Northridge’s 6-11 Brandt Quits for Health Reasons

NORTHRIDGE —  The tallest basketball recruit in Cal State Northridge history has left school after one of the shortest stays.

Paul Brandt, a 6-foot-11 center from Thousand Oaks High, has dropped out of Northridge for “medical reasons,” Coach Pete Cassidy said Wednesday.

Brandt committed to Northridge on the first day of the NCAA early signing period last November. He was expected to redshirt this season.

“We saw him as a prospect who would be more of a contributor in the future,” Cassidy said.

Brandt was not a high school star. He started at center for Thousand Oaks only occasionally, but Northridge coaches considered him intelligent and a hard worker who possessed the one attribute they couldn’t teach: height.

Cassidy declined to reveal specifics about Brandt’s condition other than to say he would probably not be returning to school this year.

The Brandt family had little comment.

“We’ll leave it at what Coach Cassidy said,” Brandt’s mother, Nina, said.

Brandt’s father, Bill, said: “It is definitely not drug-related.

Brandt’s absence should have little impact on Northridge’s team, although Cassidy said, “It would have been nice to have a seven-footer to practice against.”

Shane O’Doherty, a 6-11 senior center, Peter Micelli, a 6-8 senior forward, and Tom Samson, a 6-7 sophomore forward, provide experience in the Northridge front court.