New role pushes Fields to excel
“Nothing is impossible” attitude leads sophomore on court
Brandon Fields lets his tattoos do the talking when he’s on the floor.
“They’re symbols of my life and what goals I want to achieve,” the sophomore guard said.
Both arms are covered with ink. His left arm portrays a verse from the Old Testament, Psalms 27:2, and the other has a tribute to his mother and his home state of Texas. Fields has an imprint of the heart of a lion on his chest, symbolizing his attitude on the court.
“When I’m on the court, I’m always thinking about that,” Fields said of his tattoos. “I never fear a player and have no need to fear anybody. I think to myself that a lion never quits.”
But more importantly, inscribed on Fields’ body is a verse from the Bible that says he and his team will flourish.
Psalms 27:2 of the King James version on his arm says “even mine enemies and my foes … they stumbled and fell.”
“It has meaning for me. I don’t put something stupid on my body,” said Fields, who hails from Arlington, Texas.
Aside from his body art, wearing the No. 0 also has meaning.
“We sat down at the dinner table and coach (Fox) told me to wear zero because nothing is impossible for me,” Fields said.
Coming into his second season with the Wolf Pack, Fields is looking to make a difference as he tries to replace shooting guard Kyle Shiloh, who graduated last year. Fields said he worked more on his offense and focused on parts of his defensive game.
“I’m hoping for more playing time and I’m really looking forward to show what I can do with experience,” he said. “I worked a lot on my offense with ball handling and passing.”
Fields watched film of Shiloh playing defense in the off-season to gain a better understanding of this year’s role with the team. He also worked out with former Texas A&M star Acie Law in the off-season.
Fields, though, said he isn’t worried what position Nevada coach Mark Fox decides on.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Fields added. “I can play either (point or shooting guards). I played point guard in high school.”
Fox said he wants to see Fields build on his first-year experience.
“Brandon had a good freshman year, but we need him to mature as a player and give us some production,” Fox said.
Fox added that Fields could see time at point guard, but will be more useful on the wing.
“Brandon is a solid practice player,” Fox said. “He didn’t get many minutes last year. Brandon’s main position is still going to be on the wing, though he is going to play some point for us and he could even play some small forward.”
Fields played in 33 of 34 games off the bench last year and averaged 2.1 points and 0.7 assists per game. He also made 43.1 percent of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.
Fields said he wants nothing more than another conference title.
“It’s going to be tough because of the roles to fill, but we have won four WAC (Western Athletic Conference) championships,” Fields said. “It puts pressure on us (to win five), but I like pressure. We should surprise a lot of people. I’m really excited because our team is so long and athletic.”
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