Bryan Lambert knows his athletic career isn’t going to last forever, though some wouldn’t be surprised if it lasts longer than the careers of most kids who learned to love athletics on the courts and fields of Auburn.

So last September, Lambert walked into the Brandeis basketball coach’s office, sat down, and told him he needed to play basketball again.

Granted, any basketball coach, particularly one at a Division III school, would be thrilled to have a 6-foot-9 student, let alone a 6-foot-9 student as athletically gifted as Lambert, tell him he wants to play for his team. But Brandeis coach Chris Ford (the former Boston Celtics player and coach) couldn’t have anticipated just how much of an impact the former Edward Little baseball, football and basketball standout would have on his young team.

“He was a welcome addition, because our leading rebounder from the year before had decided not to come out,” said Ford, who just completed his second year on the Judges’ bench. “I didn’t know a lot about him. I knew he was an outside shooter. He’s not really a post player despite his size. He’s more of a guy who steps outside and does his thing there. He was the best offensive player we had on our squad.

“But what I was most impressed with was his leadership,” he added. “We certainly needed it.”

“After my freshman year, I decided that I really had the opportunity to focus on baseball and seeing how far I could go with it,” Lambert said. “But after taking off last year, I just missed basketball.”

Lambert played like it, leading the Judges in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 per game), as well as minutes, steals and blocked shots. He earned second-team All-University Athletic Association honors. The team struggled, finishing 6-19, but felt like he was back where he belonged.

“A learning experience”

Lambert learned the hard way that the privilege of playing college athletics shouldn’t be taken for granted. After playing both basketball and baseball his freshman year, he was preparing to devote an entire year to the diamond his sophomore year. But a rare error in judgment on his part led to his being placed on academic suspension for one semester. He was forced to sit out the 2002 baseball season.

“It was a learning experience,” he said. “Anything that happens in life, good or bad, you’ve got to take something from it.”

The support of his family helped him deal with the adversity and focus on what he wanted to do with the rest of his college career.

“Anytime you have people in your life that are willing to do whatever it takes to help you achieve your goals, that’s just special,” he said.

He was eager to return to the hardwood even though he knew he would be playing for a new coach and taking on new responsibilities as one of the team’s co-captains. One of only two players to start all 24 games during his freshman year (he was the Judges’ leading rebounder as a freshman), he was going to have to take on more of the scoring load with the graduation of the school’s all-time leading scorer, Rashad Williams.

“I think that says a lot about his character. He’s an interesting guy, a fun-loving guy,” Ford said. “He’s a great kid.”

The Judges were coming off an 8-17 season, and their prospects for making major improvements weren’t promising because the team had just one returning starter and seven returning lettermen.

“It was kind of a challenge,” he said. “You go from a winning program to a program that’s young and struggling. You just try to build that attitude that you have from that winning program.”

Ford counted on Lambert to help him instill that attitude, and Lambert appreciated the confidence his new coach had in him.

“He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet,” he said. “He doesn’t act big-time, being an ex-NBA player and coach.”

A diamond in the rough?

Lambert’s return to basketball didn’t detract from his development as a baseball player. A pitcher/first baseman, he appeared in 32 games, nine as a pitcher, his freshman year. He and his coaches decided he should concentrate on pitching for his sophomore year. While he was forced to sit it out the spring, he kept his pitching skills sharp over the summer playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, an affiliate of the famed Cape Cod League, playing an arduous schedule (53 games in 45 days) against some of the top collegiate competition in the country.

He returned to Brandeis with a better slider to go with a split-finger fastball and a fastball that has topped out as high as 92 miles per hour but is usually in the 87-88 mph range. He also displayed a rubber arm that his coach, Pete Varney, was ready to exploit.

“He can do everything for us – he can start, he can close, he can middle relieve – which is a huge asset for our team,” Varney said.

Lambert began the season as a starter, getting the call to start five games for the Judges, but is finishing it as the closer. He’s 2-3 with four saves and a 4.43 ERA in 11 appearances.

He’s enjoying his new role.

“You just come in and throw as hard as you can,” he said. “It’s a lot easier mentality to have, I’ve found. You’re hyped up for just one inning. You go in there and get three outs the best you can.”

Lambert didn’t get a chance to pitch during this week’s ECAC conference tournament because the top-seeded Judges bulldozed their way through the rest of the field, outscoring their opponents, 28-8. There may be more opportunities to come, however, if the Judges (22-11-1) earn a berth in the NCAA Division III regional tournament next weekend.

Regardless of whether he pitches again this season, Lambert has already caught the eye of some Major League scouts who have seen him pitch.

“He has the distinct possibility of getting drafted this year. If not this year, then next year,” Varney said.

Lambert’s stuff isn’t dominating, but his large frame has the professional talent evaluators intrigued.

“The most amazing thing for such a big kid is how athletic he is,” he said. “He’s not your typical 6-9 kid. He’s athletic like a 5-10 kid is athletic.”

“That’s definitely a goal I have, to get the opportunity to play professional baseball at whatever level it is,” Lambert said. “You only have a small window of opportunity to pursue your athletic goals. You have your whole life to pursue your academic goals.”

Demands, demands

If professional baseball doesn’t pan out, Lambert, an education major, hopes to get into teaching and coaching after graduation while pursuing his masters degree, with the ultimate goal of “getting into the political realm of education,” he said.

He has two years of college eligibility left, so if the pros don’t come calling, Lambert plans to continue filling his winters and springs with athletics. He believes staying active outside of the classroom helps him with his academics.

“I think I’ve been playing sports since I could walk, and it’s much easier for me to structure my schedule when I have less (free) time, if that makes sense,” he said.

Still, what Lambert is doing is unusual, even at the Division III level. That he’s excelled at both sports is even more remarkable, according to Ford.

“All of my children played D-3 at good academic schools. You’ve got to make better use of your time on a daily basis because you have difficult class work to do in addition to getting on the court on the field,” Ford said. “And it’s not like Division I, where you’re there looking to play and prepare yourself for a career in a sport. You’re playing because you want to play, really.”

And that, ultimately, is what it comes down to for Lambert.

“I’m in college. I’m young. I’m just going to play sports as long as I can,” he said.

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