Brandon Garrison's teammates react to MASSIVE poster: "It was crazy."

There is no rational explanation for Harrison Braudis, Minnesota State’s leading scorer in its 98-67 loss to Kentucky, to jump. What was he thinking? Standing 6-2, 175 pounds, did the senior guard really think he was going to match Brandon Garrison‘s length and athleticism going up to contest the dunk attempt?

Braudis learned the hard way, catching the poster of all posters as the Wildcat center finished with force to cave the Rupp Arena roof in, lifting just inside the SEC logo and landing on top of the poor defender who simply didn’t know any better.

“I don’t know what he was thinking, but I was just doing my job,” Garrison said after the win. “CC (Collin Chandler) hit me on the roll and I just went up there and finished it.”

Clear out, @brandonGarriso is ready for takeoff 🛫 pic.twitter.com/89pMGpfQ4Z

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 30, 2024

Mark Pope crashed the party, jumping into the Oklahoma State transfer’s media scrum to hear what he had to say about his big dunk and performance overall, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds in Amari Williams‘ absence.

“Were you excited?” Pope asked.

“Yeah, it was exciting!” Garrison responded.

“You brought the juice, man. That was super fun. Kept the ball safe, short-rolled it? Great read, live ball screen? Awesome.”

While I was asking Brandon Garrison about his big dunk against Minnesota State, Mark Pope crashed the interview. pic.twitter.com/CY991EqPYu

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) October 30, 2024

The bench reaction was about what you’d expect, Garrison’s teammates going nuts while fans in the stands tapped their heads to celebrate the ridiculous poster. When asked about the moment afterward, the Wildcats were not only thrilled about the dunk, but the sophomore center’s play in general stepping up when Williams went down with an early leg injury.

“It was crazy — crazy,” Jaxson Robinson told KSR. “It was a great pass, I can’t remember who made it. It was either Ansley or Collin, but it was a great pass and a great finish. BG played great tonight, I’m happy for him. It was a great run.”

“I’ve been on the receiving end a couple of times, so I’m glad it wasn’t one of us this time and it happened to the other team,” Andrew Carr added.

More on his 12-point effort, particularly filling the hole left as a result of Williams’ injury.

“It’s key for us, it’s key to everything we do. We run a lot through our bigs,” Pope said after the win, highlighting Williams’ impact and what the team is missing when he’s out. That’s why Garrison’s efficient 6-9 shooting night with four boards, one assist, one block and one steal was so massive. He’s always had the potential with flashes of brilliance every now and then, but the Oklahoma City native produced on both ends for all 19 minutes he was on the floor.

“It was huge. We’re going to need it all season,” Robinson said. “BG did a great job stepping up and filling in the holes that we needed.”

“BG is great,” Carr added. “He’s growing into himself, he’s a super, super talented kid. It’s really awesome to see him get out there and play super confident. We want him to be as aggressive as he can when he catches the ball in the post and I thought he did a really great job tonight.”

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the poster that Garrison loved most about his night. He actually wanted to convert on his coast-to-coast sequence where he recorded a steal, crossed up a defender, euro-stepped from the 3-point line and missed the layup by an inch. That would have really brought the house down, highlighting his versatility as a big.

Missed it by that much.

“When you try to euro-step from the 3-point line, it’s a little difficult,” Carr joked. “He almost had it though, it was close. Respect.”

That sequence, though, is a product of Garrison’s development and what he can bring to the table — along with all of the bigs playing for Mark Pope. That’s what the first-year coach wants.

“Coach Pope has done a great job putting confidence in the bigs to be able to do that, as well,” Carr said. “Grab a rebound and go — it really distorts the defense a bit, who picks up the ball because a five man isn’t used to going out to the 3-point line and stopping the ball in transition. It adds a different look to our offense. Our fives are talented enough to do that.”

Quite the night for BG.