In class or on court, Brandt has designed a winner

ROBINS -- Walk past the office at Westfield Elementary School and take a left toward the art room.

Staggered in the hallway are lions on wheeled carts, maybe four feet tall, depicting the subjects taught and learned inside the nearby classrooms.

Mike Brandt made those.

Take the last left into the art room. You'll find a brilliant who's-who gallery of all the classic artists, drawn and colored in caricature form.

Mike Brandt made those, too.

Along with countless other items in the art room, throughout the school ... and the whole school district.

Yes, Brandt is a basketball coach. A successful one. When Linn-Mar faces Ankeny at the girls' state tournament Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, it will be the Lions' fourth straight state appearance (the string most likely would be six in a row had Jaime Printy not blown out a knee in 2006-07).

Playing against stiff competition in the Mississippi Valley Conference, Brandt's teams have racked up a 93-6 record in the last four years.

But Brandt is no Joe Jockstrap. Coaching isn't his lone passion, or his only gift.

"You should see him in the classroom," a secretary from the office says as you drop off your visitor's badge and walk out. "You'd be amazed at how he draws talent out of his students."

Art and athletics. It's not a common combination.

"They don't always go hand-in-hand, do they?" Brandt chuckled as he sat at a table in his classroom during lunch break Friday.

Over his left shoulder was a gallery of photos from last year's state-championship run. There's one of Kiley Haines moments after she hit the game-winning shot to beat Des Moines East in the championship game. There's one of Kiah Stokes rubbing his bald head after they captured the title.

Over his right shoulder is a color wheel. It's a color wheel with attitude; each circle has a face -- silly, angry, whatever.

Brandt designed that, too.

Every year, he draws portraits of each of his seniors -- there are nine this year -- and hands them out on Senior Night, the final home game of the season.

Stokes' portrait sits on the mantle above her family's fireplace.

"I think he's really good," she said.

The portraits are done in pencil and take about 2 1/2 hours each. Brandt generally starts on them before the season starts.

And while many families traveled for spring break last March, Brandt and his family -- (wife, Rhonda; daughter, Mykaela, a starting sophomore guard; and son, Jordan) stayed home. He built replicas of the state-championship trophy for each of his players. One sits on a shelf in his classroom.

"It was my way of saying thanks to the girls for the hard work they put into the program," Brandt said. "(Art) is kind of my release. Some coaches go fishing. I like to draw and make posters."

Brandt designs logos for the basketball program. He helped design the floor of the Linn-Mar gym.

"He designs pretty much everything," said Scott Mahmens, Linn-Mar athletics director. "The varsity girls' locker room, different things all around the building.

"I've never been in his classroom, but I know when I get his state-tournament itinerary, it's always in color."

It comes in color. And these days, it comes regularly.

Yes, a multitude of talent has passed through Linn-Mar in recent years. But you don't win in the MVC on talent alone.

"We've had some good, talented kids and we've had some great leaders," Brandt said. "The kids have bought into being unselfish. The No. 1 goal as a group is to win."

This year's team is 21-2 and ranked No. 2. It's led by Stokes -- the University of Connecticut signee and the state's all-time leading shot blocker -- and four new starters, including Mykaela.

"What he's done this year, that's a very nice coaching job," Mahmens said.

Brandt, 43, served as Linn-Mar's sophomore coach before taking the varsity job when Steve Kahler resigned in 2001.

In his early days -- the days before the seatbelt rule confined coaches to the bench -- he was a sideline stalker.

"When you're a young coach, you're so into it," he said. "I think I'm more relaxed now and more focused in the game."

"He's not much of a yeller," Stokes said. "He's pretty relaxed, easy to get along with. Everybody loves him."