This Vandeweghe Went for Ball, Net--but No Hoop

For hours, little brother would stand under the basket and wait for big brother to shoot the ball. Little brother would rebound and dish it back out. Then little brother would do it again and again and again.

Big brother now plays in the NBA. Surely you’ve heard of him: Kiki Vandeweghe of the New York Knicks, graduate of UCLA and product of sheer dedication. Little brother, Bruk, never played organized basketball after high school, but not because he wasn’t good enough. USC and BYU thought enough of his talents to offer him full scholarships.

But Bruk Vandeweghe always followed his instinct, and instinct told him to play the sports he liked best, not the ones that were supposed to make him a star. So he sidestepped basketball and played golf. Now, he plays volleyball.

And what is to be made of all the time he helped Kiki improve? It certainly wasn’t lost on Bruk, who, along with developing a pretty fair jump shot of his own, learned the importance of persistence.

That quality has helped Bruk as an up-and-coming pro beach volleyball player, one of 16 who will compete for the Cuervo Gold Crown today and Saturday at Mariner’s Point.

A fringe player who chose his tournaments carefully during his first two seasons, Vandeweghe has begun to kick some sand in the direction of the big guys and has made progress enough to attract a sponsor, Zeppelin clothes.

People don’t recognize his name too often, at least not his first name. But he isn’t that concerned that he is known in many circles as Kiki’s brother.

“I think it’s great,” he says. “I love being Kiki’s brother. I get into all the basketball games for free. I get to sit wherever I want at any of the Laker games. I wouldn’t trade being Kiki’s brother for anything.”

Anyway, Kiki isn’t the only member of the Vandeweghe family who has an impressive and unusual resume. Ernie, the father, was an All-American at Colgate University, played seven years for the Knicks, was the team doctor for the Lakers and is now a sports medicine doctor in Los Angeles.

Colleen Hutchins Vandeweghe, Bruk and Kiki’s mother, was Miss America in 1952 and a top competitive swimmer.

Sisters Tauna and Heather also have impressive backgrounds. Tauna, now a broadcaster for the Prime Ticket network, was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976, placing fourth in the 100-meter backstroke. In 1984, she was an alternate on the U.S. national volleyball team. Heather is a doctor at UCLA and represents the United States in polo (horse, not water).

Bruk, the kid brother, says his siblings were an inspiration.

“My brother and sisters are my best friends,” Bruk says. “And they always will be.”

With their support, Bruk was able to wade through the setbacks of college. A longtime golf enthusiast, he accepted a golf scholarship to San Diego State and then missed making the traveling squad by one stroke when he was a freshman. Upset, he quit and never played again.

“I haven’t touched a golf club in five years,” he says. “I was discouraged. I should have made the team.”

Actually, he was a little too hard on himself. Six of the seven members of that team got their pro cards the next year, and Bruk was four or five years younger than all of them. Still, when you’re 17 and have your heart set on being a golfer, getting sliced from the travel team is a big deal.

The golf team’s loss was Smokey Gaines’ gain, or so he thought. Vandeweghe was well aware that Gaines had his eye on him ever since he arrived on campus. Why not? Here’s a guy wiling way hours on the golf course, but he’s 6-foot-5, has a brother named Kiki and stops by the gym occasionally to jam a basketball.

Gaines persuaded Vandeweghe to play basketball and offered him a full scholarship. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

“He (Gaines) is very good at convincing people,” Vandeweghe says. “He made it seem fun, like I was going to run the team. And I thought ‘Sure, I’ll follow my brother’s footsteps. I’ll play in the NBA. No problem.’ ”

There was one problem. Greg Lee, the guy who played with Bill Walton on two UCLA national championship teams and also is a whiz at beach volleyball, taught Vandeweghe how to play volleyball that summer, just a couple of months before Vandeweghe was to start training with the basketball team. Good stuff, Vandeweghe decided. He declined Gaines’ offer and tried out for the SDSU volleyball team instead.

“You’ve got to stick with what your gut feeling tells you,” he says. “My gut feeling was to play volleyball.”

A three-time volleyball MVP at SDSU, Bruk now has a full-time job at the beach. It wasn’t there for the taking right after his graduation in 1988 because he wasn’t yet good enough to earn enough to pay travel expenses. So he worked a day job, played a tournament here and there and put away a few bucks every time he finished in the money.

This season, for the first time, Vandeweghe is a regular at all the tournaments. He says he will make around $50,000 this year, combining his prize and endorsement money. OK, so it doesn’t quite stack up to the $500,000 that Randy Stoklos and Karch Kiraly will earn, but it’s a start.

Better things may be on the horizon, anyway, considering Vandeweghe has made major improvements since teaming with Rudy Dvorak. The pair recently finished fifth at Seal Beach and gave the top-seeded team, Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, a battle before losing, 15-10, in the semifinals. Dvorak’s consistent style complements Vandeweghe’s power game nicely.

Certainly, Vandeweghe has a ways to go. He hasn’t approached Stoklos’ level. But Vandeweghe didn’t touch a volleyball until he was a sophomore in college, and Stoklos and many other tour members have been playing since they were little kids.

As for the basketball career he never took a shot at? Well, every once in a while, Vandeweghe sits around and wonders what his life would have been like if he had played basketball. Maybe he would playing in the NBA just like Kiki, making a lot of money just like Kiki. But then he realizes volleyball is just the right thing for him.

“I think whatever sport I decided to play I would have gone through my ups and downs and eventually I’d be a success,” he says. “I think I’m on the road to success with volleyball.”

PRO BEACH VOLLEYBALL FACTS What--The Cuervo Gold Crown. $150,000 purse, $70,000 to the winning team.

Where--Mariner’s Point.

When--Today at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at 9 a.m., with championship match at 3 p.m.

Who--The eight teams by seedings: 1. Randy Stoklos/Sinjin Smith; 2. Karch Kiraly/Brent Frohoff; 3. Tim Hovland/Kent Steffes; 4. Mike Dodd/Scott Ayakatubby; 5. John Hanley/Ricci Luyties; 6. Steve Timmons/Adam Johnson; 7. Andrew Smith/Dan Vrebalovich; 8. Rudy Dvorak/Bruk Vandeweghe.

Format--Round-robin, with the three teams compiling the best win-loss record advancing to the final round. The second-and third-place finishers will play for a berth in the championship match. All games will be to 10 points, except for the championship, which will be the usual 15.

Outlook--Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, the winningest pair in pro beach history, can complete a triple crown this weekend, having won the first two Cuervo Crown events at Clearwater, Fla., and Boulder, Colo. Karch Kiraly, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Brent Frohoff are the defending champions and have been Smith-Stoklos’ biggest competition this season.