Columnist Victoria Sun: UNLV’s Knight comes up with a real gem in Askew

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 | 9:51 a.m.

Victoria Sun covers golf for the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4078 or by e-mail at victoria@lasvegassun.com

UNLV golf coach Dwaine Knight has done it again.

He mined a 10-karat Tiffany diamond already set in platinum when he signed Brandon Askew of Fargo, N.D.

After spending some time with the soon-to-be Rebel freshman, here's what I think I know about him:

Askew doesn't make excuses.

"Consistent," he mused Tuesday after posting an 8-over-par 80 in the first round of the Las Vegas Founders' Legacy Junior tournament. It was one of his worst competitive scores since he started competing at age 7.

"Consistently bad.

"I hit it out of bounds on No. 3; that kind of started me off (bad). Made double-bogey there. I just took some bad swings. It was a constant today."

Maybe the greens threw you off because they were recently aerated, I offered.

"No," Askew answered with the poise of Princess Diana. "Just sometimes, it doesn't go your way.

"When you have a day like mine, you can't blame it on anything."

He did not pout about his round or concede defeat.

"You're going to have good days and bad days," he reasoned. "I'm not here to win every tournament. I'd love to, but nobody's going to do that. If you learn from a bad day, that's all that matters.

"I don't want to throw in the towel quite yet. I think I can throw in a couple of good rounds, finish strong and make it a respectable tournament."

It's hard not to respect a kid who turned down full scholarships for golf and hockey (a center, Askew was a two-time MVP of his high school squad and named "Mr. Hockey" of North Dakota his senior year) to other universities and come to UNLV even though a scholarship, at first, wasn't available to him this fall. Askew ended up getting a scholarship after Adam Scott quit the team before the spring semester to play professional tournaments.

"I want to help UNLV win the NCAAs again soon," Askew said. "And I think we have the talent to do that with James Oh and Travis Whisman (both freshmen) coming to the team.

"The team also has a strong base already with returning players so we can do well. It wasn't about the money. It's flattering to get a scholarship because it shows you've earned something, but I'm trying to put myself in the best situation by coming to UNLV to help myself become a pro."

He led Fargo South High School to the state title as a junior and has won two American Junior Golf Association titles. Askew was named to the Polo Golf Junior-All America second team.

Askew listens to Santana, has a sharp sense of humor and isn't afraid to poke fun of himself.

When he lifted his white cap for a second, it revealed a hair color that was a cross between Woody Woodpecker and Barbie.

A bad dye job, perhaps?

"No," he answered after raucous laughing. "The color is red.

"The sun dyes parts of it blond. Most of the time I'm wearing a hat to cover up the ugly red hair."

Upon further inspection, the hair wasn't that bad.

And despite an opening-round 80, Rebel golf fans will find out neither is Askew's game.

Because it snows a lot in North Dakota, Askew took full advantage of the four months of the year he could play golf. The rest of the time, he was engrossed with hockey.

The main reason he chose UNLV over other schools -- including Northwestern and the University of Arizona -- was so that he could work with Knight.

"I really think that he's going to bring me to the next level with my game," Askew said. "I think I've played well in some of these tournaments, but I think it takes just two or three strokes that I'm leaving out there that I think Coach Knight can help me get.

"I'm real excited about working with him."

Oh, and there is one more reason Askew wanted to come here -- the double-doubles at In-N-Out.

"I don't think anywhere east of Las Vegas has it," Askew said of his favorite hamburger joint.

He paused before unleashing another Magic Johnson smile. "But on my visit (we ate there); that was probably another reason why I came. Coach Knight or In-N-Out. It's a tossup."

This is the third time Anderson has been an Academic All-America selection, but the first time he has been chosen to the first team. The Mountain West Conference Golfer of the Year graduated from UNLV last month with a bachelor's degree in business management and a 3.56 GPA.