eagles (18-10) — who narrowly missed a second straight NCAA Tournament — again landed Haraway on an all-league first team.But after three seasons at Ashland, it also opened the door to more questions. How much more is attainable for Haraway in a black, gold and purple uniform for the Eagles, and maybe beyond?"Whatever Brandon wants to do, he's blessed with the ability to do it," AU men's basketball head coach John Ellenwood said. "He's a smart, good-looking young man who is talented in everything that he does — so the world is his." Ashland is homeHaraway became a finalist for Ohio's prestigious Mr. Basketball award after starring as a senior in 2018-19 at Norwalk. He finished fourth in the voting among seven candidates.While he was on the way to becoming the first player in Norwalk history to earn Northwest District Player of the Year honors — and just the second to be All-Ohio first team — Haraway heard the questions and whispers.'Why not play at a Division I school? You are good enough to play at that level.'And there were inquiries. But what those asking or making such comments didn't know was Brandon had long ago decided on Ashland. It was why he signed with the school before his senior year of football was over in November 2018 and never looked back."I love it here, and I always have ever since Ben was here before me," he said. "I just felt like it was a comfortable and seamless fit."Eldest brother Ben Haraway is a 2014 Norwalk graduate, who spent one year at Malone before playing his final three seasons at Ashland. His career wrapped up when Brandon was a senior at Norwalk in 2019.However, there was also another key selling point that made Ashland an instant yes."I knew what I wanted to do after basketball, which is nursing," Brandon said. "So I'm getting the best of both worlds."During the week, Haraway drives to Ashland's College of Nursing campus in Mansfield. He has six hours of lab work each day, while Tuesdays are nine-plus hours of clinicals, and Wednesday and Thursday each have hour-plus lectures in pathology and pharmacy."(Coming to Ashland) was a fresh slate," Haraway said. "I'm thankful for this opportunity to come here and play basketball and do what I do in school. "It just feels good having opportunities to come out here every day and play for my teammates, coaches and family." Milestone seasonAlready at 705 points through his first two seasons, health permitting, it was a formality for Haraway to become the 31st player in AU history to reach 1,000 points this winter.But it still was an extra noteworthy moment when he scored his 1,000th point in a loss against Walsh University on Feb. 17 at home. Ben Haraway had scored his 1,000th collegiate point while playing for the Eagles on Feb. 17, 2018 — four years earlier on the same date.Ben and Brandon Haraway, along with their cousin, Jeff Thomas (Georgia State) are the only 1,000-point scorers from Norwalk in both high school and college.Nine days later, Brandon passed Ben (1,060) in scoring at Ashland. Ben has 1,379 points in his career between Malone and Ashland."Ben pushed me to do everything," Brandon said. "I saw what he did. In high school he scored 1,000 points and won a state championship, so I wanted to match that. "He won Freshman of the Year (in college), I wanted to match that. Now with this 1,000 points and beyond, I can say I finally passed him — at least a little bit."Though the Eagles were in the eighth and final spot in the Midwest region rankings entering the NCAA Tournament selection show, they were left out of the 64-team field.In 26 games for Ashland this season, Haraway led the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game. He made 46.7 percent of his shots from the field, 34.7 percent from three-point range and 72.5 percent from the free-throw line. Haraway added 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was rewarded with a spot on the Great Midwest Athletic Conference first team and All-Defensive team list in AU's first year in the league."He missed two weeks with the COVID protocols at the calendar turn and that was a big thing not being in the gym for two weeks," Ellenwood said of Haraway. "It took a while to get back into rhythm, and Brandon as hard as he plays, needs to be in that rhythm — just because of timing and everything else."It took him about two weeks and he finally got there, and he was starting to get a really good feel by the end of the season." Bright futureAlready with a major accomplishment in each of his first three seasons, Haraway enters his traditional senior year in 2022-23 knowing he's not finished.In 2020, the NCAA granted student-athletes the ability to extend their own eligibility if their team was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the competition waiver, all winter sports from 2020-21 automatically qualified, and the season didn't count toward a student's year of eligibility.Haraway said he already intends to take the fifth year in 2023-24 while working on more of his schooling through the AU College of Nursing.As a freshman in 2019-20, Haraway was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year. In 2020-21 as a sophomore, he was GLIAC first team, again made the All-Defensive team — and was the MVP of the conference tournament while helping AU to an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, where it also won its opening game for the first time in 30 years.At 1,083 points, Haraway is 26th in career points at Ashland. If he replicated his 378 points from 2021-22 over the next two seasons, he would finish third all-time in career points at the school."I believed having this kind of an impact was possible, but it's really nice seeing it come into action," Haraway said.When Ellenwood recruited Haraway, the coach said he was in the top one percent of defensive players he had seen in high school. After his freshman year at AU, Ellenwood predicted a Hall of Fame career at the school.Three years in, the coach said every box has been checked. "His stats speak for themselves. He's going to go down as one of the all-time best players here," Ellenwood said. "But the thing he does a great job of is he keeps the locker room light. He's a great friend, and you just want to play with a guy who has that kind of attitude. "We pride ourselves on recruiting guys that aren't problems, and Brandon is as true of a leader as they come in our program."At Norwalk games, family and friends got used to watching Haraway eventually find his way to the rim for a breakaway slam dunk. And even at Ashland, that has become common.In a Feb. 26 game vs. Hillsdale when he passed his brother in AU scoring, Haraway slam-dunked home the first two points of the game for the Eagles between two defenders. He did it twice more in the game."The competition we play, my teammates, everyone is just better at this level," Haraway said. "So when I get plays like that, get the gym to erupt, it makes you feel good and helps build momentum for us."Those types of moments becoming commonplace are all the more reason why Ellenwood thinks there is still more out there for Norwalk's sixth all-time leading scorer."Brandon is pursuing a nursing degree, but if he wants to play professional basketball, he can," he said. "He will have a nursing degree in two years here and with him, I don't know why someone overseas wouldn't want him. "He's a tremendous player at both ends of the floor, and again, off the court he's just the best type of person you could have representing your program," Ellenwood added. "He works hard in the classroom and makes his teammates better every single day. He's much more than just a basketball player for us." ____________________Brandon Haraway glancePostseason awards2019-20GLIAC Freshman of the Year2020-21GLIAC Player of the Week (twice)GLIAC first teamGLIAC Defensive teamGLIAC Tournament MVPNABC Midwest District second team2021-22GMAC Player of the WeekGMAC First teamGMAC Defensive team Season averages2019-20: (29 games)9.4 points3.9 rebounds1.6 assists1.1 steals2020-21: (24 games)18.0 points5.5 rebounds3.1 assists1.6 steals2021-22: (26 games)14.5 points5.4 rebounds3.3 assists1.4 steals